Michael Vick was named The Associated Press NFL Comeback Player of the Year on Saturday night. He is the first Eagle to ever win the award.
Vick was signed by the Eagles in 2009 after missing two seasons due to the prison term he served for his role in a dogfighting operation. A role player in 2009, Vick was not expected to be the starter for the Eagles in 2010.
In the season opener against the Green Bay Packers, starter Kevin Kolb suffered a concussion and was replaced by Vick who played brilliantly in the second half of that game as well as the following week in the win over Detroit. Head coach Andy Reid promptly named Vick the starter for the remainder of the season and Vick led the Eagles to their first NFC East Division title since 2006.
A three-time Pro Bowl quarterback prior to his imprisonment, Vick was voted the starter for the NFC Pro Bowl squad by the fans, players and coaches after setting new career highs in passing yards, passing touchdowns, passer rating, rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns.
Vick is only the second player in NFL history to throw for 3,000 yards, rush for 500 yards and post a passer rating of 100-or-more in a season. The other was Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young. In the historic Monday night win over the Redskins on November 15, Vick became the first player ever to throw for 300 yards, rush for 50 yards, throw four touchdowns and run for two touchdowns in the same game.
Shortly after being named the starting quarterback, Vick was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Month for the first time in his career. Vick also earned three NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors this season, including back-to-back triumphs for the wins over the Colts and the aforementioned win over the Redskins.
Since the season ended, Vick was named the NFL's Player of the Year by the Maxwell Club. Vick has also been named the Comeback Player of the Year by The Sporting News, Pro Football Weekly and the NFL Players Pulse Awards. Earlier this week, Vick finished second to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year vote.
On Sunday, the AP NFL Most Valuable Player will be named and Vick is one of the candidates for the award. Vick finished second in the MVP vote in 2004 and received a vote for the award in 2002. The only Eagle to ever win the AP NFL MVP award was quarterback Norm Van Brocklin in 1960.
-- Posted by Chris McPherson, 7:00 p.m., February 5
