Vick, Jaws Talk Shop

Eagles quarterbacks past and present met recently as Ron Jaworski sat down for a two-hour interview with Michael Vick at NFL Films.

ESPN aired the edited-down half-hour special Friday night for the first time.

Much of what Vick said you’ve probably heard before, but it was still an entertaining watch that Eagles fans will enjoy.

Here are some highlights:

* Much has been made about Vick needing to get back to his 2010 form this season, but the Eagles quarterback said he didn’t really understand what he was looking at until last year.

“I would say I just started to get comfortable being the complete quarterback, and this may surprise you, last year,” Vick said. “As far as understanding the game, understanding protections, even in 2010, I was kind of out there free-styling a little bit from a quarterback standpoint. You have to know everything that’s going on out there and you gotta be on point.”

* Jaws told Vick that he got hit 209 times in 13 games last season. He also reminded him that when he played in the NFL, Jaworski played in 116 straight games.

“I think it’s a mindset, and I got it ingrained in my mind now, that I have to protect myself, and I know how important it is because I heard from my teammates all day. They’re not saying ‘Good run.’ They’re saying ‘Get down,'” Vick said.

“I don’t want that to be my main focus on not getting hurt because we know you can’t play like that. But to be conscious, I can do that. That’s part of being disciplined.”

The segment then cut to a clip of Jason Peters trying to get through to Vick on the sidelines during a game, telling him to avoid big hits.

* Vick re-lived DeSean Jackson’s punt return against the Giants in 2010.

“That was a great day, that was a great day,” he said. “Pure jubilation, those are the moments we live for in the game, and that’s why we play the game, to celebrate with your teammates like that.”

* And finally, Vick continued to make it clear that he has high expectations for the Eagles in 2012.

“I think something great’s gonna happen this year,” he said.

“I feel like I can be that leader, the guy who can get everybody’s mindset ambitious on becoming one of the best teams ever. That’s the fun part, striving to be the best. I’m saying a lot, but I know that’s what it takes. You gotta believe it in order to achieve it.”

I’ll find out when ESPN is re-airing the special in case anyone here wants to check it out.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.