Call it a belated birthday present for Michael Vick.
The man who was given a second chance, with the explicit warning that there would be no more, is getting another one.
Vick found himself once again front and center as the Eagles rookies and selected veterans headed back to Lehigh yesterday. In the process he managed to steal the spotlight from the man who actually will quarterback the Birds this year, new starter Kevin Kolb.
The NFL cleared Vick of any wrongdoing in the shooting that followed the ill-conceived birthday party held for Vick back at a Virginia hotel that ended in a shooting. The guy who got shot was Vick’s co-defendant in the dog-fighting operation that landed him in federal prison for two years.
I have already spent some time talking about Vick, and the fissure he has created among Eagles’ fans. If you missed my print column on Monday, you can check it out here.
Yesterday Reid said Vick was really a good guy and that he had learned some things from the birthday party flap.
I’d like to know what. Clearly two years in jail did not seem to get the point across to Vick that his every move is now being watched, and that he simpy cannot put himself in any kind of circumstance that might lead to trouble. What he was thinking when he showed up at that party I have no idea.
For his part, Vick again yesterday seemed to be saying all the right things. He was contrite, saying he actually had cried when he learned of the shooting that followed the birthday bash. Vick says he knows that he is on thin ice.
But his actions continue to belie his words.
Vick – and the Eagles – continue to temp fate.
He’s been told that he will get no more chances.
Maybe this time Andy Reid and Jeff Lurie will actually mean it.
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