The quarterback said the Eagles can’t start this season like they started last season, and the running back said the best way to do that is to make sure the quarterback can play in all of those games.
The Eagles opened the 2011 season by losing four of their first five games, and even though they closed the season by winning four straight, that sluggish start cost them the playoffs. And that’s something quarterback Michael Vick said they have to avoid at all costs.
“The last thing we want to do is start the way we did last year,’’ Vick said. “We found ourselves in a hole and tried to dig ourselves out of it week in and week out. It obviously created more pressure to perform well, and the mistakes that you make are hard to overcome when you create such a huge deficit. The thing is to start fast and that’s what we preached last year and this year. We want to get out to a great start.”
It’s been well documented that Vick has played all 16 games in a season just once in his 10 years in the NFL, and he missed almost all of this preseason with thumb and rib injuries. A lot of Vick’s injuries come when he holds the ball too long trying to make a play or takes off scrambling on his own to make one. All-Pro running back LeSean McCoy said it’s time for Vick’s teammates to ride to his rescue.
“I think we need to help him out a little more with protection issues and making plays,’’ McCoy said. “We need to use the playmaker abilities that we all have in this offense and make it easier on Mike. We don’t need Mike to make a million plays by running or trying to make a play out of something and getting banged up. I feel like we have enough great players in this locker room, especially on the offense, to make plays. I think we are fast enough and talented enough.”
Back to the past: The Eagles know the Browns will rely on rookie running back Trent Richardson on Sunday. After all, Cleveland moved up to take him with the third overall draft pick and the Browns have to protect rookie quarterback Brandon Weedon, so it makes sense to give the ball to the franchise back as much as possible.
But Richardson didn’t play at all in the preseason, so the Eagles have no game film of him in a Browns uniform to help them prepare for Sunday’s game. However, there’s plenty of film of Richardson in an Alabama uniform, and Eagles coach Andy Reid said Juan Castillo, his defensive coordinator, has been watching those old Crimson Tide tapes to scout Richardson.
“(Castillo) has gone back and looked at the college stuff and made sure that he’s got a good feel on what they did there,’’ Reid said. “It’s a little different scheme, but he’s taken a peek at it. (Richardson) is a good football player, and we know that and so we’ve got to be ready for him. He’s very tough and quick and strong and everything. He’s a good running back.”
Brown vs. Browns: Look for rookie running back Bryce Brown to play a lot more than expected in Cleveland on Sunday. Dion Lewis, the nominal No. 2 back, is listed as questionable with a sore hamstring and Brown, who was impressive in the preseason and is a bigger, stronger runner than Lewis, might have been ahead of him anyway.
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Philadelphia Eagles from blogger Kevin Noonan, follow @CBSSportsNFLPHI.
