Awkward but Happy Debut for Michael Vick in Philly

PHILADELPHIA -- If it looked forced and disjointed, that's because it was. To fit Michael Vick into their offense Thursday night, the Eagles had to run plays that didn't conform to any kind of rhythm or continuity. Line him up in the shotgun. Split Donovan McNabb out wide. Direct-snap to a running back with both QBs on the field. Andy Reid was using this preseason game to (a) get Vick's feet wet after two years out of the league and (b) try out some of the ways he might use Vick once the real games start.

"It was tough," McNabb said after Philadelphia's come-from-behind 33-32 win over Jacksonville. "I think in any situation when you're trying something new, it's important that you get in a rhythm first. But that's what preseason's for."

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This was a dry run. The Eagles haven't decided whether Vick will play in next week's preseason game against the Jets. And they don't know how soon into the regular season he'll even be allowed to play. But this game gave them a chance to run him out there in some of the different, complex formations they believe can take advantage of his skills and athleticism. And in a lot of ways, for Vick, the most important part happened right at the beginning, when he took the field to loud cheers from the crowd.

"I didn't think it was going to be that positive," Vick said of the Philly crowd's cheers. "I didn't know what to expect. I was running out onto the field and I was listening to what the reaction would be, and I was very pleased. I didn't expect that reaction, and I'm very thankful."

So thankful, he said, that he screwed up. On the Eagles' second series of the game, Vick said, he blew his read and tried running the ball himself when he should have pitched the ball to his running back. He was stopped after a gain of one yard.

"I was trying to please the crowd, and I messed up the play," Vick said. "It was just the excitement of being out there, and I just had to calm down and tell myself the big plays are going to come."

That's the lesson the Eagles wanted observers of Thursday night's game to take home. For long stretches, McNabb and the offense looked wobbly. But this wasn't the real Eagles offense the way it's going to look in the season. The line is wracked with injuries. Running back Brian Westbrook, who'd been expected to see his first game action since off-season ankle surgery, was a surprise late addition to the inactive list. Vick didn't appear in any of the goal-line sets, and Reid simply said, "Yes, it was," when asked if that was by design, meaning he doesn't want to give anything away in the preseason. The plays they ran when Vick was on the field were basic outlines of the types of plays they expect to be able to run with him, and nothing more.

"This is test and trial time," receiver Jason Avant said. "The more reps he gets, and the more he's acclimated into the offense, I'm pretty sure we'll get used to it. When you have an athlete as good as Mike is, you've just got to get him on the field and see what happens."

That was the idea on Thursday night, and even though it looked awkward at times, Reid expects it to get better quickly.

"If you're going to use that a little bit, then you have to make it work in there," Reid said. "That's what we're going to do as we go down the road here, and I expect the guys to make that part of the rhythm and to make it work."

The stats tell you that Vick was 4-of-4 for 19 yards as a passer and had just the one carry for one yard. His one big throw came with McNabb on the sidelines -- a 13-yard completion to Hank Baskett that set up a David Akers field goal in the first quarter. The few times McNabb lined up as a receiver, the Jaguars declined to cover him and Vick never looked his way, which led McNabb to express mock indignation in his own news conference.

"I've got to get some catches," McNabb deadpanned. "If I'm out there running routes, I've got to get some catches. I've seen some of the divas at the receiver position. I'm open. I'm out there. I'm open and he never looked my way. I pulled some Pop Warner film of me getting some catches. The hands are still there and the speed's better. I'm open."

Yes, the Eagles won the meaningless game. And nobody booed. And McNabb got to throw the ball 36 times. So everybody had a good time. The Eagles are hoping that, the more Vick plays and the more they can begin to fit his plays into the rhythm of their offense, the more fun they're all going to have on offense.

"The sky's the limit," Vick said. "Whatever I have to do, I can do it all. I did it all when I was younger, I can do it all now. And down the road, I'll be back at the quarterback position full-time. But as of right now, I just have to do what I can to help this team win."

On Thursday night, Vick and the Eagles showed us all some glimpses of the kinds of things they expect that to be. The latent message in the postgame reviews was that there's plenty we didn't see, and plenty more to come from an offense that has as many athletic weapons as any in the NFC.

"I think we already knew what could be in store with all of us on the field at the same time," receiver DeSean Jackson said. "I don't think anything tonight could have really shown what we can do. I think when the time is right, we'll be able to do a lot more in certain packages, and as long as we're all on the same page, it'll be all right."