The Football Fan Spot

            Michael Vick is officially an NFL player again. ESPN reports that Vick has signed a 2 year deal for an undisclosed amount of money with the Philadelphia Eagles. Vick has not played since 2006, when he was the highest paid player in the league as quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons. Since then, Vick has served a 23 month jail sentence for hosting and funding a dog fighting rink in his home, as well as training dogs to kill, fighting dogs to the death, and euthanizing dogs unfit to fight.

            The buzz around the internet, at least with Eagles fans, is that Vick will add another dimension to an already dangerous offense. The Eagles will be able to do crazy wildcat things with Donovan McNabb and Vick together in the backfield, as well as the speedy Brian Westbrook and possibly even receivers DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. To those people I say this, check your calendars. Week 1 is September 7th. Today is August 13th. The Eagles don’t have time to make major playbook changes in order to get the most out of Vick’s speed. The Eagles will play the same West Coast offense that they have for the past decade with Donovan McNabb and Vick, who ran a West Coast offense in Atlanta, will be McNabb’s backup.

            What Andy Reid and whoever else that was behind this move is hoping is that Vick, who is probably the best backup McNabb has ever had, will motivated McNabb. However, McNabb been very angry the last few times his status as franchise quarterback was threatened. When the Eagles drafted quarterback Kevin Kolb in the 2nd round of the 2007 NFL draft, McNabb had some words behind closed doors for whoever made the decision, though he denied this accusation. Last November, when McNabb was benched midgame for Kolb, he had some more words for the person responsible. This move may just create a quarterback controversy where there wasn’t one, which is never a good idea.

            What could happen, though, is this. McNabb could get angry and piss and moan to the people responsible. And then, he could go out and lead the team to the Super Bowl. McNabb always seems to performance best when his back is against the wall. In 2007, after they drafted Kolb, McNabb had a borderline career year just months after knee surgery. Last year, after he was benched, he responded by winning the job back and leading what was once a 5-5 team to the NFC Championship. Or, he could just piss and moan. Either way, I wouldn’t take the risk of shaking McNabb’s confidence, though it could pay off.

            I also wouldn’t take the PR risk. Philly fans can be ruthless. They will likely do a combination of two things. One, they will set enormous expectations for Vick because of his name, which he will not live up to. Two, they will not like him because of the dog fighting arrest. Eagles fans have dogs too. You have to think that at least some will not spend their hard earned money to pay Vick’s salary by buying Eagles tickets. I’m happy that Vick gets another chance, but I don’t think he’s worth the risk for the Eagles.

Michael Vick starts home confinement this week and will start his 10 dollar an hour construction job in a month. In 2 months he?ll be released and a free man less than 2 years after he was suspended indefinitely by the NFL and indicted, and eventually convicted, on charges of animal abuse related to dog fighting. Vick was responsible for raising dogs to fight to the death, killing dogs that were too weak, fighting dogs to the death, and betting on dog fighting. However, he says he is a changed man now and Roger Goddell has to at least consider reinstating him when he has served his time, especially when you consider what Vick could do for the NFL?s ratings. I am for the idea of reinstating Vick not because of what it would do for the NFL?s rating, but because he has served his time for his crime and should be not punished any further. If he is reinstated, below are a few teams where he could likely end up and how he would fit in there.

San Francisco 49ers

Mike Singletary has not ruled out Vick is an option, which is a good thing considering the Niners don?t have a true starting quarterback. The Niners, who hired a running backs coach as offensive coordinator, are going to run a lot more this year. They drafted Glen Coffee in the 3rd round despite the fact that they have Frank Gore already to make up for this team?s lack of a strong passing game. Vick is a run first quarterback which would be a good addition to this offense. He would also be an upgrade in the passing game over Shaun Hill and Alex Smith.

New England Patriots

The Pats were interested in Pat White during the draft before losing him to Miami. The Patriots want to implement the wildcat offense and drafted run first quarterback Julian Edelman out of Kent State in the 7th round. Vick would be the best out there to run the wildcat for them. The Patriots are known for their history of reclamation projects, especially in recent years, see Randy Moss. They could take a chance on Vick and add another dimension to an already amazing offense. Vick could also help as a receiver as well.

Washington Redskins

Washington is clearly not happy with their quarterback situation as they have tried to trade Jason Campbell, unsuccessfully, many times this off season. Vick is from Virginia and good friends with DeAngelo Hall, who the Redskins just signed to a massive contract. The Redskins are known for taking risks on big name players and paying them way too much, so with the quarterback situation in flux, don?t be surprised if the ?Skins do that again with Vick.

Oakland Raiders

Al Davis likes everything fast. Vick is the fastest quarterback out there. Forget JaMarcus Russell. You only used a #1 pick on him 2 years ago. He can play left tackle or something like that. I am only half kidding. This is probably what?s going through Al Davis? mind. The Raiders love doing thing like this, the only question is, after spending so much money carelessly, do they have enough cap to get Vick.

Cincinnati Bengals

You have to mention the Bengals when you?re talking about convicted felons. The Bengals would do something like this. Vick could be a change of pace quarterback, help in the backfield with Cedric Benson, and add to a receiving corps that lost TJ Houshmanzadeh in the offseason.