Vick files for bankruptcy

Let’s keep the discussion to the merits and drawbacks of Vick’s eventual return which I think is an interesting topic. I know he’s divisive, but let’s keep it friendly.

Honestly I rarely even think about the guy anymore. Denial? Perhaps. Good old fashion “I am over it”? Most likely.

I rarely think about Vick in the “if only” and “what if” sense anymore. I just don’t get the extreme contempt that still lingers when it has nothing to do with football in general or the Falcons in the present specifically. Obviously we all know it’s going to be a while before he gets out, although I hear that he will be looking for an early parole before the end of this football season.

My only point is that people jump on what he did without taking into account what he did for this franchise. Everyone saw what this guy was doing in college and the fan base was frothing at the mouth knowing that we had a chance to make a move and get him and that’s exactly what the team did. And even though at this moment it seems as though we may have not gotten the better end of that deal if you look at only the stats, you can not simply write off his merits. Vick catapulted this fan base from the sorry state it was to the sellout populace it became. I absolutely could not stand having to watch games being played on the west coast all because the Falcons game was blacked out. Vick changed all of that. If Vick was starting, then the chances were usually in our favor to win the game. And for people to so blatantly forget that and make absurd claims that he did nothing for us and would do nothing for us now, well, that’s just plain stupid silly.

As for the return of Vick, I can absolutely see that happening. The biggest piece is that fact that the Falcons never released Vick from his contract, therefore leaving that door cracked for a return. He still had what, five years left or something like that. I’ll go look it up because I don’t remember if it was a 10yr or an 8yr unless someone beats me to it. Now we all know that Mr. Goodell is going to have a say in it all as I am sure he will want to impose his iron fisted will on things, but really, by the time Vick would even be able to play he will have already been out of the league for at least two years, possibly three, so I’m hoping that it gets looked at like he did his suspension. Either way, Vick still owes service to his contract and the team.

The second big part of this is it’s similarity to the Favre situation. Do you really think that Blank would allow another team to get Vick? Blank, unlike some people, realize what Vick brings to the football field and I would think that there is no way he would let there be a possibility for another team to use Vick against us. At least I hope he is smart enough that if he were to let Vick go, he would try to push him to an AFC team. Blank was stated that “the only way you (Vick) are leaving the ATL would be in a box … I think you know what that means.” Those are pretty bold words and I never doubted them.

Obviously, I think we all realize that there may be no chance for any of this to happen given that we just signed another QB for just about the same amount of money and for less time. Ryan is the here and now, and hopefully, the future. Ryan will never be what Vick was and he will never bring what Vick could, to the field or the fan base, but he’s what we got now so that really is all there is to it, for now. I can tell you now though, and I think many of us would agree that if Ryan doesn’t perform immediately, there will be a large portion of the Atlanta fan base publicly petitioning for Vicks return. Regardless of what he has done, there is still a significant amount of Vick supporters in Atlanta and throughout GA. And though I acknowledge that some of those support him because of his actions and their belief that he did nothing wrong, I also believe that many of them support him for his football talents and abilities without wanting to get involved in his off-field issues. Personally, I could care less about any of that stuff. Vicks only value to me is on the field, anything else is for the paparazzi and the tabloids. I have never been one to judge people outside of their intended purposes. I judge musicians on their music, artists on their art, and sports athletes on their talent and ability to play their given sport. Plain and simple.

I so want to say something else on this issue, but I’ll let it pass because it has nothing to do with the Falcons or football.