NFL: Can Michael Vick Be Stopped? (Part 2)
So now that the Giants and Bears know that Michael Vick and his exceptional Eagles can be stopped, the question that is on everybody’s mind is: How?
If one looks closely at the Giants versus Eagles game, which is probably what Bears coach Lovie Smith has spent the last few weeks doing, they will notice the technique that the Giants’ defense uses. They know that Vick is most comfortable when he is in
the pocket. But New York’s defensive backs forced Vick to leave the pocket from the right. Since Vick is left-handed, he would have to stop and pass the ball when leaving from the right, making it easier to tackle him.
Vick was forced to drop back from the line of scrimmage 47 times and scrambled out of the pocket eight of those times. He rolled left five times, during which he completed two of four passing attempts, got a first down, and rushed for a five yard gain. On
the opposite hand, when Vick was forced to the right, he was pushed by the Giants’ defense to run. But even then, he gained only 13 yards, did not attempt a single pass, and had no first downs.
Of course, the Bears are well prepared to play “Vindictive Vick.”
"We've got to be disciplined this week," Bears safety Danieal Manning said. "They're not going to deter from what they do, and we're not going to deter from what we do."
As far as opinions go, it would be a good idea to spot Vick with a quick linebacker such as Brian Urlacher. When the Bears appeared against Vick and his ex-team, the Atlanta Falcons, Urlacher sacked Vick three times and totaled 35 tackles.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers heeded this option, in spotting Vick with agile Derrick Brooks, who is now retired. Against the Falcons, led by Vick, the Bucs recorded five wins and four losses, with Vick throwing more than 300 yards in only one game. In the other
eight games, his passing yardage was always 161 or less. He rushed for more than 100 yards only once and in five other games against the Bucs, he never got more than 39 rushing yards.
One of Chicago’s basic defensive systems is already in place, which is believed by many to stop Vick and his extravagant Eagles. They keep their safeties deep to prevent the QB from making any big plays, and would instead have to settle for shorter passes.
However, Vick has shown that he can get around this strategy as well, seeing as 10 of Philadelphia’s points against the Giants were a result of drives that had more than 12 plays.
In the past, teams tried to stop Vick by forcing him to pass. But when he broke outside of the pocket, off he went for a TD. Now, teams are using different methods to defend the new Vick, mostly pressurizing him to scramble right and man-to-man coverage
on early downs to push Vick to make quick decisions. Well, that’s a better plan than sitting around waiting for him to make a mistake. No, it’s not a joke; teams would do this, but found it ineffective since when Vick is calm and cool, he ends up on fire.
"Yeah, Mike Vick, you can't take nothing from him," Eli Manning said before his team’s loss to the Eagles. "I'm pretty sure some of those defenders that have played him are saying, 'Man, I should've stayed in this position or that position' or saying, 'Some
of that is on me, and some of that is on Mike Vick.' So this is gonna be a good game, a great matchup. That's why [the NFL] moved it to [3:15 p.m.], too."
So the question “can Michael Vick be stopped?” still goes unanswered. However, with only six games left in the regular season, as well as another appearance against the Giants in four weeks, only time will tell. However, the answer could come sooner than
expected with the Eagles’ 4:15 PM game against the Bears on November 12.
Stay tuned!
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