Michael Vick Practices Today, Plans on Playing Sunday

Michael Vick participated fully in the Eagles Thursday practice session, making it pretty clear that he plans on playing this Sunday.

The oft-injured quarterback had to have been cleared by the league's third-party, independent physician for him to attend practice and participate in all the drills.

According to the very stringent rules set in place by the NFL once concussions became a clear problem for NFL players, Vick would not have been allowed to do any drills if the physician didn't give him the go ahead.

This must mean that all systems are go for Vick this weekend for Philly's home opener against the New York Giants. Barring any sort of setback (which is always a concern) where Vick experiences headaches or dizziness in the hours and days after practice, it looks like he's a definite for this week. (That sounds you hear is a million fantasy owners sighing in relief.)

As usual, when a player is coming back from a concussion, and even a minor concussion like the one Vick apparently had, the question remains if this is really all that safe.

Given the way Vick plays the game, he's going to take at least one big shot each game (and usually many more.) He's not Tom Brady. I know it probably makes no sense to treat one player differently from another, but when the player is Michael Vick, and you know he's definitely going to take a few shots over the course of the game, does it make more sense to be a little more cautious with him?

Mike Kafka did a stand-up job in his place and it seems like the Eagles might be better off sitting Vick for one more week against the lowly Giants. Sure, New York beat the Rams on Monday night, but anyone who saw that game knows that the Giants are not a good football team. The Eagles need Vick for the long haul. And losing him for one more game, as opposed to 14 seems to make more sense right now.