Michael Vick Back to the Falcons? Keep Nightmaring ...

I have a hard time saying his name. It's not that he's beyond redemption. People make mistakes, and his were record breaking. But he did his prison time. He paid the price, so to speak. All that and a bag of chips said, I'm definitely not okay with this idea.

If an opportunity to start isn't presented to him, however, Vick will have to look for backup work.

Although signing in Atlanta to hold the clipboard wouldn't be a perfect fairytale ending, being back with the team he started with does seem like a fitting end to Vick's interesting career.

This won't happen for two reasons. First, it's a potential public relations nightmare. The Falcons invested ridiculous sums to undo the damage Vick did to the franchise. Reversing course now, even with Vick as a clipboard-carrying backup, would be foolish. Arthur Blank is interested in winning a Lombardi, not defending a move with marginal value.

Which leads us to the second reason this won't happen: Vick, at this stage in his career, and even from a pure football perspective, doesn't offer anything the Falcons need. He's just not that good anymore. Sure, he's still an elite athlete, but he's slowing down, and he's struggled mightily to stay healthy since joining the Eagles. He's not the pocket passer the Falcons model their offense around; he never was.

Look, this is just foolish conjecture. I wish Vick the best. But for his tomfoolery, Matt Ryan wouldn't be a Falcon. For those of us who were fans pre-Dimitroff, there were good times. But those good times, like my eyebrow ring and Dr. Marten sandals, are better left in the past.