Michael Vick, A Look Back
Michael Vick announced that his NFL career as an active player is over. Well, I somewhat figured it was the case when nobody picked him up (not even New England, who needed a quarterback for the first 4 games of the season). So really this was just a time coming. So let's take a look back at one Michael Vick and figure out the legacy that he had.
It all started in 2001. The San Diego Chargers had a previous issue with a quarterback they drafted in 1998 in Ryan Leaf and the team stunk in 2000. Leaf was no answer and the Chargers fell to 1-15 and had the #1 pick. But it seemed they wanted to avoid history to repeat itself and negotiations with Vick, the presumed #1 pick in the draft, weren't panning out. So the Falcons, sitting at #5 that year decided to trade up and get the left handed scrambler from Virginia Tech. In the 2001 season, Vick rode the bench behind veteran Chris Chandler and the Falcons were the same NFL lovable losers, going 7-9 (an actual upgrade from the 2000 season however when they went 4-12). However, the Falcons were sold to Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank, who in turn made the Falcons more fan friendly and helped build a desire to winning.
Vick's play in 2002 gave hope for Falcons fans all around, believing a new era of Falcon football would begin.
Vick started in 2002 and took the city of Atlanta and the league by storm. Fans packed the Georgia Dome to watch this guy. He to Atlanta was pretty uch equivalent to what Jordan was in Chicago. He was a guy the base rallied around. His ability of scrambling around the pocket and making any play look like a game-breaker got fans in the NFL excited and the hope that a scrambling quarterback would be the future. His runs against the likes of New Orleans and Minnesota among others were some of the most memorable runs and had bars around Atlanta erupt whenever he made a big play. When the Falcons made their first playoff appearance since their Super Bowl run, they went into Green Bay, and thumped the Packers. It was the first time any team beaten Green Bay in Lambeau in the playoffs. A week later, they lost to a better Philadelphia squad.
When 2003 arrived, there was hope that Atlanta would be the team to beat in the NFC. However in the 2nd pre-season week, Vick broke his ankle and pretty much missed the majority of the season. Atlanta was pretty much done for when he returned late, but still managed to win a few games after his return. In 2004, Vick was healthy, made some amazing runs that were Sportscenter material, and netted the Falcons to the NFC Championship before once again falling to Philadelphia.
Vick's issues off the field would doom his time in Atlanta.
However, with all the great runs Vick had in his time, he was heavily criticized by fans and media alike that he was a prototypical scrambling quarterback that was inaccurate with his throws and was more of a liability than an asset. In 2005 and 2006, the Falcons underachieved, failing to make the playoffs in each of those seasons. And to add on top, some off-field issues started to plague him (Ron Mexico anybody? Marijuana at the airport, and of course, the then-rumor of dogfighting). On the field, he seemed more irritated. He was unable to make the big play. His passing game was still not hot, and even fans in Atlanta started to ride him for is inconsistencies to the point where Vick lashed out at the fans after a Falcons home loss.
Then the whole dogfighting scandal erupted. Vick was guilty and sent to Leavenworth Federal Prison, thus pretty much ending his Falcons career. With Atlanta not knowing Vick's future, the Falcons moved on from the scrambling Vick to the pocket-passing Matt Ryan, dividing and polarizing a fan base that until recently was on one side or another.
Vick spent 5 seasons in Philadelphia
After 2 years in prison, Vick returned to the NFL. He was no longer a Falcon, but instead a Philadelphia Eagle, backing up Donovan McNabb in 2009. Ironically after a blowout win in Atlanta where Vick played a large portion (and also drew the divide of Falcons fans) of it, the Eagles really went forward with Vick as the starting quarterback while saying "bye bye" to McNabb. The Eagles rolled near the top of the NFC in 2010 in large part to Vick's play, getting the 3rd seed in the playoffs before bowing out to eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay, but some of the things he was ridiculed in Atlanta started showing in the playoff loss (trying to do too much, making sketchy passes, etc.). In 2011, Vick battled injuries as well as making some comments about the Eagles would be the next NFL's dynasty, thus irking some fans with what many thought was an arrogant statement. The next two years Vick battled more injuries and then in 2013 after Chip Kelly took over in Philadelphia, lost his job to Nick Foles.
Vick's lone year in New York was a forgettable one.
In 2014, still thinking he could be a starter in the league, Vick signed with the Jets. Originally backing up Geno Smith, Vick wasn't keen to the idea of being a backup and many felt it hindered Smith's progress as a quarterback himself for not having a backup really mentoring him. To add on, Vick hurt himself after admitted he did not prepare for a game well after Smith went down, thus giving him a "lazy" label.
In 2015, Pittsburgh, needing a quarterback after Ben Roethlisberger was injured, signed Vick, causing an uproar with the Steelers fans (and knowing a few of them as friends, they were plenty of ticked as well). Vick played all right for the Steelers in his small run. He had flashes of brilliance we remembered in Atlanta, but given that he was in his mid-30's and being a scrambling quarterback, his hamstring injury pretty much did him in the rest of the way in Pittsburgh.
So, what is Vick's legacy?
Vick was the greatest quarterback ever..........on a video game.
To me, I think scrambling quarterbacks are a dime a dozen. The media always hopes that a certain quarterback can be something a bit more exciting than what we see of Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Matt Ryan, who all sit in the pocket and throw. Vick was a unique beast. He was INCREDIBLY fast, and could escape. He probably ends up going down as the best scrambling quarterback in NFL history. I think he never had a good touch to his passes as everything he threw were missiles around. Good at times, but other times, it isn't necessary. But he influenced a generation of quarterbacks who loved him and emulated his style.
But I think for me and what gets me with Vick isn't Vick himself, but the fans who were angry with the Falcons for letting him go after the dog-fighting scandal broke out. Here's the thing: you invest your total future to a guy that is supposed to take you to the promised land, and he screws up royally to the point your team was screwed for what you did off the field. That is what happened to the Falcons. They cannot sit and wait that Vick will come back and be that guy. They had to draft Ryan.
Me personally, I think the guy paid his dues after he got out of prison and deserved another chance. But as I said before, most of it is resentment from Vick fans who believed he should have stayed and the Falcons should have done everything to keep him. In my eyes, that part was naive.
But the thing about Vick and being a Falcon fan, was that he came at a time for the Falcons, who had no identity whatsoever. The Georgia Dome was empty on most instances before Vick and then Vick got the city talking and getting the city pumped. He helped sell out the Georgia Dome on a consistent basis from 2002 until he exited stage right before the 2007 season. The fan base of Atlanta is an underrated one for sure, but he is the reason why fans started to talk about the team, which was unheard of even when Atlanta went to the Super Bowl in 1998. So I think he helped pave the way for making football relevant in Atlanta for sure.
The one thing I personally think is that Vick's career was more larger than what it actually was. He played in the NFL for an actual total for 13 seasons. In that time, Vick was a starting quarterback really for a half of that time. So I don't think the Hall of Fame will be calling him. Somebody mentioned if Vick belongs in the Falcons ring of honor and I say yes. He helped get the franchise to be talked about in more of a positive manner instead of the "The Falcons are the NFL's doormats" moniker. But fans think that what he did on the field was so much more and even perhaps a video game made him larger than life in some regards. So I think he wasn't as good as what others made him out to be.
But again, it isn't to say he was a terrible quarterback. I always thought he just had issues of after a while with the Falcons and then the Eagles that teams adjusted to him and his play and he seemed to have too much of a comfort level there, which always hurt him. When he had something to prove, the guy was dangerous. But when everything was peaches and cream, he seemed to take his foot off the gas and he was pretty much criticized for his play.
Vick's career didn't turn out like many people hoped, but for him to even have a career after 2006 is still a big deal.
Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
But I think Vick looks back on his career and realizes he squandered a great opportunity to really be something. If you read what Vick posted in the Players' Tribune earlier in the week, you sensed that (and a great article mind you) he could have been so much better. But it seems like he couldn't get out of his own way, which really hurt his chances. Which stinks because he was something truly amazing.
-Fan in the Obstructed Seat
