Circus Maximus in Philadelphia

VS

It looks like Donovan McNabb’s ribcage is bowing out of Sunday’s contest against the Chiefs. That means this season’s biggest off-field drama is about to go center stage in the personage of one Michael Vick. Now the powers that be are insisting the nod is going to Kevin Kolb. You’ve heard of Kevin Kolb right? He likes quiet walks along the beach, fine wine, smooth jazz and throwing the ball to the Saints of New Orleans. Vick has been the talk of the league since August 14^th, Vick is finished his suspension, Vick is the greatest quarterback alive or dead… well, you get the picture, Vick will be getting minutes this Sunday.

This whole thing couldn’t be more Hollywood if Andy Ried were coked-out on the sidelines reverse cowboying “Swoop”. Ron Mexico, having crawled his way back from perdition, gets his first regular season start in front of his adopted home crowd after Kolb throws yet another pick. He leads his team down the field and to victory, looking over to a teary-eyed Tony Dungee and mouthing “I’m Okay” from the shoulders of his teammates. You can bet Jeff Lurie wants to see his pet project walk the walk. He produced this movie not without some hassle and now that all NFL eyes are on his team he wants his Oscar.

All the writing is on the wall. Ried hasn’t been working the Wildcat offence because he has a crush on the Dolphins, he did it because the pivot his team got on the cheap is as good at running as he is at throwing. Who knows, seeing Vick get knocked around a bit fighting for yards might even make the SPCA crack a smile while they burn a cross outside Lincoln Financial Field.

On the other side of the coin Kansas City is looking at a long season of being the team that loses every game of significance to their opponent's heroics. Quick, can you name the team whose quarterback Rudy sacked at the end of the movie? You can? Fuck off. I'm looking for the Eagles to win a squeaker, a field goal on a late rally. The whole football world will be abuzz for as long as it takes for one of the Manning brothers to do something awesome. Pop some corn and get comfy, this one's going to be enjoyable. Fido, you might want to look away.