Ranks reax: Can you trust banged-up Vick? 

September, 21, 2011
09/21/11
3:27
PM ET
Tuesday night, it looked as if Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick was unlikely to recover from his concussion in time to suit up for Sunday's home tilt with the rival New York Giants. So I advised Vick owners to prepare for the scenario that he wouldn't play, proudly saying on "NFL Live" that Mike Kafka would be my No. 20-ranked quarterback for this week. Isn't it amazing how much things can change in a week? Who would have guessed the Northwestern product would ever play, let alone be ranked by a fantasy analyst?

Well, Wednesday morning I changed my mind again; a few minutes before our Week 3 rankings were released, I saw the news that Vick was now likely to play and slotted him back in as my No. 5 quarterback -- as did two other rankers -- and removed Kafka. Vick playing would add clarity to the situation; it's nearly impossible to tell what the inexperienced Kafka would do, though with his weapons and the Giants' shaky secondary, it would have been interesting. Now with Vick likely to start, it's irrelevant. But this underscores how a fantasy owner should always be looking for the right depth at quarterback.

For Eric's thoughts on Michael Vick, Arian Foster, Ryan Fitzpatrick and others, you must be an ESPN Insider.

Eric Karabell | email

ESPN.com Senior Writer
  • ESPN contributor on TV, radio, podcasts, blogs, Magazine
  • Charter member of FSWA Hall of Fame
  • Author of "The Best Philadelphia Sports Arguments"

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Eric Karabell
Eric Karabell

Eric Karabell is an ESPN.com senior writer. He has worked at ESPN since 1997 and covered fantasy sports for ESPN since 2001, specializing in baseball and football. Eric appears several times per week on SportsCenter, NFL Live and other ESPN shows, contributes to ESPN Radio and ESPN The Magazine and is the host of the Baseball Today Podcast. He has been honored twice as fantasy sports writer of the year by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, his blog was named best fantasy baseball series for 2007 and he was inducted into the inaugural FSWA Hall of Fame class in 2010.

Eric grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs, and accordingly, favors Philly teams first, his fantasy teams second. He previously served as ESPN.com's lead NBA editor, and is a former Washington Post and Philadelphia Inquirer sports writer. Eric is also the author of "The Best Philadelphia Sports Arguments," published by Source Books and available in bookstores and online.

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