In 2003, Rush Limbaugh infamously argued that the hype surrounding Donovan McNabb at the time was partly born of a public interest in having a black quarterback succeed in the NFL.
Now, seven years later, a different black quarterback in Philadelphia is all the rage in the NFL. In just a matter of months, Michael Vick has successfully played himself from one of the most hated men in the NFL into the Pro Bowl, and even into the MVP conversation (though most observers seem to think the award will go to Tom Brady this year).
The similarity to McNabb’s situation, it seems to me, is this: Is Michael Vick truly as good as all the current hype suggests he is?
In commenting on the NFC Pro Bowl roster in my previous post, I noted that Vick, Brees, and Ryan are all going to the honorary game ahead of our Aaron Rodgers, even though Rodgers is statistically ahead of each of them in various ways.
Meanwhile, Jerome Bettis’ enthusiasm for Vick recently spilled over into a declaration that the Eagles are the best team in the entire NFC! Bettis seems to have jumped the gun a bit on that, though. Or else we have to modify his thesis… That is, the Eagles are the best team in the NFC so long as they don’t have to face the mighty Vikings with their sub-.500 record, their interim coach, and their second-string quarterback. That daunting challenge was just too much for the vaunted Vick and his soaring Eagles at home on Tuesday Night Football.
Philly lost to the Vikings by 10 points. Understand that that margin is greater than the margin by which the Packers have lost any two games this season combined!
Minnesota did two Division rivals a great favor with their astonishing, who-saw-that-coming victory. They guaranteed the Chicago Bears a first-round bye in the NFC Playoffs, which means that the Bears have less to play for when the come to Lambeau on Sunday. Indeed, the only thing they have to play for now is the remote possibility of being the #1 seed overall in the NFC, but that would require losses by the Falcons and Saints, and both of those games will be concluded by the time the Bears and Packers take the field on Sunday afternoon.
Of course, Green Bay needs to be able to beat the Bears even with a lot on the line for them, just as they did the Giants last Sunday. But, still, it’s nice to know that all the urgency will be on our side of the field for three hours late on the final Sunday of the 2010 NFL season.
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