Eagles' Vick tells brother: No more tweets

Michael Vick had a "serious heart-to-heart conversation" with his brother about Marcus Vick's tweets during the Eagles loss to the New Orleans Saints on Monday. The tweets included a trade demand and criticism of the Eagles' offensive line.

Vick emphasized Wednesday that he speaks for himself. He said that Marcus would "never do it again," and that he told him to turn off Twitter.

"I'm in a full-fledged football game. I'm out there battling," Vick said. "I don't know what's going on [on Twitter]. But we definitely had that corrected."

Vick can ably navigate the controversial tweets from his brother. It will be more difficult to rescue the Eagles from their current plight, with a four-game losing streak dropping them to 3-5 and their postseason chances appearing slim.

Last week, Vick was defending his job. This week, he's trying to defend his team.

"We're going to catch a break sooner or later," Vick said. "This week has to be the week. So, [you've] just got to have a never-give-up attitude and keep pressing forward. The minute you stop doing that is the minute you can pack it up."

The patchwork offensive line will likely force Vick to alter his game. So much of what the Eagles do is predicated on big plays. But with little time and the need to release the ball quickly, those will be more difficult for Vick to develop.

The most impressive thing about Vick might be that he has avoided injury. That's not just because he's injury-prone but rather because he has been hit so often. Vick has been sacked 27 times this season, including seven in Monday's loss.

"It's not the funnest thing in the world to get hit over and over and over again, but I just keep getting up," Vick said. "The thing that I have to do is my job and the way I've always played is just to keep going, keep playing, keep fighting."

Vick was sore Tuesday, when he used the day off to go to Atlantic City to help victims of Hurricane Sandy. He considered it something he "needed to do" before returning to practice Wednesday and preparing for the Cowboys.

Vick's best games in 2011 came against the Cowboys. He completed 65 percent of his passes while accumulating 572 passing yards and four touchdowns without an interception. His familiarity with the Cowboys can be beneficial, although his lack of protection might be painful.

"We're still 1-0 in the division, and we've still got a shot," Vick said. "It's time to figure out what needs to be done to win this game, and we're going to need everybody's participation in this one. It's going to be big."