OK, I had scheduled this weekend away from my computer, feeling no guilt that I would not be able to blog for a couple of days. I was enjoying a nice day on the beach in OC NJ Saturday, when one of the dozens of advertising airplanes flew by carrying a banner that said “Shame on Eagles, no longer a fan”.

I immediately felt guilty about my blog. Was Gear Up For Sports behind this message ? Besides guilt though, I was amazed that someone would PAY to have that plane fly down the beach with that message.

Which gets to to the point of my short, but sweet blog entry. The Eagles paid Mike Vick, $1.6 million for the first year of his contract, with an option year to follow that they do not have to pick up. You cannot BUY the publicity that the Eagles have gotten since they signed Mike Vick Thursday for $1.6 million. Jeffery Lurie is a smart businessman.

That does not account for the continued publicity they are getting and will get well into the 2009 season or the revenue from people in Philly (and probably other cities) lining up for hours to get a Mike Vick jersey. There are new Mike Vick stories everyday on the web somewhere. Very smart indeed,  because the firestorm Terrell Owens caused for his short period of time here in Philly is just starting to die down.

Team/Player Photos: Philadelphia Eagles Team / Player Photos on Jul 24, 2010

Jeffery Lurie recognized signing Mike Vick  for what it is: free press. The T.O years confirmed the fact that his organization can handle the negative aspects of a controversial impact player in the ranks. Mike Vick never has to play a down, and his contract has already been paid for in full. The rest of the publicity the Eagles get over the Vick signing is just gravy. He’s even getting people to dig into their own pockets to pay for team publicity. With that being said, all of the Vick signing press conference rhetoric from Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb, looks like nothing more than adding large fries to that extra value meal Jeffery Laurie order up !

Tomorrow: Eagles vs. Patriots preseason game breakdown….better known as : The Empire Strikes Back !