The Rise and Fall of Michael Vick

It was just 7-8 years ago that Michael Vick broke onto the football scene with Virginia Tech. As a redshirt freshman, Vick led the Hokies to their first undefeated regular season and first national championship game. Head Coach Frank Beamer had improved his program significantly since he took over, but something was different about the Vick-led Hokies that year. Without him, they would've been just another 8 or 9 win team, but Vick raised the Hokies level of play that year and the year following, before he was told that he'd be the #1 pick in the NFL draft. Even in the Hokies' loss to Florida State in the national title game, the player that was most talked about following the contest was Vick. He threw for over 200 yards and ran for another 100, some of those runs coming in Houdini-like fashion against one of the quickest, if not the quickest defense in the country.

Even when he began his college career in Blacksburg, it seemed that there were doubters. Regardless of the fact that Tech finished the regular season unbeaten in one of the six major conferences in college football, The Big East, some people still claimed that the Hokies didn't deserve a shot at the national title. Before the Florida State game, some were already calling Vick overrated and overhyped, because they believed he played against a lack of quality competition. But, even in that loss, that was THE game that made Michael Vick a national name. He received some Heisman votes that year, as a redshirt freshman and led the entire NCAA in pass efficiency. He was nagged by an upper ankle sprain in his sophomore year, which kept him out of Tech's one and only loss to Miami, but outside of that lapse, the Hokies went 11-0, including a dominant Gator Bowl win over Clemson.

Not many people had ever seen an athlete quite like Michael Vick at the college level. It was extraordinary to see an NCAA quarterback possess such a cannon for an arm and with that arm, it appeared as if he ran at a completely different speed than everyone else around him. It was like watching an NFL quarterback playing in college. Everything appeared to be too easy for the Hokies' gunslinger. Perhaps partially due to this, wanting a new challenge, and also the fact he'd most likely be selected #1 in the draft, Vick opted to dart out of college and into the NFL after just two seasons of playing college football.

The Atlanta Falcons traded up to nab Vick, making him the first African-American quarterback to be the top pick in the draft. The Falcons' head coach at the time, Dan Reeves, had to be ecstatic in acquiring such a talent at quarterback. Vick was reminiscent to John Elway, another quarterback Reeves' coached during his career. Elway had a solid throwing arm and good legs for a quarterback, but Vick had him beat in arm strength, speed, and elusiveness.

Vick mainly used his first year in the NFL as a redshirt season in college, learning the system, and preparing himself for the year following. He did get a couple opportunities to play here and there and showed sparks of excitement, which made some Atlanta fans want him to start right then and there in front of veteran Chris Chandler.

But, the wait was worth it. As in his second year and first starting, Vick led the Falcons to a 9-6-1 record and a Wild Card berth in the playoffs. Vick threw for almost 3,000 yards, 16 touchdowns with 8 interceptions, and ran for 777 yards. With numbers like that and a Wild Card berth to back it up, plenty of Atlanta fans and even sports' fans in general, had plenty to be excited about when it came to the prospect of Michael Vick. In the Wild Card game, Atlanta faced off against Green Bay at Lambeau Field. It was frigid at gametime with snow likely on the horizon. At that point in history, the Packers had never lost a playoff game at home. But, Vick and the Falcons were there to alter history. The defense, the offense, the special teams all played like they wanted the game more than the Packers, as the Falcons went on to win 27-7. Vick and the Falcons lost the following week to Philadelphia 20-6, but put up a solid fight for three quarters. When the score was 13-6 in the third, Vick ran 20 yards for what would have been the tying touchdown, but a holding call negated the score and any momentum the Falcons garnered on that play. It was never redeemed. But, even with the loss, Falcons fans had a lot to look forward to.

But, the Falcons' team and their fans' optimism came crashing down in the following pre-season, when Vick went down with a pre-season injury against Baltimore. Scans showed that it was a clean break and Vick would be out for several weeks. Doug Johnson took over at quarterback and led the Falcons to an opening day win against Dallas, but that was one of the few highlights for the club until Vick returned late in the season. Atlanta went 2-10 without Vick that year. When he returned against the Carolina Panthers, he worked magic with his legs, rushing for well over 100 yards, and leading the Falcons to a win over their inner-division rivals. With wins over Tampa Bay and Jacksonville in the final weeks of the season, the Falcons finished the year 5-11, 2-10 without Vick and 3-1 with him. Their only loss with him came at the hands of Indianapolis and that was the week following Dan Reeves' firing. Some blamed Vick for the firing, stating that he could've returned earlier than he did and potentially saved Reeves' job, but that Vick didn't want that to occur.

Former San Francisco 49ers' defensive coordinator, Jim Mora, Jr. then took over the coaching duties for the Falcons. His debut season with the club couldn't have gone much better. Atlanta started the year at 11-3, before resting their starters for the final two games, both of those being losses. At 11-5, Atlanta received a first-round bye, before dominating the St. Louis Rams and then again, falling to the Philadelphia Eagles, but this time in the NFC Championship Game. Vick's passing numbers on the year weren't fantastic, but he ran for over 900 yards to compliment his 2,000+ yards through the air. Vick's gameplay was heavily criticized at the start of the year, due to his injury the year prior, but as the season progressed, less sports' writers and analysts openly criticized the Falcons' star quarterback. For the second time in two full years of starting, Vick was selected to the Pro Bowl and received the only MVP vote outside of Peyton Manning. The voter stated that it was obvious the Falcons couldn't win without him, as the previous year had indicated and that because of how important he was to the team's success, he was the true MVP of the league that season.

Some news' reports and rumors started swirling in the off-season about Vick. On one occasion, a relative of his reportedly stole a vehicle full of drugs. This story didn't receive much attention, but when looking back on everything, one has to wonder what the actual truth of the matter was. In another story that didn't receive much press, it was reported that a woman alleged Michael Vick had knowingly given her an STD. She claimed that Vick's alias was Ron Mexico. The suit was quietly taken care of in court and what the exact details were in the case, perhaps I'll never know, but regardless of whether the allegation was true or not, this off-season slowly became the beginning of the end of Michael Vick.

With the NFC Championship Game just a year behind them, high expectations followed the Falcons' football team around and for good reason. As expected, the Dirty Birds started the season off strong, at 6-2 and looking to again receive a first round by in the playoffs. But, due to multiple injuries on defense and Vick's hamstring nagging him off and on throughout the season, the Falcons had problems stopping the opposition and also had their share of issues on the offensive end. Critics were quiet for the first half of the season, but let out their rants the second half, as if they had been bottling these words for a couple years. Oddly enough, the same analysts who claimed Vick ran too much just after his injury stated that he should run more this season. His accuracy was still in question and some began to question his leadership, as well. Vick went down with nagging hamstring injuries on a couple occasions during the season and back-up quarterback Matt Schaub had to take over. Vick even went off on reporters following a win against the Miami Dolphins, in which he was extremely accurate throwing the football. He said that he never wanted to hear them say he couldn't throw the ball again and to ask him about his accuracy. He proved he could throw the football, so no more questions needed to be asked regarding it. The second half of the season was a flip-flop of the first, as the Falcons went 2-6, en route to an 8-8 campaign. For the first time as a full-time starter, Michael Vick didn't lead his club to a playoff bid. He finished with 2,000+ passing yards, 600+ rushing yards, with slightly above a 1:1 ratio in touchdowns to interceptions. For the third time in three full years of starting, Vick was selected to play in the Pro Bowl.

Not much negative news swirled around Vick this off-season, but he was found on a friend's MySpace page holding what appeared to be a cigarette or joint of some kind. Many on the page commented that it was indeed not a marijuana joint, but a pretty potent cigar, which Vick later admitted to smoking every now and again. That didn't receive much press either and it probably shouldn't have, but with these three close calls for Vick early in his career, it'd all catch up to him the following season.

As had been typical in his previous years of starting for the Falcons, Vick and his team started strong, at 5-2, but again, with injuries on defense, indecision on offense, and more me mentality's than we's, the Falcons finished the season 7-9 and for the second consecutive year, Vick's team would be sitting at home come time for the playoffs. Statistically speaking, the Falcons' quarterback had his all-around best season yet. He threw for around 2,500 yards, 20 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and became the first quarterback in NFL history to run for 1,000 yards in a season.

It was nothing but bad news for Vick this past off-season and it started early. It was reported in the late spring/early summer that Vick was reluctant on handing over a water bottle at the airport and when checked, there was a hidden compartment which smelled similar to marijuana. The media was no longer quiet about Vick's close run-ins with the law and overblew the story. It was later discovered following testing, that there were no illegal substances in Vick's water bottle compartment. Even then, there are still some doubters, which believe Vick got away with yet another potential wrong. From a legal perspective, all the close run-ins for Vick finally caught up to him, when it was reported that authorities raided a home owned by Vick in search for drugs. While no drugs were mentioned, from inspecting the home, federal authorities had good reason to believe that there was some kind of dogfighting operation at the residence. Vick remained very hush-hush following the initial reports. But, whether he was innocent or guilty, Vick's name being associated with dogfighting in any sense of the word, had the public in an uproar. The uproar became louder and more vigorous as time lapsed and more evidence got reported on the activities which ensued at the household. It was reported that Vick would most likely not be indicted, but a couple weeks later, Vick along with three others were indicted and with that indictment, the talk of a suspension loomed.

Meanwhile, sponsors, such as Nike, Reebok, and others that had been affiliated with Vick, either completely dropped or suspended their ties with him. Vick built a himself a strong defense team and stated he'd do whatever he could to clean his good name. After the other three defendents decided to plead guilty and with that plea, testify against Vick, the star quarterback was trapped in a corner, which not even he could scramble from. After reaching an agreement on a plea bargain, Michael Vick pled guilty yesterday. The chances are that he will spend between 12-18 months in prison, but that the federal government will recommend the low end of that range (12 months). Vick has agreed to cooperate in full with all authorities, in attempt to lessen his sentence/punishment and there's even word that if he snitches on enough people with enough important information, Vick could get off with a probation and fine. That is not likely, but is still a possibility. Vick's sentencing hearing is scheduled to be on December 10th, so there's plenty of time for he and authorities to meet and discuss what Vick does and does not know. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has suspended the quarterback indefinitely. If/when Vick completes his sentence, that will be the time when Goodell will review the case, review Vick's behavior since the plea, and decide if the quarterback should be given another chance.

Football is just a distant backdrop anymore to Vick's life. Chances are that he will one day play again, whether that be in the CFL, Arena League, or the NFL, but right now, Michael Vick is facing the toughest defense of all, the federal government, prosecution, judicial system, and potentially a federal penitentiary. No matter how quick and elusive he is, Vick will not be able to get away from the pass rush in this situation. He will not be able to make fans go silent, with their mouths agape at the extraordinary athletic ability of this guy.

It's sad to see what seems to be such a sudden and drastic fall for a person. But, the fact of the matter is that this fall has been much more gradual than people may think. Growing up where he did and without a father to love and protect he and his siblings, the Vick's (Michael and Marcus) faced an uphill battle throughout their lives, maybe not on the football field, but away from it.

Vick admitted to his wrongs yesterday, apologized to the world, and asked for forgiveness. In the grand scheme of things, the public's view of Vick doesn't matter. Based on his off-the-field decisions over the past few years, Vick will need to make some very difficult, but essential decisions after he is released from prison. One may not want to bet on a person like this, growing up in a bad area without a father to support them, but hopefully, the severe punishment Vick will receive from this crime will be enough to help him turn the corner, not as a football player, but as a human being. If he doesn't, the next predicament he runs into could be his last.