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Michael Vick’s Future: Weighing the Options
Published: July 27, 2009
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For the sake of the argument, let us put aside the criminal transgressions that Michael Vick has incurred and focus on what he has done in the realm of the NFL.
Prior to his prison sentence and two year absence from football, Michael Vick was the most dynamic player in the NFL. He utilized his superior speed and elusiveness to become the best rushing quarterback in the league.
Despite the run first mentality he seemed to go by, his arm was never a big issue. In fact, he possessed good arm strength and accuracy in addition to the ability throw on the run. These were just the tools he brought to the game.
His statistics, in a strictly quarterback context, were pedestrian. His first season as starter was his best throwing year for yards, at 2,936 with 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Since that season, he has failed to throw for any more than 2,500 yards. However, he was hardly worthy of being defined in a strictly quarterback context.
If nothing else, Michael Vick was a play maker, who relied on his status as a dual threat quarterback to find success. Even though he had a tendency to run in most situations, teams still couldn’t stop him from running wild on their defenses.
Despite his average yardage passing, he made up for it with his rushing ability.
In the season prior to his prison sentence, he threw for 2,474 yards, 20 touchdowns, and had 13 interceptions. He rushed for 1,039 yards and two touchdowns, while averaging 8.4 yards per carry, and contributing 11 carries over 20 yards.
In terms of play making, Vick was responsible for just under 3,600 yards and 22 touchdowns. His overall production rivals that of any top tier quarterback, even if it isn’t all gained through the air.
The last player to combine the skills of a quarterback and the threat of a running back in the way Michael Vick did was Randall Cunningham. Cunningham’s best season was the 1990 season with the Philadelphia Eagles.
During the 1990 season, Cunningham threw for nearly 3,500 yards with 30 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, and rushed for 942 yards. He averaged eight yards per carry and ran in five touchdowns.
No one is saying Vick is ever going to be able to put together the combination rushing and passing season Cunningham did during the 1990 season. It is even less likely now, after not seeing NFL action since 2006.
It remains to be seen what Vick is capable of now that he has been out of the game for two years, and it is to be expected that he will have to earn the right to start for any team upon his return. He will serve as a backup until further notice, or he should until he proves himself ready to start again.
Now with Vick’s return to the game seemingly imminent, and the NFL making every effort to keep him out of the UFL, where is he going to play?
Assuming he still has the ability he had two years ago, he should be picked up by some team on that basis. We are going to assume his skills have not deteriorated, and he can still hack it in the NFL just for the sake of it all.
One obvious option for Vick would be San Francisco. That team is in rebuild mode and lacks a quarterback that can lead the team. Sorry Shaun Hill, you just aren’t the answer.
Given the offensive line’s deficiencies, Vick’s traditionally elusive style of play could fit in perfectly with a line that can’t form anything more than a crumbling pocket for a passer. It would be a change from Atlanta, where Vick had running lanes crafted for him by their good line. But I doubt he would find it impossible to run around and throw to veteran Issac Bruce, underrated Arnaz Battle, and rookie Michael Crabtree.
And since the 49ers are a good running team with Frank Gore, how hard could it be for them to adopt a Wildcat formation of their own, a la Miami?
Alex Smith is on the depth chart for the Niners, but I doubt he is going to be able to wrestle the job from Hill. Vick could come in and be the number two guy, and he could potentially land the starting job if Hill can’t cut it.
Another potential destination for Vick could be Tennessee. Kerry Collins is the cemented starter and Vince Young has hardly lived up to his draft status or the hype he garnered after single-handedly downing USC in the Rose Bowl.
With the uncertainty of Young’s role on the team in the future, it isn’t out of the question for Vick to step in and fill the role of number two.
The Titans are also a good running team with Chris Johnson and LenDale White doing plenty of work behind an experienced line that includes Kevin Mawae at center. Vick could find more than a suitable amount of running room behind the Titans line, and there are plenty of fine players for him to throw to.
He would be reunited with former Falcon Alge Crumpler, which could create instant chemistry. Returning receivers Justin Gage and Lavelle Hawkins, as well as newly acquired Nate Washington make for a great combination of deep threats and big targets. Bo Scaife could serve as a younger Alge Crumpler if Crumpler does not return to the team.
A longshot of a destination for Vick could be Minnesota, a team that is deeply embroiled in the Brett Favre will-he-or-won’t-he saga. If Favre decides not to return, Vick could find a comfortable spot on the Vikings’ roster.
The Vikings don’t have a definite starter on the roster, and the battle seems to be between the inconsistent and raw Tarvaris Jackson and stop gap veteran Sage Rosenfels.
Adrian Peterson gives the Vikings the best running game in the league. The offensive line is full of hole-opening monsters that Vick could find ample running room behind if he were to end up there.
The receivers for the Vikings have a lot of potential, but even that is a dangerous word for receivers these days. Bobby Wade and Bernard Berrian provide the deep threat, while Sindey Rice gives a big target in the red zone and over the middle.
Rookie Percy Harvin is a wild card in terms of whether he’ll be a slot receiver or grow into a true wide out. Either way he could be a great target for Vick to spread the ball around to.
Other teams like Tampa Bay and St. Louis are options for Vick. St. Louis could look to Vick to be the boost to the quarterback position that Marc Bulger has not been in the last two years, for whatever reason.
Tampa Bay just drafted Josh Freeman to presumably step into the starting job after a year or two of learning on the bench. Until he is ready, Vick could spend his first year there proving himself to the league and potentially earning the top job elsewhere in the following offseason.
The saga of Michael Vick’s return to the NFL is just beginning and will only get better as his regular season return draws closer. He won’t be able to play in a regular season game until after week 6, but who’s to say that the league doesn’t bump a week off of his suspension for good behavior?
Who’s to say the NFLPA doesn’t step in as Terrell Owens suggested and get the suspension lifted?
Michael Vick will never outrun his criminal transgressions. The only thing he can hope to do is rebuild his once red hot career and return to the glory he was on the cusp of achieving as a player. Until then, the world can only watch.
Addition by Subtraction: A Brief Analysis
Published: July 27, 2009
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It is a common trend in the sports world for any and all personalities therein to adopt various buzz words and jargon. Words or phrases that are either rooted in obscurity or just tossed out to brighten up a forum discussion. In recent months the phrase “addition by subtraction” seems to be seeing heavy use by sports analysts.
First and foremost, this phrase makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. It is literally impossible to subtract something and have it end up as an addition. The only way that is possible is with negative numbers, but sports involves people not numbers.
However, I can understand where the idea makes sense. The phrase has been used heavily in reference to Terrell Owens and his departure from Dallas to Buffalo. He had overstayed his welcome with the team, naturally, and was summarily released following the 2008-09 season. He had become a distraction on and off the field.
Despite his overall production on the field, 69 catches for 1,052 yards and 10 touchdowns, he complained that he was not getting enough touches.
This complaint was merited if you consider the fact that tight end Jason Witten had 12 more catches than Owens. Still, Owens was second on the team in catches and first in yards and touchdowns.
Owens’ personality and penchant for shooting his mouth off got him in bad with all the right people and he was removed from the team. This is the subtraction the phrase alludes to.
Where, I ask, is the addition?
One could make the argument that the team will gain an added sense of camaraderie without the cancer that is Terrell Owens wreaking havoc in the locker room. But this is simply a return to zero for the team.
There was no locker room or sideline problems before Owens arrived, and Keyshawn Johnson was in Dallas the year before meaning there was a potential for fireworks that didn’t happen under then coach Bill Parcells.
Consider for a moment what Owens brought to the Dallas Cowboys. Over 3,500 yards, 38 touchdowns and 235 catches. He brought a veteran presence to a relatively young group of receivers. He brought intensity on and off the field. He brought speed, strength and some of the best overall skills a receiver could have.
He brought a Super Bowl ring from his second season in the league with Steve Young’s 49ers.
He also brought his diva attitude. His ugliest and most negative trait has to be his inability to truly see past himself and through to the overall success of the team he is a part of.
As it stands, Owens brought a handful of positives with him to Dallas and just one glaring negative. And the phrase addition by subtraction disregards the many positives for the one negative. Terrell Owens was the best receiver the Cowboys had on their roster since Michael Irvin, yet his departure stands a positive thing?
There is no such thing as addition by subtraction. Terrell Owens brought more to the Cowboys than his egotistic way of handling the game could ever take away. This is nothing more than a case of subtraction by subtraction.
Can we please stop using the oxymoronic phrase now because it clearly cannot hold up to the most basic of arguments against it?
