Vick_hat
Hey, a twofer!

The Eagles hinted today that Michael Vick could still play on Sunday. Trainer Rick Burkholder said an MRI on Vick’s neck came back negative and his baseline concussion tests are close to where they should be. Howard Eskin adds more: 

As I tweeted and reported on dan patrick show this morning it looks like vick will play on sunday. Independant test is last hurdle. Practice probably Friday.

 

We’re looking good here. Then again, for all we know, Mike Kafka may be pouring over his playbook like a strung-out college student because he's been told he's likely going to start on Sunday. Or fake Vince Young is preparing to suit up. Somewhere, John Gonzalez wishes he could write about this.

In other – somewhat hilarious – news, the NFL issued a statement in response to the Giants’ fake injuries on Monday night:

Rich Eisen, who presumably stopped looking at archived photos of his “rhyming vixen,” Alycia Lane, just long enough to update us, passes along the NFL's statement on his Facebook page:

Clubs are reminded of the following league policy which is stated in a Supplemental Note to Rule 4 (Game Timing), Section 5, Article 4, on page 19 of the Official Playing Rules:

“The Competition Committee deprecates feigning injuries, with subsequent withdrawal, to obtain a timeout without penalty. Coaches are urged to cooperate in discouraging this practice.”

The Competition Committee has reviewed this issue several times, but has been reluctant to propose a specific rule, since assessing a charged timeout for every injury timeout would deprive a team of timeouts for strategic purposes. It also could encourage injured players to remain in the game at risk to themselves to avoid incurring a charged team timeout. To avoid the necessity of a rule with many unattractive qualities, teams are strongly urged to cooperate with this policy. We have been fortunate that teams and players have consistently complied with the spirit of the rule over the years and this has not been an issue for the NFL. We are determined to take all necessary steps to ensure that it does not become an issue.

Going forward, be advised that should the league office determine that there is reasonable cause, all those suspected of being involved in faking injuries will be summoned promptly to this office in New York to discuss the matter. Those found to be violators will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action for conduct detrimental to the game. Discipline could include fines of coaches, players, and clubs, suspensions or forfeiture of draft choices.

 

Basically, don’t be soccer players. 

H/T to (@rosenhayn)