Vick wonders where the flags are

Michael Vick is tired of guys hitting him late, and hes tired of guys getting away with it.

Vick lashed out at the NFLs officials Sunday night after he suffered a broken rightnon-throwinghand during the third quarter of the Eagles 29-16 loss to the Giants at the Linc.

Vick was hurt with six minutes left in the third quarter. He played one more series before he left for good.

On the play he got hurta 23-yard completion to Jeremy MaclinGiants defensive tackle Chris Canty appeared to hit Vick helmet first. Its unclear exactly where during the play Vick got hurtit could have been when Canty made contact with him and it could have been when he landed on the turf.

I felt like I got hit late, Vick said. No flag. Broke my hand. Thats it. Trying to protect myself. Didnt get a flag. And thats pretty much been the story for the last three weeks. Obviously, at some point, something catastrophic is going to happen, and I broke my hand.

Head coach Andy Reid said it appears that the bone wasnt displaced, which is good news. But Vick sure didnt sound optimistic about playing the 49ers next week. At best, he'll probably miss two games. At worst, this could be a four-week injury.

I dont know, he said. I dont know if Im going to be able to play next week. I dont know anything except my hand is broken and weve got to figure out what the next move is.

Late hits on Vick became so much of a problem last year that the Eagles sent a video compilation of cheap shots and late hits that didnt draw penalties to the NFL office.

Obviously, it hasnt helped.

Everybody saw the game, Vick said. Im on the ground constantly. All the time. Every time I throw the ball, in all my highlights and just watching film in general, every time I throw the ball, Im on the ground, getting hit in the head, and I dont know why I dont get the 15-yard flags like everybody else does.

But Im not going to complain about it, just making everybody aware and hopefully somebody will take notice. The ref has to do his job and Im not blaming the referees by any stretch. Im just saying everybody on the field should do their job.

Vick believes that if teams were called for penalties for hitting him after he gets rid of the ball, defenders would stop doing it.

If the ref doesnt give them a warning, he said, theyre not going to stop.

Vick said the concussion he suffered against the Falcons last week didnt affect him during the game, but he never looked comfortable in the pocket and he never got into a good rhythm.

Vick completed 16 of 23 passes for 176 yards with no touchdowns and an interception that bounced off Steve Smiths hands and wasnt his fault.

More precautions should be taken when Im inside the pocket, Vick said. Look at all the replays, Im on the ground every time. Its unfortunate for myself, unfortunate my team, and Id be lying if I said I wasnt frustrated right now because of that.

Im conscious of my safety and I want to play this game and protect myself at all times, even though sometimes I cant. I want to stay healthy for my team. I guess Ive got to do more. Maybe theres something Im not doing to stay healthy.

The Eagles said Vick was allowed to return to the game for one more series after getting hurt because an initial set of X-rays did not reveal the fracture.

But Vick said he played because his hand hadn't started swelling up on that first series. Once it did, he had no choice but to sit and watch.

Again.

"I was trying," he said. "But the (Giants') next series was a long series and it was starting to swell up more and more, and I couldn't bend my hand. I had no range of motion, so it just got worse. I think while the adrenaline was flowing, I was able to keep it going, but it's tough when you've got to take the snap from center."

Vick's teammates know how upset he's been that it's been open season on the 31-year-old quarterback.

"I know he's mad, I know Mike's angry," LeSean McCoy said. "He's getting hit late and it's never being called. I know he's very, very frustrated."

If Vick does miss a game this will be the second straight year hes missed time early in the year. He missed three games last year with rib cartilage damage. The Eagles went 2-1 with Kevin Kolb starting. In his career, Vick has played 16 games only once.

Mike Kafka has replaced Vick the last two games. Although he was effective against the Falcons, he threw two interceptions in seven attempts Sunday against the Giants.

The Eagles are 1-2 after three games for the first time since 2007, the last year they didn't reach the playoffs.

Its tough, Vick said. Everything is not going to always be fine and dandy, we understand that. This is the National Football League. But just because were in this situation now, things could change drastically over then next couple weeks, and I think they will. I believe it.

Just a couple bad breaks and things are not going our way right now, but its up to us to get it turned around and I think it will.

E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com