Michael Vick mania. It all started on one night in September during the 2009 pre-season. Donovan McNabb was still in town and Kevin Kolb was being groomed and coached as an eventual replacement to the most successful Quarterback the city of Philadelphia has ever seen. Vick showed flashes of his obvious athleticism throughout the 2009 season, but it wasn't until week 1 of the 2010 NFL season when the Eagles (led by starting QB Kevin Kolb) faced off against the Green Bay Packers at Lincoln Financial Field. Clay Matthews, brother of current Eagles starting rookie MLB Casey Matthews, would knock Kevin Kolb out of the game with a concussion and thats all she wrote. Vick would never look back after leading the team for a few scoring drives (behind a horrific offensive line no-less) against Green Bay and would go on to have a great year for the Eagles (especially statistically), though an injury riddled one. All season long Vick showed how much of a more complete Quarterback and overall improved football player he had become, posting a career best 21 TD to 6 INT ratio as well as a 100.2 QB rating. What does all of this mean for Michael Vick's 2011 production? It means that for the first time since being released from prison, Vick had an entire offseason to go though (albeit locked out) with a starting QB's mentality. This training camp he was finally the unquestioned starter of the franchise and he looked very impressive all throughout camp at Lehigh University. With the amount of offensive weapons at Vick's disposal this season like Shady Mccoy, DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Brent Celek, Ronnie Brown and potentially even newly signed WR Steve Smith at some point this season (formerly of the New York Giants) Vick is poised to have a monstrous season with this Eagles' offense. But Vick is by no means a sure thing. He did wear down towards the end of the season after taking an insane amount of hits due to a wildly inconsistent offensive line. The Eagles are hoping to stabilize the line this season with newcomers on the right side of the line, Danny Watkins (acquired in the 1st round of this years NFL draft) and Ryan Harris (signed in free agency from the Denver Broncos). The team may also choose to go with rookie center Jason Kelce over the team's veteran (and much larger) center Jamal Jackson. New offensive line coach Howard Mudd prefers smaller and quicker offensive lineman, especially in the middle of the line so seeing Kelce start this season would make sense from Mudd's philosophical stance. All in all, the positive things Michael Vick could do this season are almost unimaginable if he and his line stay healthy and consistent.
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