The Eagle Vick has landed -- and so has Favre

By Rick Morris

What a freaking circus the silly season of sports has devolved into just as it is coming to a close. First Michael Vick signs with Philly of all teams and now Brett Favre is in Minnesota after all.

Vick is in an interesting spot, potentially furnishing gadget-player contributions while backing up Don McNabb. The team has long refused to pair up Brian Westbrook with a legit move-the-chains back and has shunned the classic #1 WR (aside from the brief TO interlude), so they tend to approach their offense in an unconventional manner anyway. The sense here is that the commissioner got the punishment right; it's not double jeopardy to look for more justice than the legal system handed out (notwithstanding the tired "one love" card that so many talk show callers play, without having the guts to spell out the only reason they are supporting him blindly), but he didn't go overboard either. Given Tony Dungy's elite moral stature, his willingness to vouch for Vick is very noteworthy indeed.

And as for good old #4 ... the determination to skip some of the dog days at training camp at any cost are not going to endear him to the Vikes any more than the Jets. For reasons that cannot be comprehended, he almost seems determined to take all of the respect he earned from fans over the last two decades and shove it back in our faces. He's got to have the year of his life in order to keep his sad, late-career, will-he-or-won't-he garbage to keep from being the first line in his obituary instead of his gutty and skilled on-field performances. Minnesota just moved up in the NFC playoff hunt, and maybe close to the front of the pack, but it's ludicrous to make them the favorites at this point. Looking at what happened to Eric Mangini when the Jets crumbled, it's got to be enough to make Brad Childress wonder if he's going to be taking his "To Catch a Predator" mustache to a less favorable locale in 2010.