Vick Expects to Play Sunday

QB Michael Vick

On seeming happy to see the media: “I’m happy to see you guys, I’m not going to lie. I’m happy we’re all here today; I’m having a great day. I’m happy that I completed practice and, you know, just looking forward to a great week.”

On whether he thinks he’ll be able to play on Sunday: “Yeah, absolutely. This Sunday I’ll definitely be out there. I feel like I’ve got to be accountable for my team. I want to be there. You know, I just want to get back to doing what I love to do, and that’s playing the game of football. There’s nothing in this world like the game. I put my heart and soul into it, man, and I just wish I could have been out there the last three weeks, but it just hasn’t panned out that way. We’ve got to keep our heads up and keep moving in the right direction.”

On how it has been watching the last three weeks: “It’s been tough watching the last three weeks of football and, you know, watching our team go through their struggles the last two games. We did get a good win against the Giants. Everybody stayed upbeat, still enthused about the rest of the season and where we are. Obviously, you want to finish strong and win these last four games.”

On whether he feels a little bit of a burden as the quarterback trying to save Head Coach Andy Reid’s job over the last four weeks: “The most important thing is to go out there and have fun and play the game. I’m not concerned about Coach Reid’s situation; I think everything is going to be just fine. I mean, we had our bad breaks this year, let’s be honest and let’s be candid right now. We’ve had our bad breaks, games that we should have won, put ourselves in awesome positions to be in the ballgame and just couldn’t pull it out whether we did it on offense or defense. Honestly, I just don’t think Coach Reid had anything to do with that. We all have watched the games, we’ve all seen it, we were all a part of it, we know the reasons why we didn’t pull them out and it wasn’t coach’s fault. To hear that, it kind of upsets me, but I’m in such a good mood right now, I really won’t get in to the logistics of everything. I just know everything is going to be fine.”

On whether his ribs are 100-percent: “I won’t say they’re 100-percent, but we’ve still got a week to go, I get better each and every day. Still working hard in the treatment room to try to get better, but I went out and had a great practice and I feel good.”

On whether he wore any additional padding: “I didn’t wear anything, I just went out there.”

On what he can do to avoid being injured again after missing time with a rib injury two years in a row: “(Joking) Vitamin D is going to play an essential part in my eating regimen. I’ve just got to take care of my body. I really didn’t know I was that frail in this area. That’s two years in a row, two rib injuries, and I just can’t have that. I’ve got to be out on the football field and accountable for my team. It’s crazy because we could have been in a situation where the situation was different and, you know, it’s the end of the season, everyone’s going to the playoffs and I get hurt, so I’ve got to make sure that for the duration of the season I can keep myself healthy and throughout the rest of my career.”

On the Eagles being able to still win the NFC East: “Absolutely. That’s why we’ve got to keep our heads up high, we’ve got to keep playing hard, keep trusting and believing in one another, keep believing in our coaches and the philosophies that are being taught here, and make the most out of this. We’ve still got an opportunity after everything that we’ve been through, even though I think our situation should have been different, and we all know that, but it is what it is. We’ve still got a chance and we’re going to play it out.”

On what he saw out of the Eagles while he was injured: “Just looking at everything from afar, I just think we put ourselves in bad situations sometimes, including myself, I was a big part of it. In this league it’s all about capitalizing on opportunities, you know, when you have a short field off of an interception or off of a turnover, and we just haven’t been able to do that. I think for us, we all know what our problem is, we all know as a team, as players, that discipline is the key to winning in this league and we’ve got to be that way.”

On whether he feels that these last four weeks will test his leadership: “Absolutely, absolutely. I think these last four games are going to be vital for myself and for everybody else on this team who considers themselves to be a leader. We have to put our best foot forward and believe in what we’re doing and, like I said, our philosophy. Me, being the quarterback of this team, has to show a tremendous amount of leadership and, you know, that’s what I’ve been born and bred to do. I don’t have to think about doing it, it comes naturally.”

On whether he feels like he owes the team because they resurrected his career and invested a lot of money in him: “I don’t feel like it’s a situation where I owe anybody anything. You know, I’m just grateful to be here and I’m pretty sure they’re grateful to have me. Obviously, I wish I could have done more this year like I did last year, but that’s just not the case. The one thing I do know is that our future is bright. Like I said, we believe in ourselves, and we believe in one another, and that’s the most important thing.”