FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) – Michael Vick practiced Wednesday with the first-team offense and indicated he might serve as the Atlanta Falcons’ No. 2 quarterback at Houston.

“I felt real good,” Vick said. “The object was to come out here, test it out, do some things on it and see how it held up, and I did a pretty good job today. I’m not sore, so we’ll see how tomorrow goes.”

Regardless of Vick’s progress the rest of the week, Doug Johnson will start Sunday against the Texans. But coach Dan Reeves couldn’t hide his enthusiasm after watching Vick work in the passing game.

“He just has a unique ability to throw the football,” Reeves said. “Is he going to be where he needs to be? He’s a long way from that, but certainly throwing in practice and getting closer to full speed is going to get him closer to where he needs to be.”

Atlanta (2-9) has fallen apart since Vick fractured his right leg in an Aug. 16 preseason game.

Losers of two straight and nine of their last 10 games, the Falcons rank 30th in total offense and last in third-down efficiency.

Johnson and Kurt Kittner have combined to produce the NFL’s worst interception ratio – one every 18.1 attempts. Vick, a first-team Pro Bowl selection last year in his first full season as a starter, threw one every 52.6 attempts.

“He amazed us a couple of weeks ago when he came out and started throwing the ball,” Reeves said.

“Hopefully tomorrow the tempo steps up a little bit, and we’ll see how it goes.”

Vick’s availability could hinge on whether he can roll out on passes and elude the defense when leaving the pocket. He was dazzling last year in setting four NFL records for rushing by a quarterback.

“I can’t get out of the pocket yet, which is something I haven’t tried all during the week,” Vick said. “Maybe I’ll get an opportunity to do it tomorrow or Friday and see how I hold up.”

If does return this year, Vick won’t have Warrick Dunn to complement him in the offense. The Falcons placed their leading rusher on the season-ending injured reserve list Tuesday with a torn ligament in his left foot.

AP-ES-11-26-03 1749EST