We stated our case on Wednesday regarding the decision of the Eagles to make quarterback Mike Vick the recipient of the team’s Ed Block Courage Award.
Others have made their views known, too.
Coach Andy Reid had this to say about the situation on Wednesday, per Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer: “Everybody is going to have their opinion on it I’m sure. Until you’ve been with him for the hours that his teammates have been with him and seen him through all these different things that he’s had to go through, that time-tested part of it, you can’t appreciate it. I don’t expect everybody to understand it.”
Quarterback Donovan McNabb ignored the criticism of the decision. “I don’t care what people say on the outside,” McNabb said Wednesday, also per McLane. “That was something voted on by his peers.”
On Thursday’s edition of The Dan Patrick Show, former Bucs and Colts coach and Vick mentor Tony Dungy defended the decision.
“The Ed Block Award is probably the most prestigious award in terms of the players because they vote on it themselves, and it’s not necessarily for things that happen on the field,” Dungy said. “There are things that players know that each other are going through that maybe the public doesn’t know, and to be voted on unanimously I think that says a lot.”
Rich Eisen of NFL Network, in a separate appearance on Patrick’s show, said that he was “disappointed” by the decision.
“What’s courageous about what he did?” Eisen said.
And Eisen makes an excellent point -- he thinks the involvement of Vick will “ruin” the annual Ed Block Courage Award Foundation’s annual dinner and awards ceremony.
Meanwhile, Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer has a great take on the decision, identifying the other more deserving candidates on the team (such as Brian Westbrook and Jeremiah Trotter), and sharing quotes from other 2009 winners projecting pure humility.
For example, Browns receiver/safety Mike Furrey said, “I don’t think it’s something I deserve.”
So what did Vick have to say?
“I’ve had to overcome a lot, more than probably one single individual can bear,” Vick said. “Take a look at what I’ve been through. You ask certain people to walk in my shoes, they probably couldn’t do it. Probably 95 percent of the people in this world -- because nobody had to endure what I’ve been through, situations I’ve been put in, situations I’ve placed myself in, decisions that I’ve made -- whether they were good or bad.”
Yeah, Eagles. You made a great choice.
But, hey, at least it’ll help the team snooker someone into giving up more than they should in trade for Vick come March 1.