Vick probably playing for franchise tag

Three weeks ago, after Michael Vick performed his amazing fourth-quarter magic against the Giants, after he brought the Eagles back from 21 points down in the final 8 minutes, everybody couldn't wait to spend Jeff Lurie's money for him. Everybody couldn't wait to make the bankrupt Vick a rich man again.

From the bricklayer in South Philly to the lawyer on the Main Line, the message was loud and clear: Re-sign Mike. The sooner the better. The longer the better. Put enough zeroes on the end of an offer to him to get a deal done. Don't blow this one like you blew it with Brian Dawkins 2 years ago.

Truth is, Vick probably isn't going to be getting a long-term deal from the Eagles any time real soon. For starters, nothing is going to happen until the owners and players shake hands on a new labor deal, which won't be tomorrow, won't be next month and might not be until next fall.

But let's make a few assumptions here. First, let's assume the Eagles are going to lose Sunday. Let's also assume Vick is going to play closer to the way he did against the Vikings 2 weeks ago than the way he did in the fourth quarter of that Giants game.

Let's also assume that the owners and players will somehow figure out a way to split their $9 billion-a-year pot of gold before the collective bargaining agreement expires on March 3.

All that being the case, what likely will then happen is the Eagles will place the franchise tag on Vick, which would keep him in Philadelphia for the 2011 season. After that, well, hey, let's do lunch sometime.

The Eagles are tickled to death by what Vick has done this season. He pretty much saved their season. He's the reason they still are playing football.

They've been impressed by his development as a quarterback. They've been impressed by the hard work he's put in in the weight room, the gym and the film room. They've been impressed by his leadership skills, which are head and shoulders above Donovan McNabb's. And they've been impressed by his personal reformation.

But they're not impressed enough right now to make a big-money, long-term commitment to him. They want him back next season and are willing to pay him the expected $20 million franchise salary. But they also want to keep their long-term options open right now in case the rest of the league has come up with the same blitz-the-hell-out-of-him Vick Antidote that the Vikings used 2 weeks ago. Of course, that could all change if the Eagles win on Sunday and Vick leads them to the Super Bowl.

"There has been an evolution in the way defenses have played him," one league personnel man said. "Initially, they played a lot of zone with people looking back at him. Now, there's been a clear change to pressure and making him play out of structure.

"Make him be a random player. Live with a few great plays, because he'll make them. But make him, make that whole offense, play outside of structure. Because you can't practice that. The Giants, even though they lost both games, did that exceptionally well.

"People talk about whether there is a blueprint [for playing] against Vick. No, there's not. The blueprint is pressure. Teams clearly want him to play outside of structure. And ultimately, in the NFL, you can't play outside of structure on either side of the ball."

Vick has had a career season. His passer rating is 20 points above his career average. He's got a career-best touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio and a career-best completion percentage and yards-per-attempt average.

But defenses clearly are catching up to him. In mid-November, he had a league-best 115.1 passer rating. Didn't throw an interception in 200-plus passes.

In the last six games, though, his numbers have come down to earth. An 89.7 passer rating. Ten touchdowns, but also six interceptions in his last 161 pass attempts. Nine fumbles.

The Minnesota game was disconcerting because Vick was slow recognizing the blitz. And even on those rare occasions when he had adequate protection, he was back to playing street ball, abandoning the pocket and not keeping his eyes downfield like he had been doing earlier in the year.

"When he doesn't throw the ball well," an NFC coach said, "he's just Michael Vick. He's just a run-around guy. When he ducked under Deon Grant in the Giants game, that was the same play as Antoine Winfield sacking him and causing that fumble in the Vikings game. The difference was, Grant missed him, Winfield didn't.

"Improvisational plays. Sometimes they end positively, sometimes they end negatively. But you can't rely on that."

KEEPING PARKER FRESH

Juqua Parker isn't built to be an every-down defensive lineman. He's 6-2 and maybe 250 if he's wearing army boots when they weigh him.

But an every-down defensive lineman is pretty much what he's been for the Eagles the last 3 years.

That was supposed to change this season after the Eagles drafted Brandon Graham in the first round. But Graham played like, well, like a rookie, and then tore up a knee last month, and Parker pretty much has been taking the lion's share of snaps at left end for most of the season.

The problem with playing a 6-2, 250-pounder every down is that he's going to wear down as the season goes along, and that's what keeps happening to Parker. He's registered 30 sacks with the Eagles the last five seasons. Twenty of them have come in Games 1-8. Only 10 have come in the second half of the season.

He has six sacks this season, including four in the first eight games. Bothered by a hip injury that sidelined him for two games, and getting a much-needed rest last week, Parker has just two sacks and one hurry in the five games he's played in the second half of the season.

"The early part of the season, we have a number [of snaps for Parker], and it's always a little bit lower as he builds that stamina," defensive coordinator Sean McDermott said. "And then, as we get to the latter half of the season, we raise and lower it based off of need.

"Right now, we're in a one-game season. So that number may go up based off of need. But that said, we need to make sure we keep him fresh for those critical situations in a game where we do need him out there and need him out there to produce."

If Graham still were healthy, that wouldn't be a problem. McDermott could rotate the two of them like he did earlier in the season. With Graham out, his options are limited.

Darryl Tapp would seem to be the best bet. But he's been used mainly as an interior rusher in the Eagles' nickel package and has seldom been used at left end. The other two options are rookie Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, who has been inactive for 10 of 16 games this season, and veteran Bobby McCray, signed just last week.

"We're going to roll every guy we have out there," McDermott said. "We're going to roll Darryl in there. We're going to roll Daniel in there. Maybe Bobby as well. So, we have some guys to throw in there to keep those other guys fresh for the critical situations in the game."

2-MINUTE DRILL

FROM THE LIP

-- "The grass isn't always greener on the other side, but it wasn't pretty green on this side either." - Vikings QB Tarvaris Jackson on the possibility of playing for another team next season

-- "I probably won't coach again. I really know what it takes to coach - the time necessary, the emotion - to do it correctly. Unless I was 100 percent sure I wanted to commit, I don't think you're being fair to anybody." - Browns president Mike Holmgren on decision not to return to coaching after firing Eric Mangini

-- "Things happen for a reason. I tried my best to win a Super Bowl for them. I tried my hardest, I really did. I just wish Coach Fisher would have trusted me a little bit more. That was the only issue there. In the 5 years I was there, I feel like he was continuing to treat me like I was a young man when I'd really grown up a whole lot." -

QB Vince Young on being told by the Titans they don't want him back

BY THE NUMBERS

-- In the last six games, the Eagles have allowed 4.4 yards per carry on first and second down. In the previous six games, they allowed just 3.4.

-- Time of possession has been a more significant statistic for the Packers this season than the Eagles. In the eight games in which they won the time-of-possession battle this season, the Packers were 6-2 and averaged 32.5 points per game. In the eight they lost it, they were 4-4 and averaged 16.0. The Eagles, meanwhile, averaged 28.1 points per game in the 11 games they won the time-of-possession battle (7-4 record), and 26.0 in the five they lost it (3-2).

-- The Eagles finished 29th in the league in time of possession last season (28:15). This year, they finished 9th (31:15). Twenty-two of the Eagles' 46 touchdown drives (47.8 percent) have been seven plays or more. Last year, just 14 of 41 (34.1) were seven plays or more.

-- The Packers won two games this season when they scored 10 points or less - a 9-0 win over the Jets, and last week's 10-3 win over the Bears. The last time that happened was 1946.

-- The Eagles have scored on their first possession in just two of the last seven games, after doing it five times in their first nine games. They've averaged 5.5 yards per first-possession play in the last seven games, 11.3 in the first nine.

-- The Eagles dropped from second to 17th in third-down defense this year. Last year, they held teams to a 33.0 conversion rate on third down (73-221). This year it jumped to 38.3 (80-209). Opponents converted 23 of 33 (69.7 percent) third-down situations of 2 yards or less against the Eagles this season. Last year, they converted just 22 of 42 (52.4).

THUMBS UP

To Bears coach Lovie Smith, who played all of his starters in last week's 10-3 loss to the Packers, even though the game became meaningless for his team earlier in the day after the Falcons' win over Carolina killed the Bears' chances of getting the NFC's No. 1 seed. He admitted the fact that the Bears have a first-round bye was a factor in his decision. But, still, he could've sat his starters and not risked injury to any of them. Instead, he played them, including quarterback Jay Cutler, and made the Packers earn their way into the playoffs. "We wanted to just keep momentum going," Smith said. "We hadn't peaked yet. We still thought there were some things we could improve upon. It was a great opportunity for us to get into the playoff mode and have a chance to play against a playoff team and see how we matched up."

Thumbs Down

To Jets owner Woody Johnson and general manager Mike Tannenbaum, who need to be held accountable for the Animal House escapades of their football team. I mean, they are supposed to be in charge, right? Foot-fetish videos involving the head coach and his wife. A sexual-harrassment lawsuit filed by two former staff masseuses against the club. The whole Jenn Sterger soap opera, which triggered a league investigation that lasted longer than the Vietnam War. Rex Ryan's Lenny Bruce imititation on HBO's "Hard Knocks." Where's Dean Wormer when you need him? Roger Goodell needs to put that whole organization on double secret probation. Better yet, take a draft pick away from them. The league's personal conduct policy is supposed to make teams accountable for the behavior of their players and coaches. Prove it.

DOMO'S RANKINGS

1. Patriots (14-2)

2. Ravens (12-4)

3. Saints (11-5)

4. Falcons (13-3)

5. Steelers (12-4)

6. Packers (10-6)

7. Bears (11-5)

8. Jets (11-5)

9. Eagles (10-6)

10. Colts (10-6)

11. Bucs (10-6)

12. Giants (10-6)

13. Chiefs (10-6)

14. Lions (6-10)

15. Raiders (8-8)

16. Chargers (9-7)

17. Seahawks (7-9)

18. Rams (7-9)

19. Jaguars (8-8)

20. Cowboys (6-10)

21. Vikings (6-10)

22. Dolphins (7-9)

23. Browns (5-11)

24. Titans (6-10)

25. Redskins (6-10)

26. Texans (6-10)

27. 49ers (6-10)

28. Bengals (4-12)

29. Bills (4-12)

30. Cardinals (5-11)

31. Broncos (4-12)

32. Panthers (2-14)