Mr. and Mrs. Utley probably aren't doing cartwheels over the arrival of Michael Vick.

A funny thing happened on the way to the beginning of the regular season…

1. Don’t expect many Chase Utley and Michael Vick summits:

As the world knows by now, the Eagles signed Vick to a two year deal. One of the more bizarre aspects of the Eagles doing this is owner Jeffrey Lurie’s intense hatred for Vick’s actions. During Vick’s introductory press conference, Lurie stated he had to do a lot of “soul searching” regarding the highly controversial maneuver, which already seems to be creating a division amongst Eagles fans and the city as a whole. .

One of the most interesting parts of the signing is that it now pits two people on the opposite end of the dog loving spectrum in Philadelphia. While we all know Vick’s exploits, Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley and wife Jennifer are big time supporter of all things dog related. Furthermore, Mrs. Utley is a board member of the Pennsylvania SPCA, an organization that takes in abused and neglected dogs. In fact, Jennifer Utley was amongst those banned from Vick’s introductory press conference on Friday.

Not only is he a world “f——“ champion as he likes to put it, but Utley is arguably the city’s most popular athlete. Juxtaposing the Utleys’ steady work with dogs with Vick’s appearance sure does make for interesting public relations possibilities down the road.

2. The Eagles are going to run the wildcat…bet you didn’t know that one:

According to Reid, Vick is coming in as a “quarterback”. While that may have a shred of truth to it, you best believe Vick’s value with this team comes from being a part of any wildcat set, at least in the immediate future.

A guy who hasn’t looked at an NFL defense in three years, who wasn’t actually armed with Aikman-esque accuracy, is not going to be counted on as a factor at quarterback for weeks.

Instead, at points of the game, the Eagles could probably put Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, Jeremy Maclin (or Kevin Curtis), DeSean Jackson and Vick on the field in a variety of formations. This is going to create a massive problem for opponents potentially.

However, this isn’t the NBA and they aren’t the ’87 Lakers, where everyone could conceivably touch the ball during a possession. As Miami will find out, it will have high and lows. Ultimately though, the wildcat will not determine whether the Eagles can finally get over the hump.

3. Replacing Brian Dawkins and Jim Johnson will not be easy:

One of the reasons why the Eagles may have pulled the trigger on such a perhaps, unnecessary move is the looming concern that their once powerful defense may be silly putty.

Defensive leader Brian Dawkins is gone and most crushing, defensive coordinator deluxe Jim Johnson passed away in July. Sean McDermott steps in as the defensive coordinator but doesn’t have nearly the experience of what Johnson brought to the table.

During its preseason game against New England last Thursday night, Tom Brady had enough time in the pocket light a cigarette, finish it, and then consume coffee afterwards. Regardless of how much money and resources poured into that secondary, if their front can’t get pressure, the defensive backs are going to get beat a la last year’s NFC title game.

4. The end is near for Brian Westbrook:

As discussed weeks ago on this site, we could very well be approaching the final days of “Brian Westbrook, Pro Bowl running back for the Philadelphia Eagles” and entering the era of “Brian Westbrook, formerly great running back of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Hence, the role rookie LeSean McCoy may play as the season wears on could be vital. Remember, with older players it isn’t necessarily what they are doing in September and October, but can they still get it done after weeks of abuse after Thanksgiving? If Westbrook can’t hold up, McCoy will need to step in and give the Eagles something out of the backfield.

5. One last thing on Vick…he’s not popular with musicians either.

Pink, who is originally from Philadelphia, offered up these thoughts on Vick’s arrival:

“Wow. Michael Vick in My hometown, Philly. Of all the places. I hope the fans tear him to pieces like his beloved dogs.”

Get ready folks, this is only the beginning.

Franchise rating: ***** – I don’t understand the Vick move on any level. They could have done the wildcat formation without him and they were already a talented offensive team. This is an example of pure overcompensating and the ultimate risk versus reward proposition. Nonetheless, the Eagles are on the short list of teams that could get to the Super Bowl. Their defense stands as the team’s biggest question mark.