Donovan McNabb Defends Michael Vick, Thinks Other Players' Jobs Should Be on the Line

Donovan McNabb Defends Michael Vick, Thinks Other Players’ Jobs Should Be on the Line

by Ricky Doyle on Tue, Oct 30, 2012 at 9:38AM

Donovan McNabb knows a thing or two about playing through a quarterback controversy, so he understands that rampant speculation about Michael Vick potentially getting benched could impact the Eagles quarterback.

“You have to focus on your job, and if you focus on your job you block everything out,” McNabb said on Tuesday’s NFL AM.

“I think you get in a situation where once you start hearing the boos and hearing the radio stations talk and people on the outside begin to bring your name up of being benched then you begin to lose focus and now your play begins to fall and you begin to focus on other things. … I think it’s important for [Vick] to feed off of what he did last week, not turning the ball over, protect the football, give his guys an opportunity to make plays for him and good things can happen.”

Reports indicate that Eagles coach Andy Reid isn’t ready to bench Vick just yet, but the idea is out there. If the Eagles were to bench Vick, it would be rookie Nick Foles who got the nod.

Vick has certainly had a disappointing season. Not only has he lacked the playmaking ability he’s shown in the past, but he has also turned the ball over all too often for the — again — underachieving Eagles. McNabb, whose QB play was also questioned during the final years of his career, thinks Vick is shouldering too much of the blame, though.

“What if the offense goes out and scores 24 points, but the defense gives up 42 points?” McNabb said. “Now do we go back to the benching and talk about Foles again or is this another situation where we begin to start mentioning some of the defensive players that need to be benched? Maybe the offensive line needs to be benched. There’s other people that need to be in this situation besides Michael Vick.”

McNabb certainly has a point. Vick has been beat up time and time again this season, which has limited his ability to stand in the pocket and make plays. It’s usually easier to point to one guy when things go off the tracks, though. Just ask Juan Castillo.