Losing Vick and McCoy would cripple the Birds' offense.


Last season, Donovan McNabb broke one of his ribs and was forced to miss two games. This season, Michael Vick has apparently injured his rib cartilage and could be forced to miss for just as long, if not longer.

"Michael Vick has a rib cartilage injury," Eagles head coach Andy Reid told the media Monday in Philadelphia. "There are no broken bones, but he does have a rib cartilage injury. It’s up high in the second and third ribs."

The injury occurred when Vick made a dive for the endzone and was sandwiched between two Redskins defenders. The hit was clean, but the way both guys hit him simultaneously put a lot of pressure on his midsection and clearly had him in a lot of pain.

Reid would not give a timetable for his return, but it wouldn't make sense for him to do so anyway. All Reid would say is that the injury is "going to be one of those day-to-day, week-to-week [injuries]."

Even if he knows exactly when Vick can play, it doesn't make sense to tell Mike Singletary and the San Francisco 49ers before he has to. This way, the Niners will have to prepare for Vick and his potential replacement, Kevin Kolb.

In the same breath, Reid dropped the bombshell that LeSean McCoy has a broken rib. Again, he would not give a definitive answer on whether or not he would play this week. He did, however, say that it's possible they could pad McCoy and he could play through it.

The injury apparently happened early in the game (second quarter), and McCoy sucked it up and played through it. Injuries are certainly never good news, but to hear McCoy played through a broken rib, and played at a high level, should certainly endear him to the city.

And to top off the terrible news, Reid let everyone know that Riley Cooper and Asante Samuel suffered concussions. He did say they were not as bad off as Kolb and Stewart Bradley after the Week 1 game against the Green Bay Packers, but -- and I'm sensing a theme here -- Reid would not give a timetable for their return.

With Cooper likely out of commission, It's possible the Birds sign another receiver, or grab the one they've got off the practice squad. That would mean releasing someone, so it's more likely they just hope for the best out of the three active receivers they've got, and possibly activate Clay Harbor and use him as another receiving option.

If Samuel is forced to miss time, Joselio Hanson would step in as the starter and likely split time with Dimitri Patterson. Trevard Lindley would likely be active as well to play in the team's dime package.

UPDATE: Via Howard Eskins' Twitter account: "I'm told Michael Vick likely out at least 2 weeks and could be 3 [weeks] which takes Eagles into bye week."