Michael Vick was released from prison this week and was approved to be under home confinement as there weren't enough spots for him at the half-way house (yea right). I can't help but love this story line. Michael Vick went from being the league's top paid player, to wearing an ankle bracelet in his own home in Virginia.
Will he be allowed to play this season? Does any team in the league want to take a chance on him?
I have to think that there might be some owners willing to pay him to start for their city. There are certainly some teams that seem just a QB away from the playoffs. In this new era of "character issues" in the NFL, it will be interesting if anyone is interested in such a flashy, exciting, but not always reliable QB as Vick is.
One has to ask themselves, what teams are in need of a (maybe) mobile QB? I have to think teams such as the: Jets, 49ers, Lions, Titans, Texans, and Chiefs might at least want to consider this possibility.
You may already have your Matt Stafford Lions jersey on pre-order, but I'd rather see Vick throwing to Calvin Johnson than Stafford. The Titans have Collins (for now), and Young on the bench, but if Collins goes elsewhere, maybe the Tennessee brass would consider Vick a good mentor for Young (ok, I don't even buy that scratch the Titans off the list).
Does Michael Vick have a place in the NFL, I think yes. Will any team roll the dice on him at this point and hope that he gets reinstated by emperor, I mean commissioner Goodell, is yet to be determined.
As a Beane disciple I have to disagree if your fundamental assumption is that Michael Vick is capable of quarterbacking a winning NFL team. It is exponentially more important to have a quarterback who minimizes turnovers than one who makes spectacular plays. This is what makes Tom Brady so valuable to his team. Winning football games is almost entirely correlated to turnover differential and injuries. Michael Vick is like Stephon Marbury, Chad Johnson, etc- flashy players that pull off spectacular moves and put up big numbers but are on perennially losing teams. Why? Because they do an infinite number of things (both measurable and immeasurable) that hurt their teams. Michael Vick is relevant because he will be on Sportscenter highlight reels and the media loves having something to talk about. He will help an owner sell seats and jerseys. But to Beane disciples Michael Vick never mattered and never will.
ReplyDelete-Drew to the Man
Drewbins,
ReplyDeleteYour criticism is well taken. I never said that Vick was the next Tom Brady. Not only does Brady never turn over the ball, he also has one of the highest completion percentages in the league. Oh yea, and the last full season that he played he set the record for most regular season touchdowns. We're definitely talking about apples and oranges. Vick has never had a completion percentage over 60% and his highest passer rating for a season has been 81.9.
My only point was that he's still only 28 and has played 7 seasons in the NFL. I just think that there is a place for him in the NFL. He has to be better than both Tarvaris Jackson and Rosenfels who will battle it out in Minnesota. I also think that he is better than whoever ends up starting for the Jets. I think that he will succeed in a situation where he doesn't feel like he needs to prove that he can throw the ball.
I agree with you. After re-reading it my argument does assume that you think Vick will be a top flite quarterback. I was using your post as a means to get on my soap box about this topic. Honestly I see Vick as only being useful to a team as some sort of a returner/hybrid player. As a sidenote the whole Brady touchdown thing- that is not what makes him so good. '07 was the only season where he went off like that statistically. He limits turnovers, makes the easy throws, takes chances at the right times.
ReplyDeleteTake a look at this article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/magazine/15Battier-t.html
Chiefs are off that list after they hijacked the Patriots, giving up only a second rounder for Vrabel and Cassel. I think the league should look into the possibility of collusion given Belichick's ties with Pioli.
ReplyDeleteBut your main point--does Vick have a place in the NFL? Yes, and the people who point to his conviction should also be protesting Leonard Little and Pacman Jones. I don't think he's capable of winning a championship, but he took the Falcons to the NFC title game in 2004. I think he'll get a long look from the 49ers and the Lions--I think the Texans are content with their QB situation and the Jets won't want to go there after the Favre debacle. Mike Singletary may just be crazy enough to get Vick playing within himself. Time will tell.
These are all good points. I wrote this before the news broke about Cassel. I also agree that the Chiefs made out like bandits after getting both Vrabel and Cassel for only a second rounder. People were talking about trading J.P. Losman of the Bills for a second round pick at one point! The Cassel situation is especially confusing because he got the franchise tag! Don't teams put that on players to protect them from leaving for other teams? Very strange indeed Jimbo. Thanks for commenting on my blog, I'm going to try and keep it fairly current.
ReplyDelete