Studies in patience: Vick and Andrews

Patience is a virtue. But in the NFL, it’s a rarity. Which is what makes the Eagles’ slow development of Michael Vick all the more special. And makes the Eagles’ dismissal of Shawn Andrews all the more puzzling.

First Vick. Tom Coughlin spoke today about how impressed he is with how the Eagles have handled him.

“You can see the way he’s been brought along,” Coughlin said. “A select number of plays a year ago and then broadened it a little bit this year. (He was) brought in at the second half of the Green Bay game and played very well.”

“He’s been patient and the Eagles have been patient,” Coughlin said later. “There’s been no rush with him going into the game or having to play. Who knows, they may have started the year off thinking they were going to use him the same way they did a year ago, and then because he flourished when he played it made them make some other choices. I just think he’s an excellent athlete that has had time to get the rust off and become the exceptional quarterback that he was prior to this.”

So what about Andrews then? Andy Reid said he thought that Andrews was the most talented offensive lineman he’d ever seen. He also said he is proud of Andrews for straightening himself out through battles with depression and his back and landing on his feet with the Giants. But Reid also said that the Eagles just couldn’t be patient enough to allow Andrews to work through those issues.

“He's a tough kid,” Reid said. “It was just a matter of time. And sometimes in this business it's hard to wait.”

Even when the payoff can be someone playing at the level of Vick or Andrews in the last few weeks.