The drama show that has taken place with the Philadelphia Eagles this season has been as mentally taxing as it has been physical.
Yes, quarterback Michael Vick and the Eagles' offense has struggled with turnovers and finding the end zone, but coach Andy Reid was worried he'd lose the team if he changed quarterbacks. At the same time, Vick believed some members of the coaching staff wanted him benched.
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All of the mistrust certainly hasn't helped the on-field product.
Two team sources told Yahoo! Sports that Vick and Reid sat down for an abnormally long meeting this week to discuss several issues. That's when Reid came to the conclusion that Vick wasn't solely to blame for the team's problems.
"Mike ain't the problem," one unnamed Eagles defensive player told Yahoo's Jason Cole. "Look, we all know he's struggling. That ain't some secret. But we're not helping him and that's the problem.
"The defense isn't helping him, the offensive line isn't helping him; none of us. We all gotta help each other and that's what we talked about."
Vick kept his job and the Eagles player said the team would have viewed Reid differently if Vick had been pulled in favor of rookie Nick Foles.
"This ain't time to be throwing people to the street. We already had that with (defensive coordinator Juan Castillo's firing) and that didn't work," the player said. "We gotta hang together."
This is when life truly gets difficult in the NFL. Players can be coached to run better routes or make better reads or how to tuck the ball. But how do you immediately regain faith in a coach or player?
Either way, the mental toll of all of this won't help the Eagles win football games.
Follow Kareem Copeland on Twitter @kareemcopeland.
