Image via SBNation
Performances like last night's certainly qualify as the worst nightmare scenario of having Michael Vick as starting quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Vick completed 13-30 passing for 201 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions and a fumble in a performance that was nowhere near as proficent as his numbers indicated.
After a peerless stretch to start the season without an interception in his first 95 passing attempts of the season, the 32-year old quarterback tossed two against the Kansas City Chiefs in Thursday's nightmare on Broad Street 26-16 loss to Andy Reid and company.
One certainly can make a case for Vick pressing after the team dropped a heart breaker in week two against the San Diego Chargers and while playing in front of his former head coach who offered him professional redemption in 2009 following his stint in Leavenworth prison. However, that rules out the track record of turnovers and misfires Vick has accumulated since the latter half of 2010.
Thursday night Vick forced the ball into double coverage against Riley Cooper. He threw a pass that was batted up in the air and intercepted by Eric Berry who returned the offering 38-yards for a touchdown and quite frankly Vick simply never settled into a rhythm. Similarly to what had become the norm for Vick in recent years, he never even saw open receivers on a handful of plays that could have led to game breaking opportunities.
So, after a disastrous performance the question begs to be asked: has Vick regressed since training camp?
"I don't think he was forcing it into that situation," head coach Chip Kelly said when asked about Vick's errant throw intended for Cooper. "I think he threw the ball on the back shoulder. More of a location situation. If he puts the ball out in front of him, I think we've got a good throw. When you play this game, it's that close. You put the ball out in front, hell of a throw. You look at the ball he threw to Brent [Celek] for a touchdown [against the Redskins]. Fit it in between three guys in the Washington Redskins game. If that's on the back, it might get picked."
Still, as frenetic as Kelly's offense looked in the first half of the season opener against Washington and Vick proficient at the helm against both the Redskins and Chargers, his performance was downright flawed against Kansas City.
With difficult road tests upcoming against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos followed by Eli Manning and the New York Giants and finally a road showdown with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, one has to wonder how long a leash Vick will have to regain his prolific early season form.
If the Birds fall out of playoff contention, and a potential 1-3 start following next Sunday's date in Denver, that appears to be a difficult road to circumnavigate, this season must be about evaluating the future of the quarterback position.
Vick had plenty of promise going into the season and lived up to those expectations for the most part through the first two games.
But after Thursday's regression, one has to wonder if the quarterback who turned the ball over 31 times in the previous two years prior to kicking off this season.
If Vick's track record is any indication, nights like Thursday are the exception rather than the rule.
Matt Lombardo is the Editor-In-Chief of Eagledelphia and also an on-air personality on 97.5 FM The Fanatic in Philadelphia. Join the conversation and follow Matt on Twitter.
