It finally is here! The day that the villanous dog killer Michael Vick rejoins the NFL, this time as a Philadelphia Eagle.
Wow! I do not envy Michael Vick one bit. Granted the Eagles run the West Coast Offense and that Andy Reid is an innovative offensive mind, but Philadephia??? Philly fans are tough and have a reputation of being hard on players, but I don’t think the Eagles Management envisioned the fury that started bubbling last night when the team made the announcement about the Vick signing. The preseason game with the Patriots was forgotten (though the Eagles made a nice comeback in a 27-25 loss) and the Vick arguments began.
Even the talking heads don’t agree… Steve Young thought the signing was a great move while former Eagle great Ron Jaworski thought the pressure may be too much for Vick and good friend Donovan McNabb who supposedly was consulted and signed off on the Vick deal.
The members of the Eagles brass have a great reputation, but I don’t agree with the assessment that they are a stable organization that can handle any crises the Vick signing will bring. The organization was well on their way to potentially firing Andy Reid and dumping McNabb after embarassing games last year against the Bengals and Ravens. And McNabb was worried about Kevin Kolb looking over his shoulder, let alone Michael Vick who has led a team into the playoffs and NFC Championship Game. Couple that with the loss of Jim Johnson and Brian Dawkins and the aftershocks of the Terrell Owen debacle a couple of years back and the Philadelphia Eagles organization may be mixing an explosive brew.
As I stated a couple of weeks back, people need to move forward and let Michael Vick try to rebuild his life. His actions were reprehensible and heinous and should not be overlooked, but he should get the chance to show he is willing to make amends and be a positive influence on the football field and off. We’ll see if Philly’s the right place for him to start that journey.
Michael Vick is currently under house arrest, serving out the final 60 days of his 23 month jail term for dog fighting. As those days tick down, speculation begins where Vick will restart his NFL career after being released by the Atlanta Falcons earlier in June. It is expected that when Vick is eligible to play football again, he will be immediately suspended by self imposed NFL traffic cop, Commissi0ner Roger Goodell. And Goodell has tons of supporters from the masses of tree hugging, fur hating, animal advocates who believe Vick should burn in Hell let alone ever play football again. Question is, is it right to punish Vick further?
Enough of the smokescreen already! The Detroit Lions need to stop playing around and sign the guy in the picture, top 2009 QB prospect Matthew Stafford. By all accounts the former Georgia Bulldog has all the tools for the NFL; big arm, good mobility, good field presence, leadership, the works. I’m tired of hearing about how much money it costs to draft a quarterback with the first pick in the draft. What if he’s a bust, you ask??? From where I stand, the Lions have done nothing from a draft standpoint in many years. They finally hit some gold with Calvin Johnson two years ago, but how about getting someone to throw to him? Can you name five Detriot Lions and oh by the way, Joey Harrington is not a Lion anymore folks so don’t name him. The franchise made a signature move finally jettisoning Matt Millen who was a good player, but lousy General Manager. Now it is time to make another move, draft Matt Stafford. Anyone remember Matt Ryan from last year? Think the Atlanta Falcons are crying about drafting him number 3 overall last year? It takes money to make money people and the best way to fix a franchise is to get a franchise quarterback. Is Matthew Stafford Troy Aikman or Peyton Manning? Probably not, but he probably is not Tim Couch or Ryan Leaf either. Its great to get a solid left tackle to play for you, but if Miami had seen a QB they wanted, Jake Long would not have been the number 1 pick. It is just as hard to find the next Anthony Munoz, Orlando Pace or Jonathan Ogden as it is to find the next Carson Palmer. Its time for the Lions to start fresh, dig deep, take a chance and get the man to lead them; Matthew Stafford!
With the NFL draft coming up next weekend, teams are putting the final touches on strategies to make their teams better. Here’s a suggestion to those teams in need of a quarterback: Michael Vick.
