DownSwinging.com

When Tom Brady finally stepped on the field Thursday night, his recovery from season-ending knee surgery was no longer the top story of the NFL preseason. Instead, the signing of a former first overall pick and Pro Bowl quarterback who could completely alter the outlook of the league this season had taken its place. On August 14, Michael Vick signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, ending a thirty-two month absence from the NFL. Vick, 27, signed a one-year deal worth $1.6 million with a team option for a second year. He can be fully reinstated on October 18 for the Eagles’ week six game against the Oakland Raiders. He will miss the Eagles’ first five regular season games, but will return a week before a crucial stretch of games in which the Eagles will face each of their NFC East rivals.

All is well in the City of Brotherly Love – for now anyway. And, speaking of brotherly love, Donovan McNabb apparently had a large part in convincing Andy Reid and the Eagles management to sign Vick. This sounds eerily familiar. Do you remember when McNabb last pleaded with the Eagles to bring in a superstar with questionable character? Do you remember how that worked out? The last thing Eagles fans need is for Michael Vick to be the second coming of Terrell Owens. But Vick inherits an entirely different situation in Philadelphia.