The Strange Case of Michael Vick

When the Atlanta Falcons selected Michael Vick with the number one pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, the Falcons upper management surely felt it had found its quarterback for the next ten years. Not only that but they had found the face of their franchise, a bona fide college superstar that had captured the imagination of fans nationwide with his unique abiilty to scramble and run away from defenders as well as possessing a rocket arm capable of throwing a football over 60 yards on a rope. Indeed over the past several years, Michael Vick's number 7 jersey has been one of the best sellers. He has his own Nike Shoe. Commercials and endorsements poured in.

However for the Falcons, Michael Vick is not turning out to be the miracle quarterback people perceived him to be.

Indeed his career started out with promise. During the 2002 season Vick passed for 2,936 yards, threw 16 touchdowns verses 8 interceptions and rushed for 777 yards. The 2002 team outscored rival Carolina 71-0 in two games. There were times that Vick seemed capable of leading an entire team by himself . His mad scramble in overtime lifted the Falcons over the Minnesota Viking 30-24 in overtime. The Falcons advanced to the playoffs with a record of 9-6-1 and became the first franchise to hand the Green Bay Packers a playoff loss at Lambeau field. The Falcons would go on to lose to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round but fans and the franchise had reason to look to the future with the young Vick at the helm.

However, in 2003 Vick would fall victim to the dreaded "Madden Curse" (where players inexplicably appear to have bad luck follow them for being the poster boy for the video game) injuring his fibula in a preseason game against the Ravens after adorning the cover of the Madden NFL 2004 video game. Vick would not be able to return until week 11, far to late to help the struggling Falcons. Vick went 3-1 at quarterback after returning from injury but this was not enough to save coach Dan Reeves' job. He stepped down as coach and left defensive coordinator Wade Phillips as interim head coach over the last three games. Owner Arthur Blank would go on to hire Rich McKay as General Manager and the front office felt a wholesale change was needed.

In 2004, the Falcons hired Jim Mora, the son of former New Orleans Coach Jim Mora whom went on to become famous for his "playoffs speech" in his final year with Indianapolis. Mora seemed like an odd choice. He was unproven, he had been a former defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers, a team that had not set the league on fire while he was there. He had no head coaching experience. Yet he was young and the Falcons liked the fire and enthusiasm he brought to the job. Mora brought in Greg Knapp, the former offensive coordinator who was famous for his sideline argument with the disgruntled Terrell Owens. The coaching decided that their West Coast offense approach would be a perfect fit for a quarterback with the skill set of Michael Vick. This was not the case. Vick often struggled with the offense and his numbers dropped in terms of passing yardage (2312 yards) and he only threw for 14 TDs. Yet Vick remained as elusive as ever rushing for 902 yards and the Falcons soared to an 11-5 record and the number 2 seed in the NFL playoffs. Atlanta destroyed the St. Louis Rams in the divisional round but lost to the Eagle once again as the Philadelphia defense forced Vick to stay in the pocket and beat them with his passing. He couldn't. Atlanta lost 27-14.

Atlanta fans were told to be patient, it often takes a quarterback three years to master the West Coast offense. In 2005, Atlanta raced to 6-2 record yet could not maintain the momentum. The y would go 2-6 the rest of the way ending the season at 8-8. Vick's numbers weren't much better in 2005: 2412 yards, 15 TDs and 13 INTs. Indeed a quarterback controversey of sorts started in 2005 when Matt Schaub subbed for an injured Vick against the New England Patriots and threw for 298 yards and 3 TDs. Although Atlanta lost the game, Schaub looked more poised in the pocket and more comfortable with the offense than Vick. The Falcons management maintained injuries on defense and lack of pass protection were to blame for Atlanta's woes. Vick's quarterback rating in 2005 was a mediocre 73.1, lower than a lot of rookie and backup QB's.

In 2006, the Falcons once again raced out to a fast start, going 5-2 over the first 7 games. But the record masked an underlying problem, the Falcons were struggling on offense averaging a little over 18 points a game over the 7 game span and were settling for field goals inside the red zone. Worse, Falcons receivers seemed incapable of holding onto the ball. Despite having three number one draft picks in the starting receiving core, the leading Falcons wideout was Roddy White who only caught 30 passes. Indeed, one can only imagine what Vick's numbers would have been if his receivers could catch. Vick showed more accuracy and pocket awareness than any of his past seasons combined yet it did not reflect in his numbers 2474 yards but he did go on to throw for a career high 20 TDs and rushed for an amazing 1039 yards shattering the NFL rushing record for a single season by a quarterback. However, the Vick magic was gone, he no longer seemed capable of carrying the team the way fans had grown accustomed to seeing. Vick's anger was on display for the world to see after a home loss to the Saints as Vick shot the middle finger to a heckler in the stands. The Falcons finished with a 7-9 record and head coach Jim Mora and his staff were fired.

Is Vick the victim of bad coaching, bad luck, or is the media to blame? Indeed Vick was anointed as the Falcons savior, the man that would finally lead the struggling franchise out of mediocrity. Yet after two losing seasons in a row, Vick himself seems to be frustrated and his leadership skills have come into question. Worse, in the offseason Vick was detained at a Miami airport suspected of carrying marijuana in a water bottle (Vick was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing).

Enter Bobby Petrino, former head coach at the University of Louisville and now the new head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. It will be Petrino's job to get the most out of Vick and the offense as he is known for his innovative playcalling and offensive schemes. Arthur Blank and Petrino have let it be known to the media that Vick is their guy at quarterback for the Falcons. But one would think Vick is at a career crossroads. One more mediocre season at quarterback combined with a much lower salary cap charge in 2008 could force the Falcons to consider trading or releasing Vick and looking forward. Even more evident is the franchise's reluctance to let backup QB Matt Schaub to leave as a restricted free agent as the Falcons are sure to tag Schaub with the highest possible tender meaning a franchise would have to give up a first and third round draft pick to acquire him.

Is Vick another Kordell Stewart, highly touted coming out of college but just couldn't translate the talent into a consistent pro career? Either way, we're going to find out in 2007. A remarkable show of improvement by Vick and the Falcons will restore the faith of the fans, management and hopefully Michael Vick himself.