Vick, Manning Please Crowd

Michael Vick and Peyton Manning gave the Japanese fans what they wanted in the American Bowl, playing into the second quarter and showing why they are two of the NFL’s best quarterbacks.

Vick displayed his scrambling skills during the exhibition opener Saturday, gaining 10 yards on his only run in the Atlanta Falcons’ 27-21 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. He also completed four of seven passes for 51 yards in front of 45,203 in the Tokyo Dome.

“I wanted to give the fans something to cheer about,” said Vick, who left after the first play of the second quarter. “Just wanted to get the jitters out, and I didn’t want to shortchange the fans or myself.”

Manning threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Troy Walters at 6:45 of the first quarter, giving the Colts a 7-0 lead. He was six of eight for 36 yards with one interception.

Vick’s replacement, Matt Schaub, threw two touchdown passes in the first half.

Schaub, who completed 11 of 13 passes for 115 yards, gave the Falcons a 20-14 lead with 10 seconds left in the half with a three-yard pass to Fred McCrary.

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New York Giant tight end Jeremy Shockey got into a fight with two New York Jet players on the second play of a joint practice between the teams that also featured an argument between Giant Coach Tom Coughlin and Jet defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson.

On the second play of a nine-on-seven drill, Shockey got in a tussle with defensive backs Erik Coleman and Oliver Celestin, and soon all three players were throwing wild punches.

Coleman and Celestin pulled Shockey to the ground and Jet linebacker Jonathan Vilma jumped on top, touching off a melee involving numerous players from both teams. Order was restored after a few minutes.

Coughlin got into an argument with Henderson after several plays in which the Jets appeared to go beyond the prescribed rules of the practice, which allow defensive players to bump or slow down ball carriers as they go by, without tackling them.

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As expected, Rich Gannon is retiring from the NFL after sitting out most of last season because of a broken vertebra in his neck. The 39-year-old quarterback for the Oakland Raiders made the announcement at an afternoon news conference at the team’s training facility in Napa.

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Mark Clayton, the Baltimore Ravens’ top draft pick, signed a five-year, $8.2 million contract, ending a five-day holdout. A standout wide receiver at Oklahoma, he was the 22nd overall pick. He’ll practice with the team for the first time on Monday.

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Running back Duce Staley’s sore right knee is becoming a concern for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has sat out all but one full day of training camp contact work because of the injury, and Coach Bill Cowher said that Staley would undergo an MRI test today.

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Defensive tackle John Parella and offensive tackle Matt Willig signed one-year contracts with the St. Louis Rams. Parella, a 12-year veteran, was with the Raiders the last four seasons. Willig, entering his 14th season, was with the Carolina Panthers the last two years.