Michael Vick says he'll be ready

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PHILADELPHIA -- With a swarm of reporters surrounding backup quarterback Nick Foles, Michael Vick saw an opening and took off.

Injured ribs didn't affect Vick's escapability in the locker room.

Still, the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback stopped to say he is "doing good, feeling better," and there is no doubt he will be ready when the Philadelphia Eagles visit the Cleveland Browns in Week 1.

Vick didn't practice Wednesday after bruising his ribs during a win at New England on Monday, and Eagles coach Andy Reid said he probably won't play the rest of the preseason. Foles, the rookie third-round pick, will start in his place Friday night at the Browns.

"That was a pretty good shot he took," Reid said of the hit that knocked Vick out of the game against the Patriots after just six plays. "It was in a soft spot, and a good shot he took."

Vick is just 4 for 7 for 11 yards and has been on the field for only 12 plays in the first two preseason games. If he doesn't play again, he could be rusty for the season opener.

"Would I like him to have some more reps? Would he like more reps? Yeah, I'm sure both of us would like him to have more reps, but you bank on his maturity and experience to get him through a situation like this," Reid said. "So, that's what we'll do."

Vick's teammates aren't worried about it, either.

"I don't think that's a concern at all," wide receiver Jeremy Maclin said. "We've been around him long enough, we had all those OTA reps."

Vick has missed three games because of rib injuries in each of the past two seasons and has started 16 games just once in his nine years in the NFL. His style of play has been called reckless, and critics wonder if he can ever hold up over a full season.

"It's not every day you get that type of athlete who can play quarterback," Maclin said. "I don't think it's reckless. He just has a unique style. There's other quarterbacks who can do that, but I don't think anyone does it like Michael Vick."

Reid defended Vick's intentions on the play he was injured.

"He was trying to make somebody miss, and he wheeled backward about 15 yards," Reid said. "He had an available receiver down the field, and he was trying to make a play. To tell him that he can't make that throw, you're not going to tell him that. You just want everyone to do their job so that doesn't happen back there. It was when he spun around that he got caught with that."

The Eagles finish up the preseason against the New York Jets on Aug. 30. Reid said the starters will play one quarter this week.

Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press

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