If what Michael Vick recently told GQ is true, then NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has some explaining to do.

In an interview published by GQ’s website, Vick told Will Leitch that he was persuaded by Goodell to play for the Eagles instead of the Bills or Bengals.

“I think I can say this now, because it’s not going to hurt anybody’s feelings, and it’s the truth,” Vick tells me a few weeks after the commencement ceremony. “I didn’t want to come to Philadelphia. Being the third-team quarterback is nothing to smile about. Cincinnati and Buffalo were better options.” Those two teams wanted him and would’ve allowed him to start, but after meeting with commissioner Roger Goodell and other reps from the NFL, Vick was convinced—and granted league approval—to sign with Philly. “And I commend and thank them, because they put me in the right situation.”

I think it’s rather humorous that Vick commended and thanked the people he just threw into the controversial spotlight. Because under no circumstances should Goodell, or anyone else in the NFL front office for that matter, be steering any player to or away from any team.

Did it work out for Vick? Yes. Did it work out for the Eagles? Yes. Did it work out for the NFL? Yes. But what about the Bills and Bengals? Why did Goodell feel the need to steer Vick away from those two organizations?

The obvious answer is because Vick was just released from prison and needed a stable environment. Andy Reid and the Eagles provided the structure that Vick desperately needed. If you want to argue against the notion that Cincinnati would have been an unstable situation, Google “Carson Palmer retirement” and you’ll get all the proof you need that Vick was better off landing in Philadelphia. Had someone polled fans across the nation asking which team (CIN, PHI or BUF) would provide the best environment for Vick, it would stand to reason that the majority of fans would choose Philadelphia.

But Goodell isn’t a fan. He’s the commissioner, which means he should be hands off when it comes to players choosing what teams they want to sign with. I realize he may have only been trying to help Vick, but imagine if he had a hand in telling Nnamdi Asomugha or Julius Peppers where to sign. The whole situation sounds shady.

Either way, it’s water under the bridge now. Goodell and the league will catch some heat for this, but nothing is going to change. Vick is still in Philadelphia, where he makes the Eagles legit Super Bowl contenders. Meanwhile, Bills and Bengals fans can share in more misery, although they can save their whining about Vick. At the time, I’m sure there were plenty of people in Buffalo and Cincinnati who pleaded with their teams not to sign “that dog killer.”

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News, the Virginia Beach Police have identified who shot Quanis Phillips the night of Michael Vick’s 30th birthday party and also announced that the Eagles’ quarterback is not a suspect.

The police have identified the shooter, but cannot charge the suspect because the victim and various witnesses have been uncooperative. The statement went on to say that there are no other suspects, including Vick.

Here’s the Virginia Beach police statement in its entirety, released by spokesman Adam Bernstein:

“Investigators were able to determine the identity of the shooter. Unfortunately because of the lack of cooperation from the victim, coupled with the reluctance of witnesses, the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, upon reviewing all of the evidence, has determined that no charges will be filed in this case at this time. Because the suspect will not be charged, his identity cannot be released by police. There are no other suspects in this case, including Michael Vick.”

It appears that Vick is in the clear, although don’t forget that at one point during his dog fighting investigation it seemed as if he was going to dodge punishment, too. I doubt the Eagles will release him at this point, but you never know.

My question is, will the league take action against him for associating with Phillips, who was one of the co-defendants from his dog fighting case? If they do, it’s going to be pretty hard for Roger Goodell to determine that Phillips wasn’t just an unwanted guest crashing the party. And in that case, Vick did nothing wrong.

Michael Vick is a little confused. He figured that even though he had been out of football for two years, the Eagles would still start him on Sunday because Donovan McNabb is hurt.

From the USA Today:

Vick, in an interview with CBS to air Sunday, said he thought he would be a starting quarterback upon his return to the NFL.

“This is not the exact scenario I thought would play out,” Vick told CBS. “I thought I’d be playing with a team and actually starting.”

Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg confirmed Thursday that Vick will play against the Chiefs on Sunday. It is the first game Vick will be eligible for since 2006, before he served a 20-month federal sentence for a dogfighting conviction.

“He’ll play,” Mornhinweg said. “How much? We’ll see as the week goes on. I think he’s in top physical condition. We’ll see how he handles the few things that we have in for him.”

Mikey picked the wrong team if he thought he was going to walk out of prison and be handed a starting quarterback job. Quite frankly, he’s lucky to be on any team and it’s a little surprising (appalling even?) that he didn’t think he would have to work his way back into a starting gig.

Take it slow, Mike. Enjoy the fact that you’re not in prison and let everything else take care of itself.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has announced that Michael Vick will be eligible to play in the Eagles’ third regular season game in 2009.

From ESPN.com:

Goodell and Vick had met Thursday morning for 45 to 50 minutes in New Jersey to discuss when Vick might be reinstated. After that, Goodell said, he consulted with Vick’s mentor, former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, for another 45 minutes.

“Hopefully we can have a success story here, which would be good for society in general,” Goodell said. “He’s realistic about the challenges ahead. And anxious to play football.”

During their meeting Thursday, the topic of Vick’s past experiences and why he got involved in dogfighting came up. One of Vick’s representatives was explaining it, when Vick stepped in and took responsibility. “He was genuinely remorseful,” Goodell said.

Goodell said he did discuss with Vick the report that he was seen drinking an alcoholic beverage in a restaurant at the hotel where he was staying. Goodell said it was not a violation of his probation.

Just because he’ll be allowed to play in Week 3 doesn’t mean that Goodell won’t watch Vick like a hawk. He’ll be on an extremely short leash and he better be on his absolute best behavior.

It’ll be interesting to see how Vick does tonight in the Eagles’ final preseason game. He’s supposed to see extended snaps while Donovan McNabb sits in preparation for the regular season opener.

Michael Vick entered Thursday night’s game against the Jaguars to a rousing ovation and then proceeded to complete 4-of-4 passes for 19 yards and rushed for one yard on one rushing attempt.

From ESPN.com’s recap of the Eagles’ 33-32 win:

“It’s been a long journey for me,” Vick said. “I just want to do it right this time around.”

“It was awesome. When I was running out onto the field I was listening to see what the reaction was going to be,” Vick said. “I was very pleased. I really didn’t expect that reaction, but I was very thankful.”

So much for all those protesters and anti-Vick factions. Some fans even chanted “We want Vick!” after he left the game.

It’s no shock that fans in Philadelphia embraced Vick now that he’s an Eagle. The real test will be when he goes on the road.

As far as his performance went, to say that Vick looked sharp would be a stretch. Outside of a 13-yard completion to Hank Baskett, all of his pass attempts were short and he looked hesitant on the one rush attempt.

But Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg are smart if they’re going to limit Vick to read-and-react-type plays like they did on Thursday night. He never developed into a great pocket passer, so if the Eagles plan on using him in the Wildcat or as a decoy, then they’re adding a pretty good offensive weapon this year. (Especially once Vick shakes off the rust.)