Vick has broken ribs, status vs. NYG in doubt

He didnt tell anybody. Not a trainer, not a coach, not a teammate.

Because Michael Vick didnt want to leave the game. No matter how much pain he was in.

Maybe it was selfish to stay out there, Vick said Monday.

Vick broke two ribs on the second play of the Eagles loss to the Cards at the Linc Sunday. But instead of reporting the injury, he kept it to himself and then struggled with one of his worst games as a pro.

I don't think it was affecting me, Vick said. But a lot of hits started taking their toll on me, and I've just got to realize I can't do it all.

Vicks status for the Eagles game against the NFC East-leading Giants Sunday night at the Meadowlands is up in the air.

Its painful right now, Vick said.

Vick completed only 16 of 34 passes for 128 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions and a 32.5 passer rating -- his worst game as an Eagle -- in the Eagles 21-17 loss to John Skelton and the Cardinals.

He didnt say anything, not a word, head coach Andy Reid said.

Reid, asked whether Vick should have notified a coach or trainer about the injury, avoided the question.

Listen, he did some good things, Reid said. We were in a position to win the game and I dont think it came down to him right there.

Asked again whether Vick should have told somebody his ribs were injured, Reid again ducked the question.

He said he really just blanked it out and played is kind of what he said and really didnt think twice about it, Reid said.

Vick did come out of the game for one play in the fourth quarter when he took a vicious shot in the lower back area from Cards linebacker Paris Lenon.

But the play he got hurt on came on the Eagles second offensive snap, when Cards linebacker Daryl Washington blitzed untouched through the Eagles line and got a clean shot on Vick.

I dont think it affected me during the game, Vick said. There were times when I would throw that I would grimace a little bit, but I just gutted it out, I just felt like Ive been through worse. If it was a situation where if I had to come out, I would have come out, but I just felt like I had to keep going.

Vicks own teammates didnt even know what was bothering him during the game Sunday.

"That just shows you the fight that he has in him and the type of guy he is and that hardcore mentality, said Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who was at the NovaCare Complex Monday for treatment on an injury of his own, torn ligaments in his ankle.

Vick was examined after the game, and Reid said his two lower ribs were broken.

In his last four games, Vick has thrown five touchdowns and eight interceptions and has a 70.6 passer rating -- tied with A.J. Feeley of the Rams for 29th-best in the NFL during that span.

Vick missed three games last year after suffering what the Eagles called rib cartilage damage in the first Redskins game, and the Eagles went 2-1 under Kevin Kolb, who Skelton started in place of Sunday.

It was nine years ago almost to the day -- Nov. 17, 2002 -- that Donovan McNabb played most of a game against the Cards at the Vet after breaking his ankle. McNabb threw four touchdown passes -- two to James Thrash and one each to Duce Staley and Todd Pinkston -- and the Eagles won 38-14. Feeley started the rest of the season, won four of five starts, and McNabb returned for the playoffs.

If Vick is unable to play Sunday, presumably Vince Young would get the start, although Reid declined to designate Young or Mike Kafka as the potential starter. Kafka was inactive Sunday.

"It's going to be real tough, him being out there the whole time and the other two quarterbacks not really seeing the field that much, Rodgers-Cromartie said. We're still confident in those guys, but we know it will be real tough."

Young, a two-time Pro Bowl pick with the Titans, has thrown one pass with the Eagles and it was intercepted. Hes 30-17 as an NFL starter, with 42 touchdowns and 43 interceptions.

Youngs last start was Nov. 21 last year, when he completed 12 of 16 passes against the Redskins for the Titans.

In his career, Young is 2-0 vs. the Giants, with wins in 2006 in Nashville and 2010 at the Meadowlands. Young is 34 for 51 for 367 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in those two games with a 107.2 passer rating.
E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com