The Atlanta Falcons Release Michael Vick
We all saw this coming. Michael Vick has been released by the Falcons. There are many many fans who will miss the thrills he gave them during his time under center in the ATL. This gives Mike a chance to sign with any team in the league. Personally, I would like to see him go to San Franciso. Coach Mike would make sure Mike does everything he’s supposed to do and will also ensure everything stays in house. Whoever picks up Vick will have to deal with constant media and Peta pressure.
There is going to be a bevy of press reporting this over the weekend and into next week. Most pundits you hear and read will say he’s old, he’s not a quarterback, he’s a running back, a wide receiver or a kick returner.
BS.
This is how I see it:
Right now, he’s one of the best athletes in the league with one of the strongest arms as well. After Goodell decides if he’s gonna suspend Mike or not, I would sign him to an incentive based contract, give him all the support I could and let him show what he can do. 
He’s paid his debt to society when he served jail time for dog fighting.
Mike was contrite before entering Leavenworth and humbled himself before the world.
Time to move on.
He’ll have a huge chip on his shoulder to prove to the world he’s not a wildcat quarterback. It’s ridiculous to think there are 30 better quarterbacks in the NFL.
He’s not a running back. He’s a quarterback.
Get over it. Stop thinking it. Doesn’t matter what the pundits say.
He never really had a shot at seriously competing for a Super Bowl in Atlanta despite taking the Falcons to the NFC Championship. Hopefully he’ll go to a team where there are receivers in place so he can show the world just how talented he still is.
Watch and listen how teams hype up their qb’s so their collective fan base are ultimately against signing Mike.
Mike if you or any of your people read this, I want to interview you.
Don’t know about San Fran… too many hippies and tree huggers. PETA wouldn’t give him a fair shake. He needs to go to a place where football is king AND where there’s a good QB in place already. (Dallas, Indy, Pittsburgh, Green Bay) Study up for a year or two. Get back into NFL condition. Break down some film. Hone your craft. Then go claim a starting position in the league. I agree with you, ain’t 30 dudes better than him in the league. If your name isn’t Brady, Manning, Roethlesberger, McNabb, Rivers or Ryan I’d be afraid. Very afraid.
I’m tripping over the insanity that is the Atlanta media. They’ve begun the “Arthur Blank is just so generous and nice and is doing Vick another favor” talking point. Can they be serious?
Miranda you and I both know the Falcons will fall on their face. Nothing against the players, but this year won’t be as easy for Matt Ryan. That Boston College playbook better embers in the fireplace.
I am so glad that the Falcons finally did the right thing by releasing Da Greatest! There will be a flock of teams who will fight to have Vick as their QB.The falcons will regret ever letting him go!!!!! I hope they never be sucessful again!!!!!!
Mizzo, listening to some of these sports talk guys here is like listening to right wing talk radio. They honestly live in some alternate universe where they’ve created this bizarro reality. Apparently the Falcons had some great storied history that Mike Vick bought to ruins. Did you know that? And now, the franchise is so generously releasing him out of the goodness of their collective hearts. Imagine that.
Its really rather funny…its funny that 3 days after the judge extended for the umpteenth time this bankruptcy filing to July 2nd, that Vick is released.
Its funny that Vick’s lawyers actually said to the judge if Vick isn’t paid, they wont be and that’s the risk they’re willing to take…hilarious….they’re working for free! sure.
Its funny that Vick is the only person in the USA that can have $20 million in debt and a bogus $10 an hour job and he can file Chp 11 to reorganize like Delta as opposed to Chp 7 and be forced to liquidate.
Speaking of the $10 an hour job…its funny that ESPN can’t get a picture of Vick working construction outside anywhere. We knew he was elusive, but evidently he can actually disappear.
This is funny too:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601079&sid=aZVRaSB2I5H8
So many dots, but nobody will connect them.
I am happy this chapter of Michael life is over in Atlanta it is time for him to start fresh and be the man the player and the great person we all know he is . His life, career and dreams are not over they are just beginning to grow. All the best and prayers to him and his family. Love you Michael and God Bless
Miranda:
No one will connect those dots except for you, Mizzo and the folks at SOMM. I give you all credit for highlighting these obvious inconsistencies.
Vick is going to get a shot but SF’s GM was just on the tube saying it wouldn’t be in SF. Frankly, I don’t know the genesis of the decision, but teams have the luxury of blaming the public if they don’t sign him.
I actually think there are some fairly decent QBs around the league and if you go team by team, it’s hard to figure where he SHOULD go — and by that I mean where he SHOULD go that SERVES him — and the team.
Dallas is out. Philly is out. Washington is out. So if New York.
Chicago and Green Bay are out. Minnesota’s out. So is Detroit.
Atlanta, New Orleans and Tampa are out.
Carolina could actually use Vick.
Seattle is possible, but AZ, SF, and STL are probably out. STL would be great for MV7 with the carpet and a real power running back in Steven Jackson. Don’t know if that happens because they don’t have the coach/GM power structure to ignore the fan base. Bulger is not a long-term answer.
As for the AFC, NE, NYJ, and Buffalo are out. Miami should be in the mix because Parcells must know he’s not going to beat ANY team with decent safeties as long as Pennington is his QB. If he doesn’t know that, he needs to head to the beach.
Baltimore could work but it is highly unlikely. Somehow, Ravens fans have been duped into thinking that a guy with a mediocre passer rating and a deer in the headlights look is the 2nd coming of Roethlisberger. Then there’s the question of Troy Smith.
Pitt is out (for now). If Charlie Batch retires next year, that might be an interesting situation. Cleveland is out. Mangini’s too much of a byatch. Cincinnati is out.
Indy — not. Jacksonville — not. Houston? No chance. Same for Tennessee. The AFC West is like the worst of all options. San Diego has Rivers. KC has Cassel. Denver has issues. The Raiders are the Raiders.
This just isn’t going to come down to Vick’s talent. It’s about the politics of the league. If this wasn’t about politics, his cousin Aaron Brooks would be playing right now. Brooks is better than the overwhelming majority of QBs in the league. He has a big arm. He can run. He throws accurately down the field. He knows how to hit check downs and he’s won big games. He’s unemployed.
It’s a hustle and whether or not Vick plays again will not be a reflection of his talent OR of his redemption. He’s got to know that. If he wants to play the game, he’s going to have to play the game.
All things considered, I’d like to see Vick in St. Louis. They have a carpet, a power back, Donnie Avery, draft picks and a young defense. They just drafted a bookend tackle. And they’re bad enough right now that expectations will remain “normal” and they have no QB prospects who can “demand” playing time. MV7 as a St. Louis Ram?
T3, the dots are just so close together. Now the UFL has nothing to lose, and everything to gain by doing this full blown BEG to get Vick to play in that league for a a season…the fact that the Commish of the league actually used the phrase “stepping stone” was enough to make me go “uh huh”. They’re willing to be Vick’s training ground for one season and pay him handsomely for it. Not one but 2 coaches flat out said they’d take him…the commish said they want him, and the founder is praising him…….ok Then there’s the fact that the UFL’s season ends Thanksgiving weekend. Wow….just in time for a NFL team that needs a strong Dec push for the playoffs. The founder of the UFL’s company is headquartered in SanFran, a city with both a UFL team and a NFL team….how convenient.
Or you can throw that all out the window and say he’s just going back to the NFL right off the bat and as a QB, and its one of the two and here’s why I think so…because it seems like his lawyers and agent KNOW so. There is no way in hell those $700 an hour attorneys have been working for a year on this Chp 11 case for free. That is not real. There is no way Joel Segal, Vick’s agent is just a good “friend” and wants to help out…he knows he has a golden goose. There is no way that Wayne Pacelle of the HSUS had a spiritual awakening and woke up one day and decided he would fly to Kansas to meet with Vick and change his tune and say they can work together on a campaign against dogfighting and he has no problem with Vick returning to the league. There is no way he did it for “the dogs”…no he did it a week after WSB in Atlanta went to questioning their donations and where the money goes – that story went away, and he went to Kansas. In what universe does a $400 a week construction job actually buy you time to file a plan to pay off $20 million in debt? Why not ONE reporter ever asked that question is beyond me – it boggles my mind. How did they stretch that for over a year?
NFL owners are greedy, they dont want to share a dime…its push come to shove time and the UFL is holding a card that the msm has helped them create. This whole “stepping stone”/NFL fans backlash meme. However you look at it, right now Michael Vick IS the biggest name in football..love him, hate him, like it or not, that’s what it is. They messed up…they let the media dictate this and now the biggest story of the year in the sport might be diverting attention for half the season to a start up league? yeah, between all that, the one thing I know is that the Falcons didn’t release Vick today by choice, they got TOLD and we’ll know by July 2nd where Vick will play this fall.
Temple, can you explain why these different teams are out of the question? I wasn’t sure if you were going off the fan base, or the presence of a QB in already in place, or the team’s personnel/style of play not being ideal.
Best shot to be signed and eventually start
Skins- Chocolate city. Plus Dan Snider’s got F-you money
Cowboys- Ditto for Jerry, and he’s got a billion dollar stadium to fill and a QB who is about to be exposed w/out TO
Raiders- Ditto for Al Davis
MIA- Parcells wants to win and doesn’t give a damn about the media
Places where he might get a backup spot for 1-2yr depending on owner. Championship calibre teams know you need a good backup Qb to win, and Vick is the ideal backup on a such a team.
1) These QBs are established so there will be no Qb controversy initially
2) Vick is going to be rusty for a bit, so it wouldn’t happen for a while
3) Vick’s got so much baggage that the media wouldn’t be trying to stir up a controversy even if he did outplay the starter
Steelers – Dungy factor
Cincy – Dungy factor, black city, owner overlooks stuff, palmer always hurt
Pats – Bill needs to replace Cassell, and he loves running up the score
Indy – Dungy factor
Teams I know nothing about the fan base or strength of ownership/gm/coach but clearly need a QB
-Minnesota: Qb away from contention
-Carolina
-Houston
-Jax
-Tampa
-KC
-STL
Other teams I feel to be a no go, since their Qbs are newly drafted and/or mediocre and watching Vick in practice would probably kill their confidence. Seattle and SanFran are out of the question because of hippies/PETA.
Forgot about Cassell, scratch KC. I bet Denver falls into the PETA category, but I could be wrong.
I know it would never happen, but why does Vick in Minny just seem to make so much sense to me. Fuck Favre.
St. Louis may be a darkhouse in the Vick ‘sweepstakes’. The Rams once known for having the greatest show on turf with their once legendary aerial assault with future Hall of Famers Kurt Warner, Torry Holt and Issac Bruce, may transition into having one of the best ground attacks in the NFL…
The St. Louis Rams franchise is in transition and the state of their franchise is in a similar state that the Falcons had endured earlier this decade ‘pre-Vick’… Vick was drafted by Dan Reeves whose owner Rankin Smith was in the process of selling the team. Reeves was in trouble, Chandler was getting older and the franchise needed a spark, and Vick was drafted in 2001 when no one believed it would be possible…and financially it was a boom… The Falcons sold out the Georgia Dome for five consecutive years (2001-2006) and then Arthur Blank swooped in to take the profits with his eventual acquisition of the franchise in 2003.
Now there are rumors that the Rams may sell their franchise…
http://www.kmov.com/topstories/stories/kmov-st-louis-news-090601-rams-leaving.3a401c40.html
Marc Bulger has been injury prone and inconsistent and his career parallels former Falcon QB Chris Chandler, who had fleeting success, but faded very badly behind a weak O-Line. Vick may be in a position to help rejuvenate a franchise with an existing power running game led by Pro Bowl RB Stephen Jackson…
And the GM is a former Falcon executive Bill Devaney…
The Rams could have drafted a ‘franchise’ QB in 2009 but chose to draft an offensive lineman…
The city of St. Louis has a very sizable African-American population and fanbase just like Atlanta, so don’t rule of St. Louis…
Plus, Leonard Little whose name has been bantered about was given a second chance, third chance and had received a contract extension. So there are legitimate reason that St. Louis may be a very possible destination for the 29 year old, three-time Pro Bowl QB who has something to prove…
San Francisco is still in play despite the general manager going on Sirius radio in an effort to dispel Vick rumors… Why would the GM say he was interested in Vick with tampering charges looming if he did? So I take that interview with a grain of salt.
Now with Vick being released, we will see the true tenor of the San Francisco management group with Mike Singletary having an influence.
San Fran’s QB situation is not a very good one. A lot of local and national media have been pumping up former first pick Alex Smith, but to me he is just a reincarnation of Joey Harrington (2009 version)… He looks great in a controlled, no-pads situation, but when the real game begins he folds like a cheap folding chair. Alex Smith has had chances to succeed in his four years and has 11 wins in four seasons and in 2005, 2007 and 2008 he had either shoulder or back injuries that sidelined him.
Singletary may have received initial praise for his no-nonsense style, but the media will turn on him just like it will likely turn on Lovie Smith in Chicago… Herm Edwards, Art Shell and most recently Romeo Crennel are now out of football and things turned on them quickly…
So with the release of Vick, I see a renewed interest in Vick…Singletary has to WIN NOW…Singletary won’t have four years to FAIL like former coach Mike Nolan had…
PETA will protest, but so what? Most PETA folks aren’t football fans just professional protesters who needs the media to give them credibility. Plus, Vick may bring fans from Oakland and other predominately black Bay Area communities so some fans who say they will cancel their 49ers season tickets will not likely have a negative affect. And PETA will fade away as well. Initially it will be on the news, but PETA will fade away especially when Vick starts to play and WIN GAMES and once the commercial collaboration project with the Humane Society to educate urban youth about dogfighting, I feel PETA’s influence will be significantly muted after a few weeks..Now don’t get me wrong, they are fanatical and Vick has to be careful and a security plan needs to be enacted to prevent singular acts of craziness from happening…ever since 9-11 all stadiums have enhanced security plans..
Shaun Hill has shown some flashes, but he is 30 and a perennial back-up. Vick is better–period… Hill will tease, but will likely fade when the pressure is on…
On Vernon Davis’ MySpace page he gave a shout-out to Vick…
I thought this was kind of interesting. Vernon Davis can be a faster version (4.4 speed) of Alge Crumpler..
He was asked a question by an interviewer..
>>>>>”" SS: If you could play a game on a team with any quarterback in the NFL right now, who would it be and why?
VD: I would play with Mike Vick because he is a true playmaker
unlike any other QB. He can run fast and make plays with his feet….>>>”
(Vernon Davis didn’t say Shaun Hill or Alex Smith… and he has been with these guys for a few years…)
…”I know it would never happen, but why does Vick in Minny just seem to make so much sense to me. Fuck Favre…”
I agree Tariq..
Minnesota would be a great place, but the Vikings owner Ziggy Weif (moreso) than Childress is really pushing this Favre thing… I think it will backfire big-time if Favre signs with the Vikings…Ziggy pushed Duante Culpepper out of Minny…
The last previous two seasons, Favre has left damage in his wake:
2007- After Favre ‘retires’, Green Bay gets a new coach…
2008-Jets experiment with Favre blows up late in the season, and guess what happens…Mangini FIRED…
2009- If Favre signs, Brad Childress is very likely to be the THIRD COACH to get fired..
Favre is the REAL T.O. (team obiliterator)
Mike will be back. I know he will. And when he gets back WATCH OUT!!!!
I wasn’t thinking that Vick couldn’t play in Washington or Minnesota, but that he need not play there when they have perfectly serviceable QBs in Campbell and Jackson, respectively.
What is point in drafting either of those players that high if you’re not actually going to let them play? It would be foolish of the ‘Skins or Vikes to go in different directions. To my mind, both have demonstrated they can play and win big games on the road. Campbell’s win at Dallas was on the most impressive of the season. Jackson’s win at Arizona, in hindsight, was also one of the more impressive wins of the season.
Moreover, when Atlanta beat Minnesota on the road late in the season, Jackson went 22-36 for 233 and 2 touchdowns. He added another 82 yards on the ground. No pics. Atlanta won the game but Matt Ryan was only 13 of 24 for 134 yards. The problem in that game was that TJ fumbled twice — and when Ryan fumbled at the goal line, it was recovered for an ATL TD. It’s a game of inches and idiots.
Just because the Vikings are on drugs and can’t see the QB right in front of their face doesn’t mean Vick should go there and add to the confusion. I think Patrick is right about the ownership and their involvement in the franchise. I don’t think it’s a healthy situation right now, particularly given the Super Bowl expectations attached to the team. Vick, to my mind, needs a bit lower profile situation where he can ease himself back into being successful. I’d rather see him do very well and elevate a team like St. Louis to 9-7, than play in Minny go 11-5, get tossed in the first round of the playoffs and be out of work a year later.
….”Vick, to my mind, needs a bit lower profile situation where he can ease himself back into being successful. I’d rather see him do very well and elevate a team like St. Louis to 9-7, than play in Minny go 11-5, get tossed in the first round of the playoffs and be out of work a year later….”
Temple,
I agree. Minny is not a very stable place right now with the way ownership/coach are handling the QB situation, and if you have a meddling owner it makes things even more difficult.
To me San Francisco would probably be Vick’s best option along with St. Louis. In San Fran and St. Louis he would be able to start sooner.
Now I have one more candidate that many haven’t mentioned and that’s Buffalo… Now Trent Edwards was the first round draft choice in 2007, and he may turn out to be better than average. However, Buffalo by the signing of Terrell Owens gives signals that Ralph Wilson, the 90-year old owner, wants to WIN NOW. Buffalo hasn’t been to the playoffs since the Music City Miracle TEN YEARS AGO when Tennessee stole that playoff game on a last second play to Derrick Mason.
If San Fran or St. Louis doesn’t pan out, Buffalo may be a place where Vick can be a back-up, but there would be a strong likelihood that he would start by mid-season or maybe sooner. Edwards was given the starter’s job in his rookie year, but got HURT and lost it and then regained it. And in 2008, he played well and teased, then got hurt again…
Can Trent Edwards stay healthy and handle an ego like Terrell Owens all season… T.O.’s clock is ticking at 35 and so is Vick’s, so if they managed to get on the field together, it would bring a level of excitement and raised expectations. Buffalo already has a great special teams, and defensively they are a very capable unit.
Plus, it would be the first time that New England would have to face Vick potentially twice a year and Bill Belicheck fashions himself as staying ‘ahead of the curve’ (whether its signing perceived All-Pro troublemakers Corey Dillion or Randy Moss or using the Spygate situation to ‘his’ advantage)… The Vick dynamic could curtail Brady’s dominance of the AFC East and put Buffalo in their best position to make the playoffs in a decade.
The NFL is a win-now league. Whether its McNabb, Brees, Vick, Brady, Warner, Eli, Duante or Big Ben… these guys were able to get their teams to the playoffs within the first two years in the NFL… Trent has not for whatever reason done that (unfair or not). Usually, its a red flag if a first round QB cant…
Trent Edwards will start the 2009, but I don’t know if he will finish it either… given his early history of not being to stay on the field and performing at a more consistent, higher level… so this might give Vick an opening in Buffalo..(maybe)..
Vernon Davis.
Vick in Buffalo with TO would be interesting but one thing you haven’t reckoned with, Patrick. Brother Mike don’t like the damn cold. Check out that game against the Bears a few season ago and the NCCG in Philly in 2005 for proof of that fact. Debts though will make many a man suck it up and do what he don’t like. Besides, thermals come in red, white, and blue so he’ll be fine in Niagra.
Harvey:
I believe Vick can adjust to adverse weather conditions. For example, Vick and the Falcons went to Green Bay during the playoffs and beat the ‘great’, unstoppable Brett Favre in his own backyard. No, it wasn’t 65 and sunny, but 30 degrees and snowing (at night)!
Vick needs a power running game and WRs who can make plays for him… In the Green Bay game Duckett had carried the ball 17 times and scored a TD dragging a defeated Green Bay defense in the endzone if I am not mistaken…
That Chicago game, Coach Mora thought it was a good idea to virtually sit the power back Duckett and use the 180 pound Dunn…(bad move) especially in a cold weather game like that.. Duckett needed to run the ball 25 times in that game (from beginning to end) and not after the game is totally out of hand…
..and the Philly NCCG game…people forget it was just 10-7 at halftime. The Falcons never adjusted and Dunn got the bulk of the carries and had a very predictable lousy game. The power back Duckett got four carries. The Falcons faded in the second half and Philly won…
Duckett was never allowed to be the main guy because he was drafted by DAN REEVES, and Arthur Blank’s first acquisition was the free agent Warrick Dunn in 2002. And on top of that if Duckett was seen as getting too much shine, Dunn went to press and complain about he isn’t getting his “touches”… and Vick ended up being shortchanged because not having a powerback in the backfield hurt Vick against the more stingy, sturdier defenses such as Philly, Chicago and Tampa…
Back to Buffalo for a second, Vick can adjust to cold weather–just give him competent coaches and surround him with playmakers. And also Vick may receive a recommendation from former Virginia Tech alum and former Buffalo Bills great Bruce Smith. The owner Ralph Wilson may strongly consider the recommendation coming from Bruce Smith.
I live in the Atlanta area and Michael Vick will be missed in a big way. Michael raised the level of expectation for professional football fans in Atlanta and we appreciate that. He deserves to be reinstated. Though it pains me at the thought of seeing him in another jersey, I hope that Michael goes to Minnesota. They have the right ingredients in place and defense is awesome. They can be a contender because we all know that DEFENSE wins championships. Ask Tom Brady about the New York Giants. And Michael could be the icing on the cake.
Thousands of Atlanta fans (as quiet as it’s kept) want to see Michael get a fair shot at playing in the NFL again and move on with his life. But let’s not get it twisted Atlanta will never get over Michael Vick.
Haven’t read all the posts here, but San Fran IS a football town. I lived there for three years in the late ’90s and early ’00s and the level of attention paid to the ’9ers always greatly exceeded the attention focused on the Giants – even with Barry and Kent and Aurilia tearing it up. Having lived in LA, I was in San Fran the first year after Steve Young retired and I thought it was crazy the level of ridicule levelled at Jeff Garcia and others……I mean, they had won 3 Super Bowls in the previous decade and yet the way things were written in the Chronicle it was as though the 9ers had never done anything. Anyway…just saying, I think San Francisco is fairly football crazy and he might be at home there…
The persecution of Vick has been vile. What he did ain’t pretty, but he goes to jail while people are running major companies solely for their own benefit and voting themselves salary increases as they stroll away from the wreck, lying to Congress about doping, bombing civilians by the carload in the name of democracy — and there’s no accountability. I hope that Vick gets a good gig in a city that will support him. And I hope that he won’t have to be “humble” and “contrite” every time he’s in front of a microphone. I hope Michael just gets to play.