Now that the Atlanta Falcons have once again failed to successfully complete back to back winning seasons, one must ask the question: Is Michael Vick's skill set a blessing or a curse.
Exhibit 1: Vick has such an outstanding skill set (strong arm & amazing quickness). that one has to argue if it would ever make sense for him to just become a "pocket passer. This season, he stayed in the pocket more than any previous season, and their 8-8 record was the end result.
Exhibit 2: Because Vick rarely throws the long ball consistently, receivers are unknowingly put in a "Receiver Purgatory" when they sign with the Falcons. The Falcons have had several decent receiver's whose numbers have suffered considerably as a result of Vick's passing consistency. Peerless Price had a bright future ahead of him before he signed with the Atlanta. Price is now on the verge of being out of the league. In comes Michael Jenkins, who was supposed to be the new long ball target. Jenkins is now feeling the heat. If he is smart, he will get out before his numbers suffer any further. Now there is the "aspiring" rookie Roddy White. White will likely suffer two more years of mediocre numbers, before his contract is up for renewal. If he is lucky, another team will realize his unused talent and take a chance on him at that time.
Exhibit 3: Coaches are being hung out to dry because they can't seem to find the perfect offense that will showcase ALL of Vick's talents. The first victim was Dan Reeves. Now the Atlanta local sports talk shows are calling for the head of Jim Mora. Mora introduced the Run and Shoot offense to compliment Vick's skills. However, this just resulted in a worse record than last year. I don't know if there is a coach or offensive coordinator out there that could design an offense to accentuate Vick's skill set at the QB position.
So ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I have to ask you to decide if the defendant (Michael Vick) is a blessing or curse. Should he be found to be a blessing, the Falcons will continue to muddle in mediocrity while Vick continues to stun us as the "Human Highlight Film" of the NFL. Should you find him to be a curse, he will be stripped of his starting position as a QB and lined up at wideout and halfback. This will allow him to totally confuse opposing defenses and allow the Falcons to possibly make it to the big game one day (Super Bowl).
If the QB position does not fit, then Michael Vick must sit!
I do not think it is a curse, I just think we have some coaches that are idiots. If I coach Vick, I call the QB draw at least as many times as I call a run to Dunn. Let him run until he is injured because that is the only way to stop him. IF you force him to pass, then the other team wins. With that said, i would never draft him because of his only real skill is running and that type of QB is the most ineffective long term.
Odd as this may sound, last week I had a conversation with a guy in Brooklyn who is a long time Atlanta fan on the subject of Vick. It was an interesting discussion, and your piece overlapped some of the things we spoke about.
I am of the belief that while they appear to have done the right things to get him quality receivers, these guys do not fit his talents. If Alge Crumpler is your leader in receptions, you would think they might gear their free agent interests in a similar direction with a physical presence. Peerless had a big year opposite Moulds and people swore that they did not double Eric. Hogwash.
When it comes to spending a first round pick to get Roddy White and Michael Jenkins, as we all know the NFL draft is an inexact science. Rashaun Woods was taken late in the first round by the 49ers and has been invisible ever since. I am not even sure anyone has heard of him, have you?
They need to nurture Vick by getting a physical receiver who can complement Crumpler by making tough catches in the middle of the field. Obviously Vick is unable to throw an accurate deep ball or he would have a ton of 300+ yard games in his career already.
I guess where I am leading with this is that the coaching staff is responsible for putting him in the position to succeed. If you see my piece on coaching I ponder what Vick would do if he just called his own shots. I also analyzed the rushing black quarterback while taking a look at Vick, McNabb and Leftwich.
Perhaps the best thing to do would take a tremendous amount of guts. The two q
(continued) ...quarterback system can get a coach fired or raked over the coals (just ask Fulmer at the University of Tennessee) but it might be time to test it out in the NFL. Schaub can lead them on a drive in much the way Kordell used to come in for the Steelers. The defense would be on their heels. Lining both of them up in the same backfield is another weapon. Why not have Schaub hand off to Vick running left, leaving him the option to throw a pass down the field or run?
Norcal, I agree with your suggestion. I just wish the Falcons had the #### to try something like this. By the way, did you hear that the ATL QB coach was fired and Ty Detmer could be taking his place? Is it just me, but "what in the hell" has Ty done to deserve any NFL QB coaching job? Much less the QB coach of Mike Vick? Looks like the Falcons still don't have a clue.
Well, let me start by saying that I am stunned to hear the Ty will not be able to sign with an AFC team in 2006 as a starter. I expected him to go to the Raiders where the Detmer brothers would be battling the Manning brothers in the Championship Games. The games would of course take place in hell with the players on ice skates.
"Adding" him as QB coach seems like the best way for the franchise to be cheap. He already presumably has given his input to Vick as the 3rd stringer. Is the kid going to listen to him more now that he is his position coach? I really doubt that. They also are polar opposites as players with Detmer having made his living in the wide open BYU offense & Vick the explosive runner. What does Ty have to offer him?
Ty: Okay Mike, here is how I did it. We spread out 5 guys wide and pretend that Carolina is actuall Air Force. You will have 10-15 seconds in the pocket to complete all of your passes so don't worry.
Ridiculous move. I would say "at least they made one" but this is just bad.
They are 8 and 8 because Michael Vick is not, nor ever has been, the great quarterback everyone seems to think he is. He's a mediocre passer, and he scrambles because he can't do anything else. The fact that he is able to scramble so quickly and run so fast is simply a testament to his ability as an athlete, not a great quarterback.
I have further lost respect for him as he continues to make ignorant statements regarding his younger brother Marcus, such as "the truth will come out." Guess what Michael...the truth is out. Your brother stomped a defenseless players leg, and then lied about it. From what I can tell he was given more than ample opportunity to succeed at a school where he had little chance of success other than on the football field.
Michael will be around for a couple more years before he disappears and becomes "Michael who?" and Marcus will never have what it takes to compete on the pro level, mentally or physically.
Like every red-blooded American male, I am the ultimate sports fan... blah, blah, blah. I am sure that all the bloggers might say something along these lines. Let me get straight to the point... I believe opinions are like A-holes...eve rybody has one! And while my opinion does not always get the popular vote, I am not at all afraid to throw someone under the bus, if they deserve it. I hope this does not result in any hard feelings, but if it does, "man up" and deal with it. Now that's what's up!
You can find some of my best work in the trash bin at the back parking lot of FOX Sports studios (and the Best Damn Sports Show producers still refuse to take any of my phone calls).
must sit!
