While he's appeared to show some hesitation in the past few days regarding his decision, Michael Vick has officially retired from the NFL. While the quarterback's affiliation with dogfighting will forever mar his image to a good number of people, I thought I'd try to temporarily remove that from the equation and look back at Michael Vick the player.
Being born in 1981 and watching football since the late-80s, I'd have to say, to this point, the three most exciting players I've had the pleasure of watching are, in descending order, Bo Jackson, Barry Sanders, and Michael Vick.
In 1999, Michael Vick burst onto the scene as a redshirt freshman quarterback for the Virginia Tech Hokies, leading them to an unblemished regular season, and their first (and only to this point) national title game appearance. While Vick's team might have fallen short in their 46-29 defeat at the hands of a far superior Florida State team, Vick led his Hokies back from a 28-7 deficit to take a 29-28 lead after 3 quarters, and caught everyone's attention with his almost nonhuman-like dance moves when scrambling in and out of trouble while in the pocket. After an outstanding, yet injury-riddled sophomore campaign, Vick decided to take his talents to the NFL. During his short stint with the Hokies, Vick completed 192 of 343 pass attempts (56.0%) for 3,299 yards (9.6 yards per attempt), 21 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and a rating of 150.6. He also ran the ball 235 times for 1,299 yards (5.5 per carry), and 17 additional touchdowns. Not only that, he was 1999 Big East Offensive Player of the Year; was #1 in the Big East in passing yards that same year; was #1 in all of college football in passing yards per attempt, pass efficiency rating, and total yards; as well as #1 in the Big East in total touchdowns. Oh, and if you exclude a game against Miami (Florida) in his sophomore season, where he played only one drive, he was 20-1 as a starter. As Liam Neeson might say, Vick then took his special set of skills to the next level.
Heading to draft day, NFL teams knew three things about Michael Vick: 1) He had incredible arm strength/threw a great deep ball, 2) He was raw and needed some work, and 3) He was the fastest, most elusive quarterback they'd ever seen. The Atlanta Falcons decided to take a chance on the raw, but incredibly talented Vick by trading up to get him at #1. That is when the Vick-era in football started.
While Vick played sparingly in his rookie season with the Falcons, he still found a way to regularly generate a great deal of excitement, especially on the ground, as he ran for 289 yards on just 31 carries, an average of 9.3 per. Vick then took the reigns in his second season, leading his Falcons to a playoff appearance, and quarterbacking his team to the first ever playoff win at Lambeau Field. Unfortunately for he and his team, Vick was sidelined for most of his third season with a serious injury he suffered in the preseason. When he returned, he led the Falcons to a 3-1 record. After Dan Reeves was fired and Jim Mora, Jr. was picked up, the team attempted to build around Vick's unique skill set, instead of further developing him as a passer. This had mixed results overall, but it worked rather well in Mora's debut season with the team, as Vick and the Falcons marched to the NFC Championship game, before falling to Philadelphia. In the 2006 season, while Atlanta finished with a disappointing 7-9 record, Vick became the first quarterback in NFL history to run for 1,000 or more yards in a season. Then, after 6 years of thrills with the Atlanta Falcons, Michael Vick was convicted of dogfighting charges and spent the next couple of seasons away from the NFL, in a jail cell.
Just overnight, it seemed, Michael Vick went from the richest, most popular, most exciting player in football to a man in jail, wondering if he'd ever get a chance to play again, or even if he deserved that chance. Regardless of whether or not one felt he should have received such an opportunity again, the Philadelphia Eagles thought he did, and in what was an incredibly controversial move at the time, signed Vick to a contract. The former #1 draft pick was used sparingly in his first season with the Eagles, appearing to be a great deal slower when he was used, as he averaged a career low 4.0 yards per carry. Was the Michael Vick of old officially gone or simply shaking off some initial rust and rebuilding? As time showed, it was definitely the latter. In 2010, Michael Vick took the league by storm again, retaining the starting job, leading his Eagles to the playoffs, having arguably his best season in his career, and deservedly so, winning Comeback Player of the Year. He finished with a career high passer rating of 100.2, 62.6 completion percentage, 21 touchdowns, only 6 interceptions, and galloped for 676 yards (6.8 per carry), and 9 additional scores. Due to injury issues, things were kind of hit and miss in Vick's final years with the Eagles, as well as in his short stints with the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers.
In his career, Vick made it to the playoffs five times, making it as far as a conference championship game, and was selected to four Pro Bowls. He's the all-time leading rusher among quarterbacks and the all-time leader (at any position) in yards per carry. Vick was 61-51-1 as a starter. He completed 1,807 out of 3,217 pass attempts (56.2%) for 22,464 yards (7.0 p/att), 133 touchdowns, and 88 interceptions. and a rating of 80.4. In addition to that, he ran the ball 873 times for 5,109 yards (7.0 p/carry), and 36 scores. Just from an on-the-field standpoint, here are probably the moments I'll remember most from Michael Vick's career:
His physics-defying performance against Florida State
His run of all runs in overtime against the Minnesota Vikings, continuing to the tunnel after the unbelievable touchdown
His win against the Green Bay Packers on a snow-covered Lambeau Field in the playoffs
His comeback against the New York Giants where the Eagles found themselves down 31-10 with less than 8 minutes to go
His performance against the Washington Redskins in 2010, which could go down as one of the best games by a quarterback in NFL history. Vick went 20 for 28 for 333 yards, and 4 touchdowns, and also ran for 80 yards and two more scores, in his team's historic 59-28 win on Monday Night Football.
Michael Vick is one of the most divisive, exciting, and complicated athletes in history. The man had the football world eating from the palm of his hand, before he lost it all, and rose to the top yet again. He revolutionized the sport without winning a title. He made many question old traditions while paving the way for new ones. He showcased skills never seen before at his position, yet only reached his full potential in spurts. Love him or hate him, he was the most exciting player I've ever had the pleasure of watching.
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/michael-vick-1.html
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/V/VickMi00.htm
Being born in 1981 and watching football since the late-80s, I'd have to say, to this point, the three most exciting players I've had the pleasure of watching are, in descending order, Bo Jackson, Barry Sanders, and Michael Vick.
In 1999, Michael Vick burst onto the scene as a redshirt freshman quarterback for the Virginia Tech Hokies, leading them to an unblemished regular season, and their first (and only to this point) national title game appearance. While Vick's team might have fallen short in their 46-29 defeat at the hands of a far superior Florida State team, Vick led his Hokies back from a 28-7 deficit to take a 29-28 lead after 3 quarters, and caught everyone's attention with his almost nonhuman-like dance moves when scrambling in and out of trouble while in the pocket. After an outstanding, yet injury-riddled sophomore campaign, Vick decided to take his talents to the NFL. During his short stint with the Hokies, Vick completed 192 of 343 pass attempts (56.0%) for 3,299 yards (9.6 yards per attempt), 21 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and a rating of 150.6. He also ran the ball 235 times for 1,299 yards (5.5 per carry), and 17 additional touchdowns. Not only that, he was 1999 Big East Offensive Player of the Year; was #1 in the Big East in passing yards that same year; was #1 in all of college football in passing yards per attempt, pass efficiency rating, and total yards; as well as #1 in the Big East in total touchdowns. Oh, and if you exclude a game against Miami (Florida) in his sophomore season, where he played only one drive, he was 20-1 as a starter. As Liam Neeson might say, Vick then took his special set of skills to the next level.
Heading to draft day, NFL teams knew three things about Michael Vick: 1) He had incredible arm strength/threw a great deep ball, 2) He was raw and needed some work, and 3) He was the fastest, most elusive quarterback they'd ever seen. The Atlanta Falcons decided to take a chance on the raw, but incredibly talented Vick by trading up to get him at #1. That is when the Vick-era in football started.
While Vick played sparingly in his rookie season with the Falcons, he still found a way to regularly generate a great deal of excitement, especially on the ground, as he ran for 289 yards on just 31 carries, an average of 9.3 per. Vick then took the reigns in his second season, leading his Falcons to a playoff appearance, and quarterbacking his team to the first ever playoff win at Lambeau Field. Unfortunately for he and his team, Vick was sidelined for most of his third season with a serious injury he suffered in the preseason. When he returned, he led the Falcons to a 3-1 record. After Dan Reeves was fired and Jim Mora, Jr. was picked up, the team attempted to build around Vick's unique skill set, instead of further developing him as a passer. This had mixed results overall, but it worked rather well in Mora's debut season with the team, as Vick and the Falcons marched to the NFC Championship game, before falling to Philadelphia. In the 2006 season, while Atlanta finished with a disappointing 7-9 record, Vick became the first quarterback in NFL history to run for 1,000 or more yards in a season. Then, after 6 years of thrills with the Atlanta Falcons, Michael Vick was convicted of dogfighting charges and spent the next couple of seasons away from the NFL, in a jail cell.
Just overnight, it seemed, Michael Vick went from the richest, most popular, most exciting player in football to a man in jail, wondering if he'd ever get a chance to play again, or even if he deserved that chance. Regardless of whether or not one felt he should have received such an opportunity again, the Philadelphia Eagles thought he did, and in what was an incredibly controversial move at the time, signed Vick to a contract. The former #1 draft pick was used sparingly in his first season with the Eagles, appearing to be a great deal slower when he was used, as he averaged a career low 4.0 yards per carry. Was the Michael Vick of old officially gone or simply shaking off some initial rust and rebuilding? As time showed, it was definitely the latter. In 2010, Michael Vick took the league by storm again, retaining the starting job, leading his Eagles to the playoffs, having arguably his best season in his career, and deservedly so, winning Comeback Player of the Year. He finished with a career high passer rating of 100.2, 62.6 completion percentage, 21 touchdowns, only 6 interceptions, and galloped for 676 yards (6.8 per carry), and 9 additional scores. Due to injury issues, things were kind of hit and miss in Vick's final years with the Eagles, as well as in his short stints with the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers.
In his career, Vick made it to the playoffs five times, making it as far as a conference championship game, and was selected to four Pro Bowls. He's the all-time leading rusher among quarterbacks and the all-time leader (at any position) in yards per carry. Vick was 61-51-1 as a starter. He completed 1,807 out of 3,217 pass attempts (56.2%) for 22,464 yards (7.0 p/att), 133 touchdowns, and 88 interceptions. and a rating of 80.4. In addition to that, he ran the ball 873 times for 5,109 yards (7.0 p/carry), and 36 scores. Just from an on-the-field standpoint, here are probably the moments I'll remember most from Michael Vick's career:
His physics-defying performance against Florida State
His run of all runs in overtime against the Minnesota Vikings, continuing to the tunnel after the unbelievable touchdown
His win against the Green Bay Packers on a snow-covered Lambeau Field in the playoffs
His comeback against the New York Giants where the Eagles found themselves down 31-10 with less than 8 minutes to go
His performance against the Washington Redskins in 2010, which could go down as one of the best games by a quarterback in NFL history. Vick went 20 for 28 for 333 yards, and 4 touchdowns, and also ran for 80 yards and two more scores, in his team's historic 59-28 win on Monday Night Football.
Michael Vick is one of the most divisive, exciting, and complicated athletes in history. The man had the football world eating from the palm of his hand, before he lost it all, and rose to the top yet again. He revolutionized the sport without winning a title. He made many question old traditions while paving the way for new ones. He showcased skills never seen before at his position, yet only reached his full potential in spurts. Love him or hate him, he was the most exciting player I've ever had the pleasure of watching.
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/michael-vick-1.html
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/V/VickMi00.htm
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