King on M&M: Eagles 'dangerous' for Pats

Peter King of Sports Illustrated and NBC made his weekly appearance on the Mut & Merloni show Wednesday to talk about the Patriots and NFL news.

The Patriots head to Philadelphia Sunday to meet the underachieving Eagles, who might be without quarterback Michael Vick. Nursing broken ribs, Vick did not practice Wednesday after throwing some on Tuesday. In Philadelphia's last game, backup Vince Young sparked a victory over the Giants in New York, improving the Eagles' record to 4-6 and keeping their slim postseason hopes alive.

"Whether Vick plays or not, this is a very, very dangerous team that the Patriots are going in to play this week," King said. "Because they know that every game is a playoff game. They're treating every game just like a playoff game."

Added King: "I don't care if Vince Young plays. I still think it's a very dangerous game. I think Vince Young gained confidence the other day against the Giants. I would not be at all surprised to see Vince Young play a really solid game if he has to play. Given that, I do think Vick is going to play. But Vick wounded is not a lot better than Vince Young healthy. So, I'm not sure that the difference is going to be that great."

Following are more highlights from the conversation.

On if Tim Tebow will be the starting quarterback of the Broncos next season: "I don't think so. I think the answer is more likely to be [USC's] Matt Barkley, [Oklahoma's] Landry Jones -- if Matt Barkley comes out, because honestly, I don't know if he's going to, and I don't think anybody knows that for sure right now.

"I think the one thing about Tebow that's so dangerous to predict right now is they're not going to be able to get rid of him if he keeps winning. And he might. You never know. I just think it's a little bit of fool's gold if you ask me. I just don't think he's a consistent enough player."

On if the Packers will try for an undefeated season rather than rest their starters: "My feeling is, very simply, that Mike McCarthy is going to go for it. Last year, the last game of the season, the Chicago Bears had nothing to play for, and yet they played their hearts out trying to beat the Packers and keep the Packers out of the playoffs. Lovie Smith and Mike McCarthy, I think they just view that it's more of a baseball thing with them. That they just view that they owe the game more than I think some of other coaches and front office people feel that they have.

"I think any team has the right to do whatever they want at the end of the season. If they think it's best for their team in the playoffs to sit out and not play, then that's fine. Let them do whatever they want. But in my opinion, I think once you get to a certain point, you really owe it to your fans to go for 16-0. They've supported you, they want to see history. If you've got injuries, that's one thing. I think the Packers certainly would go for it unless they've got some significant injuries that they want to take care of down the stretch."

On the 49ers' travel-heavy schedule: "I think it's totally unfair for the 49ers, to have them going back and forth that many times during the course of a season. And to me, I view this as a real unfair situation for San Francisco. And I still think they've got a heck of a shot to win. But I just think it's totally unfair that you're asked to play five Eastern time zone games as a West Coast team in a span of 10 weeks. It's wrong."

On Kyle Orton's future after being waived by the Broncos: "I think that Kyle Orton might get claimed by the Chicago Bears. It wouldn't surprise me at all. Because I think that the value to them -- especially because he's such a smart guy -- the value to them is pretty great. So, to me, I kind of think he might get picked up. If he doesn't get picked up, there's no question the Bears are going to be interested in him."

To hear the interview, go to the Mut & Merloni audio on demand page. For more Patriots news, visit the team page at weei.com/patriots.