ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio suggested Sunday that the Eagles might have a quick hook for quarterback Michael Vick in the wild-card round. Kevin Kolb is considered one of the better backups in the league, and Vick has been banged up.
Kolb didn’t play well against the Cowboys, however, completing just 50 percent of his 36 pass attempts and committing four turnovers in the 14-13 loss. He gets something of a pass because the Eagles rested a large chunk of their starting lineup -- undrafted rookie fill-in left tackle Austin Howard was throttled for three sacks by DeMarcus Ware -- but there’s no question that Vick is the Eagles’ best option at quarterback heading into the playoffs.
And coach Andy Reid sounds optimistic that Vick is making progress in his recovery from his late-season quadricep injury.
“He feels good,” said Reid in his post-game press conference. “He had some swelling in the thigh, and he worked that out. He got a nice workout in today, and he felt pretty good. ... I think he’ll be fine.”
Reid also indicated that Vick could’ve played in the event of an emergency against Dallas.
Along with the rest of the Eagles’ starters who were given Week Seventeen off (tight end Brent Celek, wide receiver DeSean Jackson, cornerback Asante Samuel, etc.), it sounds like Vick will be ready to go against the Packers.
And he should feel no heat from Kolb whatsoever.