PHILADELPHIA - The last time the Eagles faced the Baltimore Ravens four years ago, Eagles coach Andy Reid made the shocking decision to bench struggling starting quarterback Donovan McNabb at halftime in favor of Kevin Kolb.
If Michael Vick gets off to a rough start on Sunday, Reid will be under pressure from fans to insert rookie Nick Foles.
Don't count on it happening, however. Despite Vick's four-interception performance at Cleveland, Reid saw enough good things between the mistakes to keep Vick in the lineup for the foreseeable future.
Reid was most encouraged about the end of the game. Vick capped a 91-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Clay Harbor in the final two minutes to help clinch a 17-16 victory over the Browns.
"He finished strong, the way a great player finishes," Reid said Wednesday. "You see it all the time in basketball with shooters. The great shooters, even if they're having an off-day, they keep firing. That's what Michael did. He kept firing. You didn't see him hesitant at the end of that game when everything was on the line. He continued to fire and it worked out well for him. He's a great player and he's just going to continue to get better."
There were some bright spots in Vick's outing. He threw for 317 yards and threw two touchdown passes. But he also threw four ugly interceptions. Some were poor reads, some were poor decisions and others were caused by trying to do too much.
No one was a harsher critic of Vick's performance than Vick himself. Upon watching the game film on Monday, he reported to practice Wednesday vowing to cut down on the careless mistakes.
"The thing is, nobody really has to motivate me because I motivate myself," Vick said Wednesday. "I watch the film. I'm the one who lived it. everybody else just watched it from afar and is speculating about what they think. (The criticism) is just people going off what they see. I'm the one that's got to deal with it and go out there and make it right."
EXTRA POINTS: Reid explained the decision to cut second-round draft pick Jaiquawn Jarrett as case of a safety just not fitting the Eagles' defensive system.
"I have a lot of respect for the kid," Reid said. "I know he is going to end up hooking on with a team [that] probably plays a little bit more of his style in the secondary. I know he’ll do a great job. The kid is all class and I’ve said this before, this part is the toughest part about this business. He’s top notch."
