The Football Fan Spot

Donovan McNabb is now a Washington Redskin. I guess they forgot to tell Jason Campbell. He found out when a reporter asked him his reaction to the trade. Whoops! He’s a 3 year starter and a former 1st round pick. You’d think he’d get more respect, but I guess not. It’s pretty obvious that the former starter is now on the trading block. After a 20-32 career record and a mountain of expectations put on him as a first rounder and the 3rd quarterback drafted in 2005, after Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers, and with the regime that drafted him being gone, the franchise has grown tired of him and, according to rumors, he could be had for as little as a 4th rounder. That would be a bargain.

Let’s look at the numbers. In his 3 years as a starter, he had a 60.0% completion, 62.3% completion, and a 64.5% completion. He had his best year of his career last year, despite playing behind an offensive line that allowed 43 sacks, with a 64.5 completion percentage, 7.1 YPA, 20 touchdowns, 15 picks, and a 86.4 QB rating. Yes, he had a 20-32 career record, but keep in mind his supporting cast sucked. Also keep in mind, he went through a new coordinator every year and, for the most part, played in a scheme that didn’t suit his strengths, the West Coast offense. This guy can be had for a 4th round pick. The Raiders should be thrilled. He would suit their vertical offense well and he’d be much better than anyone else they had on the roster at quarterback. The Bills also make sense, assuming they can’t get Jimmy Clausen at 9 or Tim Tebow at 41. 

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.