There was strong speculation that Vick would be brought in to talk
to the New England Patriots (+575 to win the Super Bowl at BetUS), and
frankly, I'm not sure what the basis of all that was, because I read
Bill Belichick's quotes and I don't think there's any way you could get
the impression that there was real interest in Vick, just because
Belichick didn't blow the idea out of the water outright. According to
Robert Kraft, owner of the Patriots, signing Vick is not a
consideration. “Because we’ve got the number one player in the world at
that position, as far as I’m concerned. Why would we want do anything
that would take (Brady) off the field for one play?“
Yet people still want to get carried away with statements that imply
nothing, or next to nothing. This quote came from John Fox, coach of
the Carolina Panthers (+2200 to win the Super Bowl at BetUS): "We're
pretty set at quarterback. We like the guys we have. I wouldn't want to
rule anything in or out, but we feel comfortable with where we are."
One scenario that would seem to have some basis in logic has Vick
talking to the Seattle Seahawks (+210 to win the NFC West at BetUS),
where one of his head coaches in Atlanta, Jim Mora Jr., has taken over
for Mike Holmgren.
Greg Knapp is the offensive coordinator in Seattle, and under his
leadership the Falcons finished #1 in the NFL in rushing three straight
years. Vick, of course, was the quarterback, and he became the first at
his position to rush for a thousand yards. Seattle already has a guy
who can do some of the things Vick did - Seneca Wallace - but he
doesn't do those things as well as Vick.
By the way, this is what Mora has gone on the record as saying: "We
are very happy with the quarterbacks we have on our roster. We have no
intentions of adding a quarterback to our roster."
Well, I'm not looking to start any rumors; I'm just looking to make
an observation and offer an opinion as an analyst and a fan; an opinion
based on common sense, with a rationale that is so reasonable it will
probably never happen.
Let me say right off that I would not be keen on the idea of signing
Michael Vick. From what I understand about his actions, he has shown
some of the elements of a sociopathic personality, and I just doubt
that would be the kind of person who would be selfless enough to lead a
team to an NFL title. I know some people who have worked in the NFL
recently, and I can tell you that all of them had said they wouldn't
touch Vick, which is thought was kind of unusual, actually.
One former scout told me that when teams are getting ready for a
draft, they will tend to completely disqualify certain guys on the
basis of "character" out of hand, which means they would not draft that
player under any circumstances. One of those players was Lawrence
Phillips, the Nebraska running back who was taken sixth overall by Dick
Vermeil at St. Louis but was off a lot of teams' boards.
Another guy like that was running back Cecil Collins, who went to
McNeese State after being kicked out of LSU, who had been put in jail
twice for "sleepwalking" (in his words) and breaking into the dorm
rooms of women. During the investigation process, it was discovered by
scouts (who do their homework on these things) that there was a sexual
assault incident that had taken place before college, and when Collins
was interviewed at the Scouting Combine he lied about it.
That took him off a lot of boards. Some teams, however, wouldn't
disqualify him totally. One of them was Miami, with Jimmie Johnson, who
believed the "sleepwalking" stories and took him in the fifth round.
Well, he "sleeepwalked" through the window of one south Florida woman
during his rookie season, presumably to do some sexual damage to her.
He's in jail, with his career over.
I guess the point I'm making is that this difference in philosophy
is why you've heard that so many teams have absolutely denied any
interest in Vick. They just don't want further problems.
One of those teams may want to re-consider.
Minnesota's coach and owner had said they were not going to shop for
Vick, but of course now the Vikings (+750 to win the NFC title at
BetUS) may face real quarterback problems with Brett Favre not signing
a contract and Tarvaris Jackson spraining his knee (although that's not
going to keep him out for long). The Vikings, to me, represent a waste
of talent, to some degree. Here is a team that controls things at the
line of scrimmage on both offense and defense (as long as the Williams
non-brothers are able to play). They have a pass rush now, and arguably
the best running back in the game in Adrian Peterson (+225 to win the
rushing title at BetUS). A team that has all that, not to mention a guy
in Chester Taylor who can provide the "2" in the 1-2 punch, should be
the prohibitive favorites in the NFC North, and should always be a
threat to make it to the Super Bowl.
So why aren't they?
Of course the answer is that they have such poor quarterback play,
and Brad Childress, the coach, has not addressed it seriously. It kind
of reminds me of the how the Bears wasted the talents of Walter Payton
before Mike Ditka got there.
So the Vikings, who run it so well, can't pass the ball, which has
become an old joke by now. Ergo, it has occurred to me that if there
was any team that was a candidate to run the spread option offense
full-time, it is the Minnesota Vikings.
We saw what the Dolphins did with it as a variation last season, and
we saw teams copying it to make up packages of their own. We saw the
Kansas City Chiefs actually put it to work on an extended basis with
Tyler Thigpen at the helm toward the end of the year.
Despite what any of my NFL friends tell me, I believe the spread is
here to stay, and will become a genuine alternative for teams as their
base offense. You've just got too many college teams doing it, with
capable quarterbacks throwing the ball all over the field, and it is
infiltrating the high schools to the point where if it is not the most
popular offense, it soon will be. You wouldn't have to worry about QB's
"adjusting" to the "pro style,' because the spread WILL be the pro
style. Remember that the difference between the spread and the triple
option is that the spread can be equally dangerous as both a passing
AND running threat.
The Vikings have some of the elements that could make this offense
work. They have the great offensive line. They have the great running
back, which is so essential, and to boot, there's a partner for him in
the backfield. They now have Percy Harvin, a "hybrid" guy who has
played this offense at Florida. I wished they would have tried this
offense with Jackson, who can run, because it would make him more
effective, Now there is a guy on the market who can REALLY make it work
for them, because it would drive defensive coordinators nuts. When is
the last time Minnesota really did that?
If you recall, in Vick's last season in Atlanta, he was actually
employing this offense to some extent, where he would the shotgun snap,
read the linebacker, and decide whether to hand it off to Warrick Dunn
or Jerious Norwood, or drop back and throw it. That team led the league
in rushing. You need the right kind of ball-handler to do this with,
and Vick could be the ticket.
Of course, there are stumbling blocks. Vick wouldn't be able to play
until the sixth game, at the earliest, and I guess Minnesota would have
to be convinced that Favre wasn't going to decide to come back and play
(these things can drag on forever, as we know). Then there's that whole
sociopath thing.
But you know, they could get the ball rolling with Jackson and then
ease Vick into the lineup. Couldn't they? Yeah, I know it sounds silly
to some, but to avoid another season of frustration; to avoid another
year where you've got the rushing leader but went quietly in the
playoffs - if you even got there in the first place - you've got to do
SOMETHING.
Don't you?
