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Yes, the start of training camps is two months away, but it’s never too early to consider the coming season. A look at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the Eagles in 2012.

Dream scenario (13-3): The Eagles believed they'd assembled a team last year that could be among the very best in the NFL, and they believe it still. They will need to play defense better, but new middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans and that the year the rest of the players have now spent in the new defensive scheme should help them do that. Michael Vick will need to commit fewer turnovers, but his words in December and so far this offseason indicate a better understanding of his own level of responsibility. In the Eagles' dream scenario, Vick plays safer than he did in 2010 and smarter than he did in 2011, and the meet-in-the-middle result is one of the league's most productive quarterbacks. With DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy around him, as well as his own ability, he has no excuse not to be. The Eagles' dream scenario also has them leading the league in sacks again but covering receivers better this time, especially in the middle of the field. And it has Demetress Bell serving as a surprisingly good replacement for injured left tackle Jason Peters. If these things all come to pass, the Eagles will be capable of beating anyone on their schedule.

Nightmare scenario (7-9): Yeah, as bad as they were last year, they still managed to finish 8-8, and Andy Reid has had only one sub-.500 season since the turn of the century. In the Eagles' nightmare scenario, though, the turnover problem doesn't get fixed, the downgrade from Peters to Bell at left tackle messes with the entire offensive line dynamic, Vick gets hurt again and someone like Mike Kafka or Nick Foles has to start a half-dozen games. In the nightmare scenario, 2011 turns out not to have been just one down year for Nnamdi Asomugha but rather the start of a decline. Maclin can't regain his 2010 form the way he's expected to now that he's fully healthy, and Jackson remains a deep downfield decoy who keeps the safeties back and limits Vick's offense to smaller chunks of yardage instead of backbreaking big plays. The nightmare scenario, in which the Eagles finish under .500 in Year 2 of this big plan, sees the end of the Reid and Vick eras in Philadelphia and leads into a 2013 offseason of great change and upheaval in an organization that prizes continuity as one of its better traits.

The winner of the how-to-order-the-Friday-links contest this week is Michael from Nashville, who suggested tying the order to fantasy sports. I went to the ESPN fantasy football page and looked up the points leaders from last year, and the links are hereby provided in order of each team's highest-scoring fantasy player from 2011.

New York Giants (Eli Manning, 273)

Tom Coughlin says "it's probably going to be close" when asked whether Hakeem Nicks will be ready for the regular-season opener. Nicks broke his foot in practice Thursday and is scheduled to have surgery today to insert a screw into it. The Giants' say the estimated recovery time is 12 weeks, which would be the middle of August, and Coughlin said Nicks is confident he can make that. We shall see.

As I wrote Thursday afternoon, if there's a positive to take out of the Nicks news it's that the Giants will be able to give more offseason and preseason reps to wide receivers Domenik Hixon, Jerrel Jernigan, Ramses Barden and Rueben Randle, and extended looks at those players will help them determine which, if any, is best suited to replace free-agent defector Mario Manningham as the No. 3 receiver behind Nicks and Victor Cruz. Hixon says he's feeling good and ready.

Philadelphia Eagles (LeSean McCoy, 270)

The concern with the Eagles is that Michael Vick's history says he's likely to miss at least a game or two due to injury this season. And if he does, there's very little in the way of experience among the backup options behind him. Jeff McLane breaks down the Eagles' backup quarterback situation, which should be Mike Kafka at this point.

As Sal Paolantonio reported the other day, second-year center Jason Kelce will be taking over the responsibility for making the protection calls at the line of scrimmage. The Eagles gave Vick that responsibility last year, and shifting it to Kelce will give Vick less about which to worry, and I think that's probably a good thing.

Dallas Cowboys (Tony Romo, 265)

Jean-Jacques Taylor writes that third-year wide receiver Dez Bryant has had a nice, blissfully quiet offseason and that he's on the verge of greatness. As we discussed many times last year, Bryant is a physical mismatch for almost anyone who tries to cover him, even at the NFL level. It's about committing to his own development and route-running, and once he does that he'll be as good as anyone.

And yeah, two from ESPNDallas.com this morning, as the crew there debates whether the Cowboys can beat the Vegas over/under of 8.5 wins for 2012. I bring this up as a preview to the "Dream/nightmare scenario" posts that are coming from each of our division's teams this morning. So, you know. Look forward to that.

Washington Redskins (Rex Grossman, 141)

In a bit of irony, the Redskins (and the Cowboys) are among the defendants in the NFLPA's collusion case against the league for the spending practices during the uncapped 2010 season. It's ironic because the union says the only way it found out about what it alleges to be collusive behavior was because the league punished those teams for not adhering to the secret agreement regarding 2010 spending. What you should take from this, once and for all, is the fact that the union's collusion case is in no way whatsoever aimed at helping the Redskins and Cowboys getting any relief of those cap punishments. That part of this case is over, they will pay the penalties and that's really it. I promise. No matter how nicely you guys ask.

The Redskins put Robert Griffin III's locker between those of London Fletcher and Brian Orakpo, which LaVar Arrington says could be crucial to the rookie's development. One of the Redskins' strengths as a team is the veteran leadership they have in their locker room, and they'll surely want to put Griffin in the best possible position -- literally as well as figuratively -- to benefit from that.

Have you heard? The Philadelphia Eagles are having a great offseason. Yeah, again. They settled the DeSean Jackson contract mess, extended deals for a few key veterans, stole middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans from the Texans and, according to many analysts, may have had the best draft of any team in the league. If the season were starting today, I guarantee they'd be the most popular pick to win the NFC East, ahead of the Super Bowl champion Giants and everyone else.

But me, I'm not so sure. I need to see it from the quarterback.

Michael Vick will enter the 2012 season under more pressure than any other quarterback in the NFL. The Eagles have told anyone who'll listen that they believe last year's team was too talented to go 8-8, that it got better as the year went along and that the four-game winning streak that closed their season can have a carryover effect into 2012. But no matter how true any of those assertions turn out to be, it's still going to be up to Vick to cash them in.

The defense took a lot of the heat for the Eagles' 2011 disappointment, and early on it did struggle to come together. But it finished eighth in the league in fewest yards allowed and tied for the league lead in sacks. If the defense does that again, it's going to be tough to blame whatever goes wrong on that side of the ball.

It was on the offensive side that Vick turned the ball over 14 times during last year's 3-6 start, coughed up the Arizona game by playing with broken ribs and not telling anyone and then missed three games during which backup Vince Young threw enough interceptions to make Vick look like the world champion of darts. Vick was as responsible for the Eagles' flop of a season as anyone else was, and it's worth making a point of that as the Eagles look ahead to 2012 with high hopes. Because that word -- "responsible" -- is the one the Eagles would most like Vick to keep in mind.

The Eagles don't need Vick to be the dazzling, electrified, high-speed wonder he was in 2010. It'd be nice, but no one expects him to repeat that once-in-a-lifetime performance and no one ever did. What the Eagles wanted from Vick in 2011 was to evolve a bit as a top-level quarterback -- to assume more responsibility for the offense, not to mention the ball and his own body. Vick has undeniable athletic talent of a sort no one else in the league could ever dream. But what he has yet to do is take that critical next step that transforms quarterback talent into quarterback success.

The quarterbacks who become great in the NFL are the ones who treat the position as a craft to be perpetually honed and refined. Vick had that opportunity in 2011 as a clear starter on a team that surrounded him with brilliant weapons. At the urging of new offensive line coach Howard Mudd, who prefers things to work this way, Vick was for the first time in his Eagles career given the responsibility of calling the protection at the line of scrimmage -- of reading the defense before the snap and calling out the assignments for the linemen based on what he saw. At the beginning of the year, it caused confusion, as one might expect. But even as the year went on, Vick struggled to get in sync with his line.

Part of that is the style with which he plays -- running around behind the line, determined to keep plays alive past a point at which most quarterbacks would have thrown the ball out of bounds. But that's part of this responsibility theme, too. Part of Vick's maturation as a quarterback needs to include knowing what he should and shouldn't try -- and when. If he becomes more responsible about knowing the right and wrong times to take chances, that'll help his protection, his turnovers and his health.

And he has to take care of those last two things above all else. No team can afford to turn the ball over as much as the Eagles in did in 2011, and the Eagles can't afford to play without Vick. As proud as they are of their draft, last year's free agency and the depth of talent on their roster, they're not a contender if Mike Kafka or Nick Foles or Trent Edwards is the guy taking the snaps for an extended period of time. Just as they weren't a contender last year when Young was under center. The Eagles' offense is built around Vick and must run through him or it's not going to operate on the level required of a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

So the pressure on Vick isn't just to win -- it's to be responsible. To think more carefully about his throws and his other on-field decisions. To keep the big picture in mind. If he can do this -- if he can take these next critical steps in his development as a quarterback, even at the age of 32, Vick is good enough to cash in his opportunity. He's good enough to pilot an offense that has Jackson and Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy to playoff glory. He's good enough to come up with that signature game-winning fourth-quarter drive his résumé still lacks. He's got the talent and he's got everything in place around him to help him succeed. But once the curtain goes up on this 2012 season, it's going to be on Vick himself to make sure he does. It may well be the best and last chance he ever gets.

No, relax, this does not mean Michael Vick is in trouble. The Philadelphia Eagles are committed to Vick as their quarterback for 2012, and their hope is that he and the team play well enough that they can comfortably remain committed to him for 2013 and beyond. But Vick is turning 32 in June. And he does have a habit of missing games with injuries. And his current backups are Mike Kafka and Trent Edwards.

Fundamentally, though, this is a pick about Eagles coach Andy Reid and the way he feels about the quarterback position. Reid does not believe there's such a thing as being too deep at that position. He also believes that he and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg can develop quarterbacks and get the best out of them. So here comes Nick Foles, who may someday be Vick's replacement or may be a better 2012 backup than either of those other two guys or may someday be a guy they can trade for something of value because quarterback is so important a position in the NFL.

Foles is a 6-foot-5, 243-pound monster with the physical tools to develop into a very good NFL quarterback. He's also a polished thrower with a strong arm who has a reputation for handling pressure well. It's entirely possible that, after a full offseason program and training camp, Foles will be a more appealing backup quarterback option than Kafka, even though Kafka has been in the Eagles' program for a number of years now.

Again, it's a hedge on the future and the present, an infusion of depth at the most important position on the roster. The Eagles used their first three picks of this draft to improve their defense, and while quarterback wasn't a crying-need pick for them, they are run by a coach who believes you can never have enough at that position. So to no one's surprise, they used one of their Day 2 picks on a quarterback.

Good morning. I hope everyone had a good weekend celebrating whichever holiday they prefer. The NFL draft is now 17 days away, and we have links.

Dallas Cowboys

You've seen Alabama safety Mark Barron projected as the Cowboys' first-round draft pick. Now take a look at ESPNDallas.com's draft preview series rundown of Barron.

David Moore writes that Troy Aikman did Tony Romo no favors a couple of weeks back when he said Romo was a better quarterback than he had been, since the last thing Romo needs is for expectations for him to get any higher.

New York Giants

I get a lot of questions about Chad Jones, the safety the Giants drafted in the third round two years ago and who nearly died in a car wreck two months later. Jones is looking forward to participating in offseason workouts when they begin next week.

If the Giants decide to take a running back at No. 32 in the first round to replace Brandon Jacobs, Todd McShay says they would have some options.

Philadelphia Eagles

At this point, Mike Kafka is the No. 1 backup quarterback to Michael Vick in Philadelphia. Trent Edwards, a veteran who didn't play in the NFL last year, is the only other option, and Vick always misses at least some games. Jeff McLane takes a look at whether Kafka is a good enough answer at this somewhat important position.

Mark Eckel writes that he expects the Eagles' streak of never taking a first-round linebacker to continue in this draft, but he outlines some linebacker candidates for teams that might draft one -- or I guess for the Eagles in a round after the first.

Washington Redskins

This came out at the end of last week, but it's worth linking again for those who missed it: Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan is planning several visits to Waco to work with Robert Griffin III over the coming weeks. Hey, why not get a head start, right? There have to be some advantages to picking that high in the draft, especially given the price.

Ty Detmer sees the comparisons between Griffin and Vick, but echoes some others who have pointed out that Griffin is a more polished passer at this point in his career than Vick was when he was drafted.

Sometimes, you guys email questions. On Saturdays, I like to pick through them and see if I can offer some answers. Today is Saturday, so...

Larry, who lists his location as "Anywhere but here," is rankled by the idea that the New York Giants always draft the "best player available," regardless of need. Larry asks if doing this "simply makes their decisions less informed."

Dan Graziano: The Giants' draft philosophy, which is almost always to take the best player available on their board regardless of need, is based on their belief that they maintain a deep roster and excel at developing their own players. It can be frustrating to watch them pass on positions like linebacker and offensive linemen when they appear to need them year after year, but they prioritize certain positions (defensive line, defensive back) more than others in the draft and believe that's where the value lies. The Giants have faith in their veterans and their coaching staff to manage the roster, and they don't view draft picks as quick fixes. They view them as assets to be developed and brought along in the program, and that's the way they manage them while they're picking them and after they've signed them.

Jake from the Death Star Command Centre (goodness, you guys are clever this week...) isn't awed by the Philadelphia Eagles' current backup quarterback situation, especially in light of the fact that the Eagles' starting quarterback has a bit of a history of missing a game or two here and there.

DG: Yeah, the top backups on the market got snatched up quickly -- Kyle Orton by the Cowboys and Jason Campbell by the Bears. So the Eagles have Trent Edwards, who didn't play in 2011, and Mike Kafka, who couldn't beat out scatter-armed Vince Young for the Eagles' backup job in 2011. As you point out, Jake, Michael Vick is far from a guarantee to play all 16 games, and unless Kafka takes a dramatic leap forward this offseason you're not going to have much confidence in whoever comes in to replace Vick if he gets hurt. I'll say this, though: As uninspiring as Edwards may seem, the Eagles' coaching staff saw something they liked when they worked him out. And they have a history of getting more than we expect them to get out of that backup QB spot. And besides, how much worse can he be than Young was? Don't be surprised to see the Eagles take a quarterback at some point in the draft.

Mark Reynolds from Roanoke, Va. (Hey! An actual place!) wonders why NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has yet to comment on the salary cap penalties handed down 12 days ago to the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins. Goodell gave some interviews this week, but the topics were limited to the Saints' bounty scandal, and he was not asked about the Redskins/Cowboys issue.

DG: You're right, Mark. He hasn't commented, and doesn't appear to have been asked. But he's giving a news conference Monday at the NFL's annual meetings in Palm Beach, Fla. I will be there, and I promise you, if no one else asks him a question about this, I will. And I'll make sure and tell you everything he says about it.

The Philadelphia Eagles are going to sign former Buffalo Bills quarterback Trent Edwards for a backup quarterback role, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Thursday. This almost certainly means that Vince Young's contributions as an Eagle will come out to three 2011 starts, nine interceptions, two losses, one somewhat inexplicable victory over the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants and the historically unfortunate decision to utter the words "dream team" when asked last summer how he would describe the Eagles' slew of free-agent signings.

Edwards is to compete with Mike Kafka for the job of No. 2 quarterback behind Michael Vick. This is not an insignificant thing, because Vick generally does not make it through an entire year without missing at least some games due to injury. Edwards worked out for the Eagles recently, has some experience running a West Coast offense and fits the description of experienced veteran unlikely to fall completely apart if he finds himself thrust into the role of starting NFL quarterback for a couple of weeks.

Edwards is 28 years old. He did not play in the NFL last year. He started two games for the Bills and one for the Jaguars in 2010. He was Buffalo's starting quarterback for most of 2007 and 2008. If he has to play a significant number of games in 2012, the Eagles are probably toast. But he's a backup quarterback, and they needed one. They weren't going to go with Young again. He becomes a free agent.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- With star defensive end Trent Cole inactive Sunday due to a calf injury, the Eagles are happy to welcome back defensive ends Darryl Tapp, who missed the previous two games with a torn pectoral muscle, and Juqua Parker, who sprained his ankle in Week 2 and hasn't played since. Tapp starts in place of Cole.

The Eagles also announced Mike Kafka as one of their inactives, which leaves Vince Young as the only active quarterback besides starter Michael Vick. With starting left tackle Jason Peters out with a hamstring injury, King Dunlap will start at left tackle. First-round draft pick Danny Watkins finally gets his first NFL start at right guard in place of Kyle DeVan, who is inactive. And tackle Winston Justice is active for the first time this season and will help with depth on the offensive line.

I'll be here at Ralph Wilson Stadium all afternoon, and you can join in our live chat of the game here starting at 1 pm ET.

The complete list of inactives for today's Eagles-Bills game:

QB Mike Kafka
S Jaiquawn Jarrett
CB Curtis Marsh
DE Trent Cole
OL Kyle DeVan
T Jason Peters
G Julian Vandervelde

BILLS

CB Aaron Williams
CB Terence Wheatley
LB Chris White
G Colin Brown
T Demetrius Bell
LB Chris Kelsay
NT Torell Troup

PHILADELPHIA -- Michael Vick doesn't know whether he'll play next week. He broke his right hand (which is not the hand he throws with) in Sunday's 29-16 loss to the New York Giants on a hit he thought should have been penalized. It was the second week in a row he left the game while the Philadelphia Eagles had a lead and the second week in a row they failed to hold that lead and lost. The conventional wisdom is that this Eagles team will go as far as Vick takes it -- that if he's out, it has no chance to realize its Super Bowl goals. In the long run, a 16-game season, I agree.

However, after watching the Eagles try to run their offense Sunday without any semblance of cohesion or reliable communication, consumed by their fear of getting their quarterback knocked out of the game, I now believe that a couple of weeks without Vick would actually benefit the Eagles. I think an injury that keeps Vick out for, say, two or three weeks would be a blessing in disguise for an Eagles team that right now, with Vick, is in disarray.

"Kafka, Vince, whoever plays, we should be fine," running back LeSean McCoy said, invoking backup quarterbacks Mike Kafka and Vince Young. "A team isn't based only on one player."

He is right, of course, and as brilliant and vital a player as Vick is, the Eagles are not devoid of talent elsewhere on the roster. They have one of the best backup quarterback situations in the league with Young, a veteran with a 30-17 career NFL record, and Kafka, a young backup who has spent the past couple of years learning the offense under Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg. As long as they have their full complement of receiver and running back stars, the Eagles will have more than enough talent to score points with a backup quarterback on the field.

But it goes deeper than that, this notion that losing Vick for a short time might benefit the Eagles. They have major issues to sort out on defense and on the offensive line, and this mess with Vick is impeding those units' chances for progress and improvement. Vick and the problems they're having keeping him upright and on the field are suffocating the Eagles right now, and they could use a break from all the chaos.

"After getting a concussion and coming back the next week, you never really know what's going through his head," wide receiver DeSean Jackson said. "We have to protect him and make sure he's healthy. Every time he steps out on the field, I'm very confident in what he's able to do. We will just have to figure things out."

With Vick in the game Sunday, the Eagles were tentative. They were out of sync on offense. Center Jason Kelce referred multiple times to "cadence issues" that cost the offense in penalties and broken plays, and those could have been the result of Vick's having missed practices last week during his concussion testing. Even when they did get the snap off, there were too many plays when it looked as though Vick's protection of himself was the foremost thing on his mind. Plays where he'd normally run but seemed to pull up as if thinking, "Wait! I'm not supposed to do that as much," then threw into coverage instead. When the Eagles got near the goal line, they tried ramming the ball up the middle instead of taking a chance on rolling out Vick to either throw or run it into the end zone -- as though they were afraid of leaving him exposed for a big hit.

"I am conscious of my safety, and I want to protect myself at all times, even though sometimes I can't," Vick said. "I trust in my offensive linemen, and I want to stay healthy for my team. I guess I've got to do more."

Maybe. But maybe he has to do less. Maybe it wouldn't hurt the Eagles for Vick to spend a game or two on the sideline, letting his hand and assorted other bumps and bruises heal while the offensive line and defense do the work they need to do to get into their own rhythms. Maybe a couple of weeks in which Vick isn't the all-consuming issue around the Eagles would be the break the rest of the roster needs to work on the things they need to do that have nothing to do with Vick. And then maybe, in a few weeks, when he's all better, he would come back behind an offensive line that has more confidence and cohesion than it has now.

Vick doesn't need confidence. He has it by the truckload. But his linemen could use some. So could the Eagles' linebackers. Heck, after being burned twice by Victor Cruz, of all people, the Eagles' gold-plated secondary could use a bit of a confidence boost, too.

The Eagles don't want Vick to be hurt. They'd love for him to be on the field, doing everything they know he can do to help them win when he's at his best and everything's clicking. But right now, when Vick is on the field, everything's not clicking, and the Eagles aren't at their best. That's why a couple of weeks without Vick might just be what the Eagles need to get their feet under them.

PHILADELPHIA -- Michael Vick wore a pack of ice with a bandage wrapped around it on his right hand, and as the Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback sat behind the microphone in the wake of his team's 29-16 loss to the New York Giants, he was furious.

"Looking at the replays, I'm on the ground every time, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't frustrated," Vick said. "The refs have got to do their jobs. And I mentioned it to the refs in training camp when I talked to them. I'm on the ground constantly, all the time. Every time I throw the ball, I'm on the ground. And I don't know why I don't get the 15-yard flags like everybody else does."

Vick's right hand -- his non-throwing hand -- is broken as a result of a hit he took in Sunday's game. It happened at the tail end of a play on which he hit receiver Jeremy Maclin with his best pass of the day -- a 23-yard catch that moved the Eagles deep into Giants territory. Giants defensive tackle Chris Canty hit Vick as he threw it. Andy Reid said Vick's hands were up around his head, and Reid surmised that Vick may have been trying to protect his head in the wake of the concussion that knocked him out of last week's game in Atlanta. Vick said that didn't matter -- that the hit was late and should have been called as such.

"I'm not blaming the officials," Vick said shortly after and before more quotes that seemed to do just that. "I'm not going to sit here and complain about the officials. I'm just going to talk about it and hope somebody takes notice."

Vick had X-rays on his hand and actually returned to the game for one series. But he said his hand swelled up too much during the ensuing Giants possession to allow him to return and takes snaps from the center.

"I don't know if I'm going to be able to play next week," Vick said.

Mike Kafka replaced Vick, as he did last Sunday in Atlanta. It's unclear whether Kafka or Vince Young would start in Vick's place if he's unable to play next week against the 49ers.

PHILADELPHIA -- Some thoughts from the New York Giants' victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday afternoon:

What it means: Everything to the Giants, who'd lost their past six games to the Eagles and were still smarting from the Week 15 collapse that cost them the playoffs last year. Badly outmanned in the game and outplayed for much of it, the Giants stuck to their game plan and found a way to pick up a critical win that no one (myself included) imagined they could get. What it means for the Eagles is huge trouble, as quarterback Michael Vick left the game with a broken right (non-throwing) hand, Jeremy Maclin injured his hamstring and the defense gave up three huge plays that cost them the game and dropped them to 1-2.

T-O-U-G-H: You absolutely have to hand it to the Giants (no pun intended, seriously). There was no reason for them to even be in this game, and they managed to win it. This was their best game of the year so far, and for much of it they were undisciplined and ugly. But they are 2-1, plain and simple, and if they're going to ultimately be healthier than they are right now, you have to believe banking these wins while they were outmanned and playing poorly is going to be a huge benefit.

Same old, really bad problem: The Eagles will say the play on which Vick broke his hand wasn't a symptom of their inability to protect him, as he was trying to stuff the ball into the end zone on a sneak. And they'll be right. But that will camouflage the fact that, for the bulk of the game, the Giants were able to deliver hit after hit on Vick as per their ideal game plan. The best way the Eagles found to protect Vick was to run the ball with LeSean McCoy, which they did with great success even after getting behind 14-0. But for some reason, when Mike Kafka came into the game and it was still within reach with eight minutes to go, they called a long pass that was intercepted. It remains to be seen whether Vick will miss next week's game or many more, but don't be surprised if Vince Young is the starter instead of Kafka in Vick's absence. The Eagles' offense relies on its ability to make big plays, and they don't appear to trust Kafka to make them.

Tables turned: The Giants' defensive coaches preached all week that the most important thing they could do was limit big plays. They did it, and the Eagles didn't. They got beaten on a 40-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Jacobs when overmatched rookie linebacker Casey Matthews bit on a great Eli Manning play fake, and Victor Cruz beat them with a pair of long touchdown catches, the second against marquee free-agent signing Nnamdi Asomugha. The inability of the Giants' receivers to get open with Mario Manningham and Domenik Hixon on the shelf hurt the Giants for much of the middle part of the game, but they got open just enough to take advantage of the Eagles' inability to generate anything in their passing game.

Short-yardage woes: The Eagles were stuffed at the goal line twice after long drives, settling instead for field goals in a game they had several chances to put away. Credit the Giants' defensive line for the big stops, but Andy Reid's play calling at the goal line left a lot to be desired and resulted in a very odd development -- Eagles fans actually booing after the field goal that gave their team a 16-14 lead!

What's next: The Giants travel to Arizona to face the Cardinals on Sunday and will hope to have wide receiver Mario Manningham back from his concussion so things come a little easier for them in the passing game. The Eagles are home Sunday to face the San Francisco 49ers, who pose yet another tough test for their shaky pass protection.

PHILADELPHIA -- Star quarterback Michael Vick has left Sunday's game against the New York Giants in the fourth quarter with a broken right hand. The team officially announced him as "doubtful" to return with eight minutes left and the Eagles trailing the Giants 22-16.

Vick tried twice unsuccessfully to get into the end zone at the end of a second-half touchdown drive on quarterback sneaks, and shortly after the field goal that followed he left the field and went to the locker room for X-rays on his non-throwing hand. He returned to the field for the Eagles' next drive, but later in the fourth quarter he was replaced by backup Mike Kafka, who threw an interception on his first play of the game.

More on this as it develops, of course.

PHILADELPHIA -- Quarterback Michael Vick is active and listed as the starter for the Philadelphia Eagles' game here this afternoon against the New York Giants. Also active for the game are backup quarterbacks Vince Young, who was inactive for the first two games because of a hamstring injury, and Mike Kafka, who replaced Vick last Sunday night when Vick left the game with a concussion. It's unclear which quarterback would come in if Vick gets hurt again today, but the Eagles appear to have two options.

For the Giants, as expected, wide receiver Mario Manningham is listed as inactive because of the concussion he sustained Monday night against the Rams. Combined with the season-ending knee injury Domenik Hixon suffered in the same game, that leaves the Giants with Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz, Brandon Stokley, Devin Thomas and rookie Jerrel Jernigan as their options at wide receiver. Cruz is listed as the starter along with Nicks.

The Eagles have two reserve defensive ends -- Darryl Tapp and Juqua Parker -- listed among their inactives, which means they only have three active defensive ends for the game -- Trent Cole, Jason Babin and Phillip Hunt. Expect defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins to move outside and play end if they have an injury at that position, since he has experience playing defensive end as well.

For the second time in three games, Eagles first-round draft pick Danny Watkins is among the inactives.

I'll be here at Lincoln Financial Field all day, and you can join our live chat of the game on ESPN.com starting at 1 pm ET by clicking this link right here.

The full list of inactives:

GIANTS

RB Da'Rel Scott
G Mitch Petrus
T James Brewer
WR Mark Clayton
CB Prince Amukamara
DE Osi Umenyiora
WR Mario Manningham

EAGLES

S Jaiquawn Jarrett
CB Curtis Marsh
DE Darryl Tapp
G Danny Watkins
G Julian Vandervelde
T Winston Justice
DE Juqua Parker

It's a big week in the Kevlar business, as a Pennsylvania-based company called Unequal Technologies is working to help get Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick back on the field. The NFC East's two banged-up signal-callers are both hoping to play in their Week 3 games -- Vick on Sunday afternoon against the Giants and Romo on "Monday Night Football" against the Redskins. But Vick is recovering from a concussion sustained in Sunday night's loss in Atlanta while Romo is dealing with broken ribs suffered in his overtime victory Sunday in San Francisco.

Enter Unequal Technologies, which had representatives in Dallas on Wednesday to fit Romo (and tight end Jason Witten) for Kevlar vests, according to our old buddy Matt Mosley. Later in the day, ESPN's Sal Paolantonio reported that Rob Vito, the company's CEO, planned to meet with Vick on Thursday in Philadelphia "to re-fit his helmet with Kevlar padding."

"The 100-year-old foam everybody is using in helmets is antiquated," Vito told Sal. "Concussions are the injury of our age, and really they should not be happening anymore."

Vick has signed endorsement deal last year with Unequal Technologies after they helped fit him for a vest to provide relief and protection for his own broken ribs last year. He wears the company's shoulder pads.

So that's your Vick/Romo injury update for this morning. Sounds like there's a chance neither one of them misses a game, but we'll see.

Know what never misses a day? The links.

Dallas Cowboys

Romo himself says it hurts to laugh because of his injury. I guess that means he's watching tape of the fourth quarter of his Week 1 game instead of the Week 2 tape. What? Too soon?

Redskins outside linebacker Brian Orakpo has high praise for Cowboys rookie right tackle Tyron Smith after watching film of Smith in preparation for Monday night's game. Smith will get a good test from either Orakpo or, more likely, rookie pass-rusher Ryan Kerrigan, who's off to a stellar start.

New York Giants

Remember that long, crazy, fourth-down sideline catch by Hakeem Nicks on Monday night? Shortly before his touchdown catch? Well, even though the officials said at the time, after the Giants had declined the pass interference penalty, that it was a catch, the game's official statisticians didn't count it as one, just gave the Giants the yardage via penalty. Well, they've corrected that, and it now goes in the books as a 23-yard catch, giving Nicks 38 receiving yards for the game instead of 15 and giving Eli Manning 223 passing yards instead of 200. Perhaps this helps some of you win fantasy football matchups you thought you'd lost. I am not among you. I checked.

Deon Grant said he didn't fake an injury to help stall out a Rams drive early in the game. Said he was really hurt. Said his body hurts all the time because he's been playing football for a long time. Whatever. I don't believe him any more than I did Monday night when he was faking an injury. But I also don't expect anything to come of this. The league sent out a memo Wednesday to say they'd crack down on flopping, but the league does that all the time -- reacts to something because it's become a big public issue. This is unenforceable and will not matter.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles are shuffling their linebackers, moving Jamar Chaney from the strong side to the middle, Moise Fokou from weak side to strong side and overmatched rookie Casey Matthews from the middle to the weak side. It makes sense. Would have made sense to do it from the start, actually, since Chaney played very well in the middle last year after Stewart Bradley got hurt and said he wanted to play it again. But whatever. Remains to be seen whether Matthews can handle the starting weak side spot any better than he could the middle, but at least now he won't have to worry about making all the calls.

Vince Young participated fully in practice for the first time since injuring his hamstring in the preseason, but Mike Kafka took all of the first-team snaps. So who knows which would start if Vick can't? Not me. Not you. And not the Giants, which is part of the point, I'm sure.

Washington Redskins

Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall said he planned to target Romo's ribs if he got a chance to get a hit on him. Couple of things on this. First, Hall is a cornerback, so unless he's blitzing, something's going to have had to go terribly wrong for him to get a shot at Romo. Second, this clearly wasn't a personal thing -- just Hall talking about the way defensive players think when facing players who have injuries. He was talking out of school, saying something everybody probably knows but isn't very nice or smart to say out loud. But at least he was being honest.

Stephen Bowen is excited to play his old team Monday night, but he's more excited about Friday, when his infant son will be released from the hospital. Bowen's wife gave birth to extremely premature twins in June. One of the babies died, but the other -- Stephen III, who weighed two pounds at birth -- is up to 6 pounds, 5 ounces and apparently ready to go home. Brings real tears to my eyes just typing it. All the best to the Bowens, seriously.

The Philadelphia Eagles are saying that quarterback Michael Vick is doing well in his concussion testing, and indications from coach Andy Reid and trainer Rick Burkholder on Wednesday were that Vick has a chance to play Sunday against the Giants. Vick still has to see an independent neurologist, as the league requires, before he can be cleared to play, but Reid said that if Vick were cleared to play, he would play. From the Philadelphia Daily News:

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Burkholder said Vick is "right in the middle of this process" and that he is progressing at the expected rate. Burkholder said he is not focused on whether Vick will play Sunday against the Giants, but instead just going through the concussion protocol process. An MRI on Monday was negative.

Vick took snaps in the team's walk-through Wednesday morning, and the Eagles said he would do some exercises during the afternoon practice to see how he handled it. He's not likely to have a full practice until Friday, if only because it could take a couple of days for the independent doctor to clear him. Burkholder and the Eagles also will be administering further tests in the coming days.

If Vick can't play, Reid said, he's undecided about whether Vince Young or Mike Kafka would start in his place. Young has been out since the preseason with a hamstring injury, and Kafka replaced Vick when he came out of Sunday night's game.