What To Do About Vick
January 23, 2007 at 2:07 pm by Scott Freeman in SportsA report on Foxsports.com this morning suggests the Oakland Raiders want to
make a trade with the Falcons for Michael Vick. According to the report,
they are offering Jerry Porter and Randy Moss along with an exchange of
first-round draft picks.
First of all, that trade is not going to happen. The Falcons are not going
to give up one problem child in exchange for two � Porter was suspended for
four games this year for conduct detrimental to the team and Moss should
have been when he basically stopped trying.
But what to do about Vick?
A trade will be difficult. He carries a lifetime contract worth about $13
million a year, and that�s almost A-Rod numbers for the NFL. On top of that,
Vick has regressed over the past couple of seasons from someone viewed as
the prototype of the future NFL quarterback to a player who is oft-injured
and can�t play under control when he does get on the field.
Was it Jim Mora�s system? Yes, to a degree. Mora tried to fit a round peg
into a square hole. Rather than take Vick�s talents and build the offense
around them, Mora tried to make Vick fit within his system. It was never
going to work. The Atlanta Hawks did the same thing with Pete Maravich many
years ago, and turned the most exciting basketball player in years into a
tamed cat.
But it�s also Vick. The quarterback is supposed to be the leader, the guy
the team rallies around and spills blood for. It�s tough for a team to rally
around someone who keeps making stupid decisions.
Can you imagine Tom Brady trying to sneak a water bottle with a hidden
compartment through an airport? How about Donovan McNabb posing in a limo
with a blunt in his hand? Or Peyton Manning getting mixed up in a herpes
scandal?
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Three years ago, I marveled at watching him �Vick-timitze� opponents on the
field. Today, I feel as if I�m watching him �Vick-timitize� himself.
My guess is the Falcons will try to move Vick. But it won�t be to Oakland;
at least not for this deal.
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