Vick Gets No Love From Jason Whitlock

I don't know what his deal is, but ESPN writer Jason Whitlock can never seem to give Atlanta Falcons' quarterback Michael Vick any props. Just before the season started, Whitlock blasted on how Vick doesn't do anything for the Falcons and that it's pathetic and unfair for the Falcons to be paying him the kind of money they are and for he, in return, to put up the kinds of numbers he has. Now, after Vick has led the Falcons to a 2-0 start with wins over division favorites Carolina and Tampa Bay by a combined score of 34-9, breaking rushing records in the process, Whitlock is now stating, "Well, yeah, they've been impressive thus far, but if they continue to play Vick like this, he's not going to last very long."

He can't give the guy credit when he wins and plays well and can only bash the guy when he and/or the team isn't playing to their potential. If Vick so happens to stay healthy this year and the team does very well, then Whitlock will probably say, "Well, just watch and see what he does in the playoffs." Whitlock has stated that Vick will never lead the Falcons or anyone else to the Super Bowl and has referred to the start quarterback as "a wide receiver trying to play quarterback." He states this even after Vick led the Falcons to the NFC Championship. In other words, they were one game away from playing in the Super Bowl.

If Vick threw for 3,500 yards, Whitlock would complain that he isn't utilizing his speed enough. If he ran for 1,000 yards, he'd rant about how Vick isn't a real quarterback. The only possible way Whitlock may get off Vick's back is if he pulled off the impossible feat of passing for 3,500 yards, running for another 1,000, and winning the Super Bowl. Then and only then would one Jason Whitlock give Michael Vick any props and since that is utterly impossible, one can rest assured that it'll be literally impossible for Whitlock to give Vick any love in the near or distant future.

Whitlock made the argument that running backs have a shelf life of only three years in the NFL because of all the hits they take, so Vick will have a similar shelf life. First off, he's an idiot for thinking that tailbacks have a shelf life of only three years. Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, O.J. Simpson, Walter Payton, Thurman Thomas, Edgerrin James, Curtis Martin, Marcus Allen, Roger Craig, Shaun Alexander, LaDanian Tomlinson, Eddie George, Jerome Bettis, Jamal Lewis, Tiki Barber, Marshall Faulk, Stephen Davis, Warrick Dunn. Need I continue? Also, Vick doesn't take the kinds of hits that these tailbacks did. He usually runs to the outside and either steps out of bounds or goes down before he gets hit. Houston Texans and Oakland Raiders quarterbacks David Carr and Aaron Brooks get hit a lot more than Vick does, and they're not nearly as prone to running as the Falcons' quarterback.

Jason, give it a rest. The Falcons are 2-0. Who knows what they'll do from here, but they're 2-0, with two impressive victories over teams who were favored over them in the NFC South. If they lose the rest of their games and finish 2-14, then hey, bash them all you want to. But, as of now, they're arguably playing the best ball of any team in the NFC and along with Jacksonville and Baltimore, the best ball in the NFL. Give credit where credit is due.