By John McMullen
Philadelphia, PA (The Phanatic Magazine) - Pretty big signing in Philly on Thursday and I'm not talking about Primoz Brezec.
The Eagles. the team that stands for all that's good and right in the world, shocked the football world by coming out of nowhere to sign dog-killer Michael Vick to a one-year deal with a team option.
Rumors were swirling earlier in the day that the former Falcons quarterback would be exiled to the NFL's version of Siberia (Buffalo) to join ex-Eagles malcontent Terrell Owens. Instead, the team that has an unofficial Mormon quotient and has already jettisoned two players for animal cruelty, turned tail and signed the most reviled player in sports.
Armed with the mantra of "everybody deserves a second chance," Jeffrey Lurie, Joe Banner and Andy Reid disseminated talking points to their very own state-run media and went into full spin mode.
"I'm a believer that as long as people go through the right process, they deserve a second chance," Reid said after the Eagles dropped their preseason opener to the New England Patriots. "Michael has done that. I've done a tremendous amount of homework on this, and I've followed his progress."
Reid even went to the card he's never played, his personal life. The father of two heroin-addicted sons, who both spent time in prison, Reid compared Vick to them.
"I've seen people close to me who have had second chances and taken advantage of those," Reid said. "It’s very important that people give them opportunities to prove that they can change, so we're doing that with Michael."
I'm sure Garrett and Brit Reid were thrilled.
The problem with all that is Vick isn't on his second chance.
His apologists have been throwing out the name Donte' Stallworth ad nauseam in recent days, complaining that poor ole' Ron Mexico had to spend 19 months in prison while Stallworth did a hop, skip and a jump in the big house for killing a human being. Valid point right?
Not so fast. Stallworth's indiscretion, while horrible, was a one-time thing. Vick killed dozens of dogs. The former Pro-Bowler wasn't a weak-willed guy, succumbing to peer pressure on one occasion, He had numerous opportunities to flash a moral compass and chose not too.
Vick hanged dogs from trees, electrocuted them with jumper cables, held them underwater until they drowned in his swimming pool, and even threw his own family dogs into the fighting pit.
Anyone really think Stallworth will be welcomed back to the NFL if drinks, drives and kills again on his suspension?
Ludicrous.
To make matters even worse, the signing makes little sense on the field.
Despite his fawning last night, Donovan McNabb, the most sensitive big-time quarterback in the game, will quickly tire of Vick's presence.
Even during solid seasons, DMac always goes through a poor stretch where he spends a week or two throwing ground balls to his receivers. In the past, struggles like that have had Eagles fans clamoring for A.J. Feeley and Kevin Kolb.
Now, there is actually an option with talent.
No matter how you look at this, this can't end well.
The Eagles didn't have an extra $2 million laying around to re-sign a first-class citizen like Brian Dawkins, and they didn't have the wherewithal to give a handicapped usher a second-chance after he criticized the organization by blogging about it.
Now they have money and are preaching like a phony evangelist.
Ladies, stock up on Valtrex...
Guys, hide your dogs...
Michael Vick is here.
-You can reach John McMullen at jmcmullen@phanaticmag.com
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