Michael Vick, Esq.

The ubiquitous Michael Vick finds himself on the down side this season. He is in the throes of a career-ending season, and he is reeling both from preseason revelations of herpes and a passer rating of just 63. His yards per passing attempt yields the meager sum of just 5.7 yards, while his yards per rushing attempt comes in at a lofty 6.2 yards. This proves what many of us have known for years: Michael Vick is a special teams player and possible wide receiver. His backup, a former Virginia Cavalier by the name of Matt Schaub, is a quarterback. Matt comes in with 6.9 yards per attempt and a whopping 9.8 yards per rush.

There is an upside for Michael Vick. He is obviously quite marketable, and the potential for an endorsement deal with Valtrex is intriguing. Bob Dole endorsed Viagra, and no one can argue that his career was only enhanced by his admission that his erectile dysfunction was pharmacologically reversible. Harry Reid endorsed Enzyte, but he still finds himself stuck in the minority leader's position. Okay, so I made that last part up.

On a serious note, the Falcons should bench Vick, who has had repeated problems putting his coach's offensive scheme into practice on the field. Quarterbacks who run the ball better than they pass it inevitably run into the same problem that running backs in the NFL encounter: durability is often exceeded by the painful reality of a defensive player's hitting prowess (Note: see Randall Cunningham). Michael Vick is exciting to watch more oft than not, but he is creating a liability for his franchise with his continued miscues at the quarterback position.

Franchises play to win, not to see one individual's potential for excitement realized. Atlanta needs to realize that it has a better shot at future success with someone besides Vick standing under center. When Atlanta played the lowly Jets, Vick was picked off three times. With the season barely half-finished, Vick has been sacked twelve times. In 2004, Vick was sacked forty-six times. Why has Vick been sacked so often? The most obvious answer has to be that a quarterback who runs the ball believes that he doesn't have to let go of it in order to avoid a loss of yardage. In his entire career, Vick has a high passer rating of just 81.6. He has forty-one touchdown passes, but he also carries the distinction of thirty-two interceptions. That does not qualify as a good ratio.

Michael Vick has dynamic personality and playmaking charisma on the field, but this does not translate into a winning team. Atlanta should utilize Vick's talents (and they are considerable) but not in a way that detracts from their ultimate goal of winning a championship. It is time for Atlanta to move on to a new quarterback, and to move Vick to a wideout/kick returner role. The only way for Atlanta to attain their ultimate goal is for sound reasoning to prevail in personnel roles.