World HOt toPPIX

Michael Vick said that he wasn't complaining and that he wasn't blaming the officials ... and then he complained and blamed the officials.

WorldU.S.N.Y. / RegionBusinessTechnologyScienceHealthSportsOpinionArtsStyleTravelJobsReal EstateAutosBaseballN.F.L.College FootballN.B.A.

Michael Vick said that he wasn?t complaining and that he wasn?t blaming the officials ? and then, if my reading comprehension skills are still O.K., he complained and blamed the officials.

Below is a partial transcript of his talk with reporters ? after the Eagles? loss to the Giants ? in which he says officials have been looking the other way as he has been battered in the pocket. The full conversation is at Eagles.com.

Let us know whether you agree with him. On Sunday night, the ESPN analyst and former quarterback Trent Dilfer was adamant that Vick had not been treated differently by the officials, saying essentially that it was all in Vick?s head. (Vick?s head is a different story.)

On the play in which he hurt his hand: ?It was on the pass to (WR) Jeremy (Maclin). (It was) Just an unfortunate situation, after such a great play, and I felt like I got hit late. There was no flag. Broke my hand.?

On whether his hand was on his helmet when he got hit: ?It really doesn?t matter where it was at. I was trying to protect myself. Still didn?t get a flag and that?s pretty much been the story for the last three weeks. I mean obviously at some point something catastrophic is going to happen and I broke my hand. Not to blame the refs or say that it was their fault. It?s just one of those unfortunate situations and I just think more precautions should be taken when I?m inside the pocket. I mean if you look at all the replays, I?m on the ground every time and it?s unfortunate for myself and it?s unfortunate for my team and I?ll be lying if I said I wasn?t, if I were to sit here and say I wasn?t frustrated right now because of that.?

On why he feels he doesn?t get the calls: ?Why? I mean, you all see it. There?s no reason for me to go into a big dissertation about why I?m not getting the calls. The refs, they have to do their job as well. I even mentioned it in training camp to the refs when we had our little meeting, so just for precaution. But hey, I don?t know.?

On whether he felt that there were other late hits on him: ?Everybody saw the game. I was on the ground constantly. All of the time. Every time I throw the ball in all my highlights and just watching film in general, every time I throw the ball I?m on the ground, getting hit in the head and I don?t know why. I don?t get the 15-yard flags like everybody else does but hey- I?m not going to complain about it. I?m just making everybody aware and hopefully somebody will take notice.?

8:13 a.m. | Updated Mike Pereira, former N.F.L. director of officials, said on FoxSports.com: ?Michael Vick is really good at what he does on a football field. What he isn?t so good at is being an official.?

8:27 pmSomeone should tell Mike that he's playing tackle football. I'm sure there's a nice flag football league down there in Philly. I bet he'd be a star.

8:28 pmSo Vick thinks he is being treated unfairly and the officials aren't protecting him from being abused. Now he knows how the dogs felt.

8:47 pmMichael Vick holds on to the ball too long. Watch him. He's a whining crybaby. He's luck the Eagles organization can't do to him what he did to his dogs when they couldn't/wouldn't fight. Maybe his karma is finally catching up to him. Vick should contact Jay Cutler about the hits. I don't hear Cutler blaming the officials.

11:24 pmLot of women commenting here on how Vick should "man up." Nice society we have here. The man paid his dues and is the reason many people pay big money to attend games. He should be treated as a valuable commodity by the NFL.

11:25 pmMeet the new Mike Vick, same as the old Mike Vick--huge sense of entitlement, unable or unwilling to admit his own failures.

Wasn't he just saying a few weeks ago how no defense's could plan for him or contain him? Most of the time when the QB is 'on the ground constantly' it means that his o-line is terrible or he's holding onto the ball too long, or both--not that he's getting late hits on every play that the referee's are failing to call. He may also want to remember that the QB isn't afforded the same protection when he runs outside of the pocket, for more details he can call up Ben Rothlisberger, who also gets hit a lot but who doesn't whine like a baby when it happens.

12:53 amVick ought to thank Vince Young for his "dream team" comment. He can also thank Andy Reid and Eagle management for not getting quality O lineman. If he's smart, which does not look like it's the case, he should pipe down about the refs; half of his amazing plays from last year featured him getting away from being crushed and either running or throwing for a big gain or a TD. If the refs used the "in the grasp" rule they employ to keep non mobile QBs safe, he would not have been as successful. But no amount of crying now will put him in that category: Vick will either have to get faster, or he will continue to be pummeled. It's called football, baby!

12:54 amThe Eagles elected to go with Vick over Kobe, in large part because their current team is built better for the type of quarterback Vick is. At least in this early part of the season, that isn't looking like a good decision. The defence which was supposed to be outstanding is playing like an average defence, maybe a bit worse.

12:56 amVick would have been better off not saying anything, but I've watched a lot of his games and he does stand there and take the hits as he's throwing without flinching at least as well as Roethlisberger does. I watched big Ben spending a lot of time in last nights game glancing around trying to figure out where Mathis and Freeney were; he had clearly had enough of getting hit by those guys and had a case of happy feet.

So what would be better - Vick whining to the refs everytime he gets hit, ala Tom Brady? He's not complaining about the hits he takes when he's running; he's talking about late hits and hits to the head when he's in the pocket, and honestly from where I sit he has a case. It was kind of weird this morning watching sportscenter and hearing a couple of ex QBs/analysts say that Vick didn't have a case to make while they were showing a clip from yesterdays game of a defender putting the top of his helment into Vick's facemask after he had released the ball, with the ref watching in the background. I've seen 'blow to the head' called for guys slapping a QB's helmet but nothing was called in this case.

As to the other issue, I try not to go there, but it's fascinating to know that attempted rape doesn't engender a similar degree of animosity from the fans. Of course, 4 game suspension - I guess he paid the price.

12:56 amsome people on here are acting as if we've never made a bad choice - regardless of what it is .. point is, we want a fair shake and a second chance. Vick has paid for his actions and have continued working with peta.

Now to the football part - as much as i would like to say he is being treated unfair, i can't - i watch alot of games and it's not all the time that those flags are thrown for late hits etc. so vick, tell the eagles to invest in a better line and you'll be okay.. THEY MUST PROTECT $100 Million - maybe vick, you should take a pay cut so they can have the cap to do so ...

12:57 amVick is not being treated fairly by the officials....it's the same thing that was happening last year. If Brady or Peyton (when he was playing) or Eli were getting hit like this, the other team would have so many penalties, they would be backed out of the stadium....just sayin!

1:31 amAnybody that wants to claim that Vick was not hit late and high on the play when he waas injured is a bald-faced liar. Had that play involved Tom Brady, the offender would have been crucified.

1:34 amThe officials missed an obvious facemask on Eli Manning that should have resulted in 15 yards and a first down instead the Giants had to punt and you don't hear Eli complaining about it.

2:16 amSanchez almost had his nose broken on a Raider hit to the head and he didn't say anything. Sometimes they're called and sometimes not.

2:17 amSanchez got poked in the air on a hand to the facemask and there was no call. Officials always miss some calls. Vick's injury in the the last weeks game was caused by his own teammate so hard to see that was his being on the ground and getting hit.

2:22 amVick's in an offensive scheme that makes him more vulnerable than most NFL QBs, and his legs aren't what they once were. My father's gut instincts about football usually are on-target, and before the season started, he told me, "The Eagles aren't going to be as good as everyone seems to think they'll be. Vick's going to get hurt."

Vick's hurting himself by complaining about the refs, though. That's a good way to earn their disdain, and it won't help matters any. The most highly-regarded QBs overcome whatever unfairness they face by playing as well as possible, and taking responsibility when things don't go their teams' way. That's what an effective leader does.

5:02 amVick should henceforth be given the choice of wearing an adult diaper or tutu outside his uniform to signal all onrushing defensemen that he is incapable of facing adversity, and should not be tackled. In return, he shall be ruled down when touched by two hands of one or more defenders.

None of the hits he took yesterday was even borderline illegal. But to think that his style, where he is always looking to squirm away from a tackle to extend the play, doesn't result in the opposition trying to hit him a little harder to stop those efforts, is naive.

5:02 am8:13 a.m. | Updated Mike Pereira, former N.F.L. director of officials, said on FoxSports.com: ?Michael Vick is really good at what he does on a football field. What he isn?t so good at is being an official.?

The key word in Mr Pereira title is former. Therefore he is a paid talking head. It is in the interest of ratings to stoke every potential controversy on the off chance that on more viewer turn in.

What matters here is what the Commissioner and the current officials do. Clearly, there is an objective way to police this up. They have film to review every scoring play therefore they have film to review Mr. Vick's claims. Additionally, these claims were formerly made last year by the Eagles organization as well.

Vick is not hurting himself as other have said. Clearly it is the contact after the play that's doing it. There is a larger question here. Is football going to remain a violent contact sport? If it is then the rules need to be uniform and no quarterback should be protected. If the league truly wants to expand from a 16 game season to an 18 game season, then an argument could be made for protection of the franchise quarterback. However, here too the rules need to be uniform.., even for a convicted felon.

7:28 amVick is echoing the whining statements of his own coach from last year. None of the hits were late. He is frustrated because the dream team isn't working out so far. Win some games and stop acting like a chump and maybe people will respect you, Mike.

8:53 amStill with the "dog killer," huh? How long you guys been waiting to trot these gems out. I assume the vitriol for Donte Stallworth and Leonard Little is even greater. Just kidding. Google their names, because I'm pretty certain you don't know or care who they are. The hit that knocked him out of the game was illegal. Period.

BTW, for all the people telling Vick to man up, Mike Ditka just called him a "tough kid" on the MNF pregame show, and that's good enough endorsement for me.

Really? Maybe fading for autumn? RT @birdinthecity: @judybattista Does it mean I watch too much if I'm thinking Shanny looks less orange?

The New York Times will report on the Giants and Jets throughout the season. You can also find links to coverage from around the league, tips for your fantasy football team and discussion with other football fans.

JETS 799GIANTS 630PATRIOTS 222BRETT FAVRE 187REX RYAN 153STEELERS 134FANTASY FOOTBALL 129EAGLES 125SUPER BOWL 121MARK SANCHEZ 116N.F.L.

Critiqued by Namath, Ryan Stands GroundRex Ryan offered for Joe Namath to take in a Jets practice after Namath said he felt that Ryan had the Jets thinking they were better than they are.

Jets Bring Injuries Back From OaklandMark Sanchez will have to wear a visor after breaking his nose and tight end Jeff Cumberland was lost for the season.

Monday Matchup, Redskins at Cowboys?The Redskins have certainly improved, both on the field and off: their injury reports no longer come with a separate insubordinate section.