Injuries, sloppy play, and failed expectations: Gee, where have I seen this Michael Vick before?

It’s natural that when things are going well for a person that they’re often viewed as untouchable. Conversely, when things start to unravel, frustration sets in and problems become magnified.

Now multiple both of those sentences by about 50 when it comes to Vick.

When everything is right in his world, he’s “revolutionizing the quarterback position” or putting up “video game numbers.” He’s unbelievable. One-of-a-kind. A $100 million quarterback. He’s sick. He’s Mike Vick.

Everyone bought into the same hype surrounding Vick on draft day in 2001 that they did last year when he started to light up the league again. But someone please explain to me what has actually changed besides his uniform color, because I don’t see much.

Remember when the media couldn’t stop putting a microphone in front of his face last year? Oh, how the public ate it up. He was a changed man. A more mature man and a more mature player. It was going to be different in Philadelphia because quite frankly, he and everyone said it was.

But what happened? He led the Eagles to the playoffs only to come up just short in the end. Then again, he did just enough to have a lot of people believing he and the Eagles were destined for big things in 2011. Super Bowl-type things.

Falcon fans that watched his rise and fall in Atlanta must be shaking their heads right now. This is what happens with Michael Vick: he’s at his worst when the expectations are at its highest. After leading the Falcons to that epic playoff win over the Packers at Lambeau, he suffered that gruesome leg injury in 2003. When the expectations were low again in 2004 because nobody knew how he would hold up, he led them to the NFC Championship Game. When many people were predicting the Falcons to reach the Super Bowl in 2005, they finished 8-8. When people said the Falcons would be reborn again under Vick in ’06, they finished 7-9.

Now, football is played with 11 men on both sides of the ball and it takes much more than that to win. Vick is only one man and one player so it’s unfair to suggest that he was the one who failed or he was the one who fell short of the Super Bowl. But he is making the same mistakes that he made in Atlanta, at least when it comes to his play on the field.

He has always been careless with the football, especially when the game is on the line in the fourth quarter. He presses. He thinks he can win games by himself because of his superior athletic ability, which gets him into trouble. He thinks he can fit passes into windows that just aren’t there because he has a cannon for an arm. He thinks he can be careless with the ball while running because his legs has can do extraordinary things.

When he’s good he’s great and when he’s bad he’s dangerous. With the way the Eagles were moving up and down the field last Sunday night in Atlanta, there’s no excuse for why Philly wasn’t up by at least two scores heading into halftime. Yet because he turned the ball over three times on the night, he kept the Falcons in the game and they eventually won. Again, this kind of play from him is nothing new.

It’s early. If the Eagles can fix their offensive line issues and give Vick more time, then maybe he can stay healthy throughout the season and lead them back to the playoffs. But for now, he needs to spend more time worrying about why he’s still making the same mistakes he did years ago, instead of what the refs are doing.

Brutal, brutal, brutal – as in, my picks last Sunday were brutal. This column lived up to its name, as all four of my picks were true “fade material.” The Colts and Chiefs were blown out, while the Eagles lost outright and the Redskins failed to cover the 4-point spread against the Cardinals. OUTSTANDING.

Hopefully you have enough time to play these losers today…

Patriots @ Bills, 1:00PM ET
I think the feel-good story that has been the Buffalo Bills will suffer a setback today when the Patriots come to town. Buffalo’s offense has been highly entertaining to this point but this isn’t a very good defense that Tom Brady will have the opportunity to shred today at Ralph Wilson. The Pats are 7-0 against the spread in their last seven trips to Buffalo and 7-2 ATS in their last nine games against the Bills. The road team in his series is also 5-0 against the number in the last five meetings.
THE PICK: PATRIOTS –7

Jets @ Raiders, 4:05PM ET
The Jets just spent two weeks at home and now have to travel cross-country to play an Oakland team that’s better than everyone realizes. I think the Raiders could win this game outright, as Mark Sanchez is due to have one of “those” games where he throws for about 105 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns. The Raiders are 8-3 against the spread in their last 11 games as an underdog and 4-1 ATS in their last five games against the AFC.
THE PICK: RAIDERS +3.5

Packers @ Bears, 4:15PM ET
Green Bay’s defense has struggled the last two weeks but I think Dom Capers and Co. will have a big day against Jay Cutler and his invisible line. The Packers always seem to have issues against Chicago’s defense as well, which is why I like the under here. The under is 4-0 in the last four meetings between these two teams in Chicago and 7-0 in the last seven meetings overall.
THE PICK: UNDER 46

Cardinals @ Seahawks, 4:15PM ET
I truly believe Pete Carroll is playing for the Andrew Luck/Matt Barkley sweepstakes and his insistence on playing Tarvaris Jackson doesn’t prove otherwise. That said, this is the Cardinals’ second road trip in as many weeks after traveling cross-country to Washington last Sunday. The Seahawks have always been a different team at home than they are on the road and I think Pistol Pete’s team will play with a little spunk today. I could see the Hawks winning outright but I’m no fool (on some days, at least): Give me the 3.5.
THE PICK: SEAHAWKS +3.5

Last Week: 0-4
Season: 2-6

Check out Bullz-Eye.com for a complete list of NFL Week 3 odds.

Jack Del Rio has already seen enough of Luke McCown.

Following a nasty performance in New York over the weekend, Del Rio has decided to bench McCown and will start rookie signal caller Blaine Gabbert against the Panthers this Sunday. Gabbert, the 10th overall pick in April’s draft, will oppose fellow rookie quarterback Cam Newton, who has already thrown over 800 yards in his first two NFL games.

It was easy to see this move coming when the Jags dumped David Garrard shortly before the season. Del Rio and the front office had seemingly wanted to get rid of Garrard for years but they never had a suitable backup to make the move. When Gabbert was drafted back in April, he was viewed as a raw prospect but that was okay because he could learn behind Garrard for a year…or so everyone thought. But a year was apparently too much for Del Rio and Co., as Garrard was released rather abruptly on September 6.

McCown played fairly well in the team’s season opener against Tennessee, but understandably struggled miserably against Rex Ryan’s stout defense last week while throwing four nasty interceptions. Gabbert will face a Carolina defense that has struggled against the run in its first two games, so expect the Jaguars to largely keep the ball on the ground this Sunday and let the rookie be a “game manager” in his professional debut as a starter.

Here’s a look at what local NFL beat writers and columnists have to say following their teams’ performance on Sunday.

- Tom Powers of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes that the Vikings got their first glimpse of Brett Favre’s legend in Minnesota’s last-second win over San Francisco.

- After 19 straight losses, Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press says that there’s finally relief for the lowly Lions.

- After getting a taste of action in a win over the Chiefs on Sunday, Ashley Fox of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that Michael Vick is fine with his role with the Eagles, for now.

- Steve Serby of the New York Post says that Jets’ rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez uses his head to make history.

- Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe notes that the 2-1 Patriots are still a work in progress despite their 26-10 win over the Falcons at Foxboro.

- David Climer of the Tennessean says that the 0-3 Titans buried their playoff hopes with a loss to the Jets on Sunday.

- Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post writes that the Redskins’ focused disappeared long ago.

- Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ably points out that the brutal Rams are now the new Lions.

- David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune writes that Johnny Knox and the Bears’ wideouts are making quarterback Jay Cutler look good.

- Will Leitch of the New York Magazine says that the contract extension Eli Manning signed in the offseason might be a bargain with how well he’s playing so far this season.

Lion fans, you’re suffering is finally over.

Thanks to a solid effort by Matthew Stafford (21 of 36, 241 yards, 1 TD) and Kevin Smith (16 carries, 101 yards), the Lions won their first game since December 23 of 2007 with a 19-14 victory over the Redskins on Sunday.

One of the players that will be overlooked in this victory for Detroit is rookie linebacker DeAndre Levy, who started in place of the injured Ernie Sims. Levy made two consecutive tackles on running back Clinton Portis inside the 5-yard-line on third and fourth down to stop the Redskins early in the first half and led the Lions in tackles at halftime. On the day, Levy finished with six tackles and one tackles for loss as Detroit held Washington to only 65 rushing yards. His efforts shouldn’t go overlooked.

Not to take away from the Lions’ big day, but this loss is going to loom large for Washington head coach Jim Zorn. His offense generated 390 total yards, but a week after barely beating the Rams, the Redskins were held out of the end zone by a brutal Detroit defense until early in the third quarter and then failed to score when they got the ball back with just over a minute remaining.

The Lions were eventually going to win again. But you just can’t be that team that losses to Detroit, especially when you’re a Redskins team that was heavily criticized the week before. How can you be 1-2 on the year when two of your first three games are against the Rams and Lions? The players may still believe in Zorn, but he is going to come under major fire over the next week and may not be long for Washington’s head coaching job.

I realize that guys like Albert Haynesworth and London Fletcher were hurt. But what an embarrassing loss for Zorn and the Redskins. How can you only muster 13 points playing against the Lions and after totaling 390 yards? There’s just no excuse and barring a big turnaround, this could be the start of Zorn being ushered out of Washington.