Vince Young is set to get his third straight start at quarterback on Thursday night as the 4-7 Eagles take on the 4-7 Seattle Seahawks. Both teams are virtually, if not mathematically, out of the playoff hunt and playing for pride and the future.
Michael Vick is still recovering from broken ribs, so Young took all of the first team snaps on Tuesday, which is the only practice day they will have since they need to fly cross country for the Thursday game.
Vick did take the next step in his rehab, doing some light throwing to receivers before practice today, and will have 10 days after Thursday’s game before the Eagles suit up again.
Young has given the Eagles offense a shot in the arm, throwing for 658 yards in two games, with 3 TDs and 4 INTs, including a 400 yard performance against the New England Patriots on Sunday.
Plus, the Eagles still possess the second best rushing attack in the league, averaging 159.4 yards per game behind LeSean McCoy’s 1050 yards rushing, and gaudy 5.3 yards per carry and 11 TDs.
The Eagles defense looked solid against the New York Giants two weeks ago, limiting the Eli Manning-led offense to 10 points and 278 total yards. They were shredded by Tom Brady and the Patriots last week, but the Seahawks certainly aren’t the Patriots.
The Seahawks possess the league’s 30th ranked offense, averaging only 294 yards per game, and only 16.8 points per game. The defense is a bit more solid, ranked 15th in scoring defense giving up 21.1 points per game.
Still the Seahawks look overmatched to an Eagles team that is better than their record. And although the playoffs look out of reach, the Eagles will still try to run the table for pride.
“It’s not that tough [to stay motivated],” Young said. “I mean, you saw the (New York) Giants go down last night, you know those types of things. So all we have to do is just take care of our responsibilities.”
“I tell all of the guys that I’ve been in this situation before. You know, 0-6 and we ended the season just a game short of [making] the playoffs. And then, the one year we did go. So we just have to continue to keep working and worry about ourselves and not worry about anyone else.”
Plus, Young has another incentive. He is under a one year contract with the Eagles, and once Vick is fully healthy, Young will likely find his way to the bench again. This may be his last game to show the rest of the league that he is worthy of starting somewhere next season. And given some of the injuries and some of the struggling starters, Young is certainly worthy of a shot to lead a team.
