Vick: ‘I Let It Get To Me’

Yes, all the speculation was getting to Michael Vick.

“I’m human. It does tend to bother you because I have emotions just like everybody else. It’s not like you can just block certain things out sometimes,” said Vick. “You want to have that comfort level, you want to know everything is going to be what it’s is going to be at the end of the day. When you have that type of support, it’s easy to go out and make it all work. I kind of let it get to me, to be honest. But now it’s a totally different feel for me and I’m ready to go.”

There were some mixed signals being sent from the NovaCare Complex Thursday, a day after the Eagles sent out a text message to confirm that Vick was still the starter. Andy Reid said “that wasn’t my intent, not at all” when asked if he was thinking of making a change at quarterback. Vick said he and Reid had a talk, but the conversation did not include the coach telling the QB that he was still the starter.

“Honestly, I never heard about me not being a starter, so it wasn’t news that I got,” said Vick.

Yet Vick referenced not feeling the necessary level of support, and now feels totally different.

And he plans to play different. More like his old self.

A reporter brought up DeSean Jackson‘s recent comments about how the quarterback did not seem comfortable running the offense this year. This is how Vick responded:

“I’m very comfortable running the offense. When certain things are going on, I’m only human just like everybody else, so I think I was just trying to cater to certain things and be what everybody wanted me to be. The most important thing is I just have to let it go. I got to get my swag back, I have to get back to playing football the way I love to play it, and not worry about what’s going to happen because that is out of my control. The only thing I can control is the way I play and how aggressive I can be.”

Vick was later asked to clarify: was he worried about job security and therefor playing too fine?

“Honestly, not really worried about job security because when I’m out there I’m giving it everything I’ve got. More so, trying to protect the football, trying not to make a mistake; and that’s not me, I’ve got to be honest with you. I’ve got to play light’s out. I’ve got to leave it on the field and play aggressive and shoot it and run the ball when I feel there’s a need to. If I get a seam, get a crack, take it. Just do what I’ve been born to do, what I’m blessed to do, and take advantage of my God-given abilities in conjunction with playing with everybody else because I can’t do it by myself.”

That sounds like the old Michael Vick. Going back to Atlanta and Virginia Tech, is that right?

“Yep, ready to go man. Putting the shield back on my helmet. It’s time to play ball.”

Vick led a players-only meeting on Wednesday. Nine or ten guys spoke, according to the quarterback, as the Eagles try to stop the bleeding and make something out of this season.

“It was very productive,” he said. “We keep those conversations private but at the same time we all had to reevaluate our situation, look ourselves in the mirror and figure out what can we do better individually and collectively.”