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DEL.ICIO.USOnly Vick knows for sure if he’s ready to play
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
Flowery Branch — OK, let’s go through all of this again. When it comes to Michael Vick and to the aches that he’ll suffer for the rest of his football life, just leave the guy alone. If he says he can’t play, nod and move on with the rest of your life. If he says he can play, step aside, let this miracle of a quarterback tighten the shoestrings on his Zoom IIIs from Nike and prepare for another dose of the unbelievable.
It’s really simple: Pending medical clearance, a healing Vick should determine when it’s time for a healing Vick to return to the Falcons’ lineup.
Nobody else.
I’m repeating my stance here, because the way folks reacted to Vick’s injuries in the past is connected to the present and to the future. Two years ago, he got ripped unfairly for staying away too long after he broke his leg before the season. If you add that to his highly competitive nature, you had his contradictory messages during the past few days after he damaged his right knee. Yes, he was upset that he didn’t play Sunday during the Falcons’ tight loss to the New England Patriots. And, yes, he knew he had no business suiting up.
It was up to Vick to solve the contradiction in his mind. That’s why, before the opening kickoff at the Georgia Dome, a collective decision was made to keep Vick watching instead of playing. The bulk of that decision came from Vick. “Getting a little bit of work last week, and just moving around, I couldn’t do it, and that told me that I wasn’t going to be able to go out there and do what I am capable of doing,” Vick said on Wednesday, recalling his message to Falcons coach Jim Mora. As for Wednesday, Vick spent his relatively light practice wearing a sleeve. While he said he “just had to bite the bullet” against the Patriots and not play, he said he expects to be ready on Sunday when the Falcons meet the New Orleans Saints in San Antonio.
That’s fine. Whatever Vick says about his health. His playing status after injuries shouldn’t be up to somebody else’s concept of toughness or prudence. It should be up to Vick as to whether Vick has the ability to become Vick for a particular game. “(Thursday) is our long day,” he said. “We do red zone and a lot of other things, and I just have to be able to go out and carry out my fakes, take a hard five-step drop, seven-step drop, step into my throws and make sure I am feeling good about it. I have to be confident in my knee.”
Just like Vick had to be confident with the left hamstring that he injured earlier this season. The same also was true of that broken right fibula that he suffered in August 2003 to start this mess. Within weeks after he went down in that exhibition game to Baltimore, the murmuring over the growing length of his absence became an ugly epidemic. Among Falcons fans. Among the media. Even among some of his teammates and coaches.
Falcons tight end Alge Crumpler still fumes over the memory. “That was absolutely the worst year I ever had of fielding questions every single week about, ‘When is Michael Vick coming back? When is Michael Vick coming back?’” said Crumpler, in his fifth NFL season. “They said it was supposed to be a four-to six-week injury, and eight weeks down the line, I looked over in the middle of practice, and Mike is limping and trying to cut and do all of this stuff with the trainer.” Crumpler paused, before releasing his clenched teeth and adding, “Hey, it’s his body.”
Yes, it is, and Vick only is 25. As a result, barring something unforeseen (a blindside smack by a linebacker, a slip on a banana peel, an abduction by aliens), Vick has more than a few years left to zig and zag through defenders when he isn’t using his arm to zip a football over them. He’ll last even longer if he continues to listen to his body, studies the internal messages and then tells others what he hears. With those “others” listening, of course.
Permalink | Comments (27) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Terence Moore
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By larry w.
October 12, 2005 10:23 PM | Link to this
It amazes me how some people will take any opportunity to trash Mike Vick! If he misses a game due to injury he’s a “wuss”, even though the only significant time he has missed was in 2003. He is not allowed to make a bad throw without getting the “inacurate” label. Even though every quarterback in the history of the game has made bad throws. If he runs for 150 yards, he runs too much. If his receivers drop passes, it’s because Vick throws too hard. If the Falcons lose in the NFC Championship game, we will never win the Super Bowl with Vick. News flash ladies and gentlemen!! Before Vick, Falcons and Super Bowl were never mentioned in the same sentence! While the uninformed continue to whine about Vick, us true falcon fans will continue to enjoy the Michael Vick Experience and all of the pleasure and entertainment that it brings us!
By Birdbrain
October 12, 2005 11:37 PM | Link to this
Larry, go tell that to the 1998 Falcons. I’m sure they will be pleased to know that you just dissed their whole season.You act like the Falcons Franchise was born when Vick became the QB, there were many good players on the Falcons before Vick, and there will be many when he is gone. I’m a Falcon’s fan first, and a Vick Fan second. Too bad it is the other way around with the Vick nut-huggers.
By larry w.
October 13, 2005 12:13 AM | Link to this
Birdbrain, the 98 Falcons were one year wonders! No one expected them to do what they did, so certainly no one was talking superbowl when they talked about the Falcons. You know I really get a kick out of this nuthugger stuff! I support ALL of the Falcons, from the front office, to the coaches, to ALL of the players. You say you’re a Falcon fan first and a Vick fan second. Well I am BOTH first!! And that goes for anybody else who wears the Falcon colors. Do not even attempt to question my committment to this TEAM!! I have lived and died with every pass, punt, fumble, whatever since day one back in 1966. So I know exactly when the Falcon franchise was born! I have supported every Falcon quarterback there has been from Randy Johnson (first Falcon starting quarterback ever in case you didn’t know) all the way up through Scott Hunter, Steve Bartkowski, even Jeff George while he was a Falcon. So please keep this lame nuthugger (whatever that is) business to yourself. The criticism that Vick receives from so called “fans” of the Falcons is rediculous. Even Jeff George didn’t get this type of bashing and he probably deserved it! If you want to question someones loyalty to this team, you picked the wrong one to question!
By Kudzu
October 13, 2005 07:42 AM | Link to this
What a freaking drama… can’t we find something else, someone else, to write and blog about… when does it all end?
By Johnny C.
October 13, 2005 09:29 AM | Link to this
Hey, Larry W., don’t waste time trying to defend Vick before some of these folks. It really wouldn’t matter if Vick passed for 500 yards in a game with no interceptions, there would still be something. There are two things that keep their panties in a knot: 1)The $130 million constract, 2)The sight, a couple of years ago, when Arthur Blank pushed his wheelchair onto the field following the break. Most of the haters will mention that contract at some point in their bashing, and they still see that wheelchair incident as evidence of Vick-coddling by the organization. Some of these folks will never be satisfied with Vick as the QB, no matter what he does and, as much as I like the Falcons, I look forward to Vick finishing up his contract here and moving on to a team in a city that will get behind him and support his development, instead of looking for these little petty things to ride him about.
Terrence: Those small-minded people questioning Vick’s toughness are the same people that believed that Brooking played with a broken back a few years ago. That mentality told me all that I needed to know about the level of football knowledge in this city.
By falconchick
October 13, 2005 10:24 AM | Link to this
THANK YOU LARRY FOR YOUR INSIGHT ON THE VICK SITUATION.WE FINALLY HAVE A TEAM THAT IS WORTH BRAGGING ABOUT, WELL I DO MY SHARE OF BRAGGING TO THE COWBOY AND AND EAGLE FANS I WORK WITH.IT SEEMS AS IF IT’S NEVER A HAPPY MEDIUM, VICK THROWS FOR A DECENT AMOUNT OF YARDS IT’S NOT ENOUGH,HE RUNS FOR OVER 100 YARDS, HE SHOULD THROW. PEOPLE STOP ALL THIS.LETS ENJOY THIS TALENTED QB WE HAVE AND BE THE PROUD FALCON FANS WE NEED TO BE. GO FALCONS MY SUNDAY’S PREDICATION FALCONS 27 SAINTS 7
By BUSHWACKER
October 13, 2005 10:43 AM | Link to this
Vick can decide on Sunday’s if he’s “able” to play or not,but the coach has to decide if he will play or not before Sunday….,meaning, no practice … no play on Sunday..Vick should listen to John Smoltz..you don’t let everyone else get you there then on gameday..step up and decide ok I’ll take over now..that’s BS. And I promise you the rest of the TEAM doesn’t care if Vick plays or not. Frankly,afte last Sunday’s performance ,I’ll take Schaub..a 6’4” quarterback who can actually see downfield and find the recievers.
By Johnny C.
October 13, 2005 11:42 AM | Link to this
Wouldn’t it be great if being 6’4”, able to see downfield and find the receivers was all that it took to WIN.
By Will
October 13, 2005 12:11 PM | Link to this
Being 6’4” has it’s advantages for a NFL QB; you can see over the line. But I think that if your accurate with your throws it dosent matter if your 6’0”. That’s the problem with Vick, he is just too inconsistant with his throws.
I believe that at the QB position you need great pocket presence, quickness, agility, speed and a strong arm; which Vick posseses, but the area most vital is the accuracy. Vick just needs to knwo how to control that strong arm of his. Get the ball to his WR, then he will be the complete QB.
Vick needs to do his part first, if the WR drops the ball then it’s on them, but Vick does miss wide open WR. Be a QB first then use those legs.
By Johnny C.
October 13, 2005 12:31 PM | Link to this
It would help to have WRs with attitude who are willing to actually fight for the ball (whether it’s directly to them or just in the area). WRs have to have the metality that ANY ball that’s in the air in his area belongs to him, and he goes and gets it. All passes are not going to hit them between the numbers (see Terry Bradshaw), especially when the QB is running for his life. So far, only Alge and Finneran have shown that kind of mentality. I’m not impressed with the rest, who seem to give up too easily on the ball.
By Will
October 13, 2005 12:58 PM | Link to this
I agree. Either the WR’s think Vick’s gonna run with it every time, or they just take too many plays off.
Aside from Vick working on his accuracy, the GM needs to work on getting big time WR’s to help Vick develope.
Start looking at big names coming out of the draft, or look to trade. They just need to find the right WR to fit with the team. Cause you stop and think about it the Falcons don’t have that BIG play WR.
Moss would have been a great fit or even now even Charles Rogers (Lions) which seems to not be too happy with his situation @ Detroit.
By esteban
October 13, 2005 01:29 PM | Link to this
Bottom line: VICK WINS GAMES.
I don’t care about any stats except the final score.
By Great Falconi
October 13, 2005 02:56 PM | Link to this
Esteban, didn’t you just save a bunch of money on your car insurance?
Vick wins games, but he’d win more if he was a consistent passer. In other words, he’d be one of the top two or three QBs in the league. As far as the injury stuff goes, if he’s hurt, he’s hurt. If he plays, he plays. It’s obvious that Mike is going to be a QB that gets hurt a lot because of the way he runs around out there. However, it also frustrates the hell out of the fans because the fans want to see him on the field. That’s why you get the “Vick is a wuss” comments. I personally don’t think he’s a wuss. I think he takes too many hits because he doesn’t properly run the offense. Hopefully, when he’s more comfortable in the pocket, he won’t take the accumulation of hits that end up causing injuries. Until then, be prepared for him to miss a few games a year.
By falcon guy
October 13, 2005 03:38 PM | Link to this
If you want to know how good Mike Vick is, then let the Falcons release or put him up for a trade. The only teams that might not be interested would be New England, Indy or Philly. Every other team would kill to have Vick. But it doesn’t surprise me that people in Atlanta aren’t satisfied. These are the same people who complain about having a playoff baseball team every year. Nothing is ever good enough. If you don’t like the Atlanta teams or players go live in Detroit. Those people have nothing to be happy about. They’d trade places with Atlanta in a heartbeat. And I’d trade you vick haters and braves haters to Detroit for a hangover to be named later.
By JJ
October 13, 2005 03:43 PM | Link to this
Please Vick start completing more passes!
Vick wins games with his talent, but he also loses some when he can’t throw accuratly… Last years NFC Championship ring a bell?
The Eagles defense stuffed Vick’s scrambling efforts and forced him to beat them with his passing… in the pocket he was just so ineffective.
What’s the use of having gun if you don’t know how to aim…C’mon for crying out loud… he get’s paid that huge paycheck for a reason!
By larry w.
October 13, 2005 06:38 PM | Link to this
Johhny C. you are right. This is useless. I didn’t like Jeff George mainy because he was not a team player, he alienated himself from his teammates,coaches and fans. And he had zero leadership ability. But as long as he wore that black Falcons jersey, I was right behind him every Sunday praying that he would succeed. Because if he succeeded, then that meant that the Falcons succeeded. I guess I’m just not getting what the new age fan is all about now. Stats seem to be more important than wins. What a crazy concept that is.
By lawton
October 13, 2005 10:46 PM | Link to this
one thing overlooked in all this mess is , if you pay attention to games around the league, players go out their way to try and hurt Vick, he has a target on his back.
By domeOFpain
October 14, 2005 12:02 AM | Link to this
You people are stupid. With Vick as the starter for two season, we have been to the playoffs for two years and the NFC title game once. Sounds a lot like racism to me. How else can you explain these stupid comments.
If you say MV7 can’t pass, then you have not watched him play.
By Anti-Birdbrain
October 14, 2005 12:56 AM | Link to this
To Birdbrain and JJ: If you think Peerless Price and Dez White are championship calibre WRs then you don’t know anything and need to consult some real “football people”.
That’s right, dimwit BB. I’ve found you here and will continue whipping your tail all over the ‘net wherever you spew your idiotic smack!
Signed,
You know who!!!
By Birdbrain
October 14, 2005 01:20 AM | Link to this
I see one of loyal fans has shown up, every star has a stalker….lol
By Beck23
October 14, 2005 09:39 AM | Link to this
This has to the only city where out WINNING franchise QB gets up and hears that he needs to be a slot receiver. Brady, Manning, and McNabb are the only ones that I would rank ahead of Vick. Does he have to grow as a passer? Yes. he threw for 3000 yards under Reeves his first season as a starter. He is in his second year with a new coach, new complex offense and we are still winning. McNabb, Brady, and Manning have been running th same offense since they got there. For the Falcons to bring home the big trophy, he will have to get more consistent at passing, but we are off to a great start.
By kkk
October 14, 2005 10:29 AM | Link to this
What the heck do you expect he’s not white.
By Will
October 14, 2005 11:36 AM | Link to this
What a stupid comment… what else should be expected from a stupid person.
You know what your not even worth the attention.
GO FALCONS
By THE DAN
October 14, 2005 12:22 PM | Link to this
when your tight end is your primary target,the passing game will always suffer.get vick a quality deep threat and watch what he can do with that cannon of an arm,the falcons win with vick at his best they lose without him.defenses have to scheme against him and it opens up running lanes for dunn & duckett,the falcons control the clock and our defense is fresh.thats why we win and dominate late in the game.so all of you anti vick critics forget about it. mr blank,and coach mora realize what this young man means to this team and they have compensated him accordingly.be a real falcon fan and let’s all support the team we’ve got !!!
By Bucs
October 14, 2005 04:26 PM | Link to this
to all you vick haters out there, I agree, he is a one dimensional qb and will never win the big one. not to mention even getting past Tampa Bay!!!!
By ATLien in NC
October 14, 2005 05:29 PM | Link to this
(Shaking my head at the statement made at 10:29 this morning)
Everything I’ve read on this blog makes perfect sense regarding Vick. I’m watching this cat play with more composure in the pocket and becoming a more complete QB. I think that the point was best made by Johnny C, and I quote you: “It would help to have WRs with attitude who are willing to actually fight for the ball (whether it’s directly to them or just in the area).” Whether it’s Schaub, Vick, Chandler, Tolliver (Billy Joe, that is), Farve (remember when we had him), Bartkowski, or me. We need WRs who would fight to get open and fight for the ball. I refuse to call Roddy a disappointment and I refuse to call Mike Jenkins one. I will say that no on respects the passing game. Teams respect the running game so they stack 7, 8 in the box and take out the run and dare you to beat them with the pass. If the WRs had some toughness, and the ball was in the air, no problem. They got to change their mindset. Vick will be ok, he’s still understanding the scheme.
By larry w.
October 14, 2005 05:57 PM | Link to this
kkk, in your own twisted way you do make a valid point. If Vick were white, he would be the toast of the town. Isn’t that sad.