It's been over a week since the Eagles last played a football game - and it has seemed like forever.
Come Sunday night, the team will have had 10 full days of rest to heal the aches and pains that come naturally three months into a football season. Michael Vick, who has battled through some tough hits in recent weeks, was more than happy to give his body a little extra time before the Eagles take the field against Dallas.
"The extra time really helped," Vick said. "I feel fresh, I feel good and I'm 100 percent. I'm just ready to go play some football. This is what it's all about. Playing in December in a tough stretch, we'll find out a lot about ourselves."
That tough stretch starts Sunday night against the Cowboys in Arlington, Tx. The Eagles need not be reminded of how the season ended last year – they remember just fine. But to a man, each player in the Eagles locker room has stressed the importance of Sunday's game in the context of *this *season, not to seek vengeance for last year's shortcomings.
Vick said Friday that the team has a good game plan in place, and they're ready for what will surely be a hard-fought game with much on the line.
"I think after a week of preparation, this team is ready to go," Vick said. "We're confident, but we know it's going to be a football game. We know it's going to be tough in a tough environment, but that's what it's all about."
Even with all of Michael Vick's personal success during his six-year stint in Atlanta, the Falcons were only twice in the midst of a serious playoff run with Vick as their starting quarterback. Now in Philadelphia, the nine-year veteran is enjoying every moment as the Eagles enter the home stretch of the regular season.
"When you're young this is what you dream about as a kid," Vick said Friday. "Having the opportunity to fight for a playoff position, playing in December down the stretch when it's cold, that's good football weather. It's just like when you're young playing in the backyard when it's cold. You always dreamed of having these opportunities and now you're living it … it's just a dream come true and I'm going to cherish it."
-- Posted by Josh Goldman, 3:35 p.m., December 10
