A gutsy move in Philly

Congratulations to the Philadelphia Eagles for having enough, well, you know, to sign quarterback Michael Vick.

Vick spoke to the press and the public on Friday and said he will do everything in his power to get back to where he once was. He has also said several times, including during an interview that will air tonight on CBS-9 on 60 Minutes, how sorry he is for what he did and how wrong he was.

This move gives quarterback Donovan McNabb another weapon on the field to use. Vick has not been signed to sit on the bench. He will be eased into the Eagles' lineup and could very well be on the field along with McNabb at the same time.

And if McNabb goes down, Vick is there as a backup. However, with the signing of Vick, it gives Philadelphia five quarterbacks.

Along with McNabb and Vick is last year's backup, Kevin Kolb, as well as A.J. Feeley and Temple rookie Adam DiMichele.

DiMichele should try and stay as far away from The Turk as he possibly can. There is going to be a colored piece of paper hanging in his locker very soon.

There are those who believe Vick should not be allowed to return to the NFL. In all honesty, those people are wrong.

It has been said here before and here it is again: Vick has paid his debt to society and after a two-to-six game suspension from the league, he will have paid his debt to the NFL.

No, it won't bring the dogs back that died during his dogfighting days, but there are players throughout the professional world who have done worse and are still playing today, or have retired after suffering no setbacks whatsoever for their actions.

One thing to watch for this season with the Eagles is the fact they travel to Atlanta this season to face the Falcons, Vick's former team, on Sunday, Dec. 6, well past the time he will be sus-pended.

So again, congratulations to Vicks and the Eagles. Now that he has the ball, let's see what he does with it.

No carries

The Washington Redskins played their first preseason game of the season Thursday night in Baltimore against the Ravens and were handed a 23-0 loss.

And during all of this, where was Clinton Portis?

Once again, the Redskins played a preseason game and the prima donna running back chose to sit it out. He boasts about being a team leader, yet when games are played that don't count, he feels it's OK to stand on the sideline and watch while other teammates sweat and bleed in the same preseason game that doesn't count.

OK, I hear you yelling at the newspaper or the computer screen, "Well, what if he gets hurt? What then?"

He was given the night off along with Santana Moss and Randy Thomas. However, it was the first time the first-team offense could go against someone other than its teammates, and the Red-skins' offense sputtered.

And was he really given the night off? His past doesn't speak highly of him when it comes to actually playing during the preseason. Remember, he did compare himself to LaDainian Tomlinson; LT didn't play in preseason games, so why should he?

Well, because even with LT having a down season, Portis is still no LT. And, to be honest, it doesn't matter who the player is. They should play at least a series during the preseason game because the player owes it to the fans who pay those huge ticket prices just to go watch rookies knock heads. But that is a different column.

I could just see John Riggins telling someone he didn't want to play. That man wanted to run over the ticket holders at the gate. Portis just doesn't have the same love for the game.

Overall, the Redskins compiled 197 yards of offense and only 11 first downs, while the Ravens offense blasted the Washington defense for 500 yards, including 408 through the air.

Washington's offense also turned the ball over twice.

Saturday night, the Redskins will play host to the Pittsburgh Steelers in their second preseason game.

Hopefully Portis will care enough about the fans to at least take a couple of handoffs.

Jeff Christian is a freelance columnist and his column appears each Sunday in The News & Messenger. He can be reached at christianjeff@rocketmail.com.