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NFL
Vick stifled in air and on ground
The Eagles defense clamps down on the Falcons quarterback, rendering Atlanta's offense inert.
Associated Press
Published January 24, 2005
PHILADELPHIA - Michael Vick ran out of dazzling plays, and the Falcons ran out of chances to save their season.
With all the pressure on him to carry Atlanta, Vick instead was mediocre. The relentless Eagles defense sacked Vick four times and shut down his running lanes, making his usual ordinary-into-spectacular bursts nonexistent.
Warrick Dunn was neutralized, too, and the Falcons' West Coast offense could do little else in a 27-10 loss Sunday to Philadelphia in the NFC Championship Game.
"We are a new football team and we're still learning this offense together," Vick said. "It's going to take time, but next year, I promise, it's going to be a better year and I'm excited about it."
There was nothing to be excited about against the Eagles.
Coming off a strong effort in a win Jan. 15 against St. Louis, Vick posted numbers nowhere near good enough to get the Falcons to a Super Bowl. Vick was 11-for-24 for 136 yards and an interception, and was held to 26 yards rushing on four carries.
Philadelphia defensive end Derrick Burgess harassed Vick mercilessly, and Vick seemed rattled while looking for receivers who were rarely open. Burgess sacked him twice, and Hollis Thomas and Jevon Kearse also had sacks for a total loss of 33 yards.
Eagles linebacker Keith Adams added seven tackles and a deflected pass.
"Nobody respected us as a defense. Give me some respect right now," Eagles safety Brian Dawkins said.
Vick was shaken up early in the first quarter when Burgess crushed him after an incomplete pass. The Eagles mixed up their defenses, using everything from a spy to putting cornerback Sheldon Brown at safety and Dawkins at linebacker. Dawkins also had an interception and leveled Alge Crumpler on a hit over the middle.
Vick had his fewest yards rushing in a full game since Week 1 against San Francisco, when he gained 10. In the season finale when he barely played against Seattle, Vick ran for 13 yards.
"They had Jevon Kearse on one end and another good defensive lineman (Burgess) on the other end keeping good containment and making sure that I didn't get outside the pocket," Vick said. "They did a great job doing it, and the coverage they played in the secondary, they didn't allow our receivers to get off blocks and get downfield."
Vick gained half of his yards rushing on one play, his only dazzling run of the game.
After an interception by Brown was wiped out on a holding penalty, Vick's legs looked as though they could again be enough to lead the Falcons. Vick dashed right, eluded Burgess and Kearse on the outside, then cut back up toward the middle for a 13-yard gain. That was about the only highlight.
"I thought we were moving the ball well, we just couldn't sustain the drives and couldn't score touchdowns," Dunn said. "In these games, you have to score touchdowns."
Against the Rams, Dunn rushed for 142 yards and Allen Rossum set a playoff record with 152 yards on punt returns. This time Dunn and T.J. Duckett did little, with Dunn running for 59 yards and a touchdown.
Vick, who led the Falcons to a playoff win two years ago in cold Green Bay, again simply couldn't win in Philadelphia, where the temperatures hovered in the teens.
Two years ago, the Falcons' surprising postseason run also ended in Philadelphia with a 20-6 loss in now-demolished Veterans Stadium. In that one, Vick threw two interceptions and the Falcons failed to score a touchdown.
Fast forward two years and Vick again had little help in pulling off the upset.
Dunn and Duckett did little other than Dunn's 10-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
[Last modified January 24, 2005, 06:36:13]
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