Do you think Michael Vick will play in the NFL in the near future ?

[JPL]

This thread has gone way off topic talking about feelings and talking about who hurt who's feelings. Therefore if it doesn't get back to the topic at hand it will be closed.

Please let's get back on topic

[tinkerbellybutton]

This thread has gone way off topic talking about feelings and talking about who hurt who's feelings. Therefore if it doesn't get back to the topic at hand it will be closed.

Please let's get back on topic

Aye, aye Capn'

[Pagan]

I love discussions. I respect your & everyone else's opinions, YES this means both IAN & MMouse6937.
I can see your point about how he & his cohorts treated these poor animals.
There is no need to apologize about your minimum wage comment- I was using it to express a point and to make you think/rethink your statement. Truely I value your opinion.
sometimes in the heat of a post someone will make such a sweeping statement that I hope to have them rekindle that thought but looked at from a different perspective.

I agree with you on a number of points. I will NEVER defend Michael Vick for the heinous things he did & was implicitly involved with, especially those concerning the dogs.

I agree with Ian & Pagan (yes the Jet fan agrees with the dolphin fan ) that he was an OK QB.
I think he will never make the money he made.
I also hope that he is an example for what people should not do if they aquire wealth.
I hope he is sorry, remorseful & will do his best to make amends for what he did.
I still believe that he should be allowed to play in the NFL, to make money. But again I hope he is never idolized by kids or adults.
I think he has paid a tremendous amount (most if not all of his fortune) and a great amount of wasted time in the federal pen, but only time will tell if he is remorseful.

Remember, it is our humanity that gives us the capacity to forgive, even if we do not forget.

I hope everyone has a wonderful - stress free- day.

Bravo.

[WDWfanatic742]

To get back on topic :

Since I am a Atlanta fan, I watched most of the games that Vick played for 4 full seasons that he played without injury. I want to come at another angle about how "good" he was/is. These were the team records when he played the full season:

9-6 in 2002 (#6 seed in playoffs) (Beat #1 seed Green Bay in Wild Card)
11-5 in 2004 (#2 seed in playoffs) (Lost to #1 seed Philadelphia in Conference Championship)
8-8 in 2005
7-9 in 2006

So in the four full seasons that he played, their record was 35-28 (55.5%) and a 2-2 record in the playoffs.

Not the best in the league, but it got the job done. He doesn't necessarily get the stats, but he gave them a chance to be a pretty good team with not the best of a roster. In 2005, the 8-8 record was really good because there were two 11-5 teams in their division. And I'm the first person to say that they honestly didn't even deserve the 7-9 record that they got in 2006 because their receivers were that horrible.

All in all, stats sometimes do lie. The stats listed earlier would make you believe that because he was in the last quarter percent of most of the categories, that he wouldn't be able to ever take them to the playoffs.

Vick will fit perfectly in a wildcat formation type of offense. He might not have been a "great", but he was very fun to watch because it was something out of the norm of what a Quarterback is supposed to be. Who knows what his abilities are at the moment, but I'm sure that we will see what they are this summer and fall if he does get re-instated.

However, I'm more than happy about the team that they have with Ryan, Turner, Gonzalez, and White on offense. They should definitely be a huge team to watch this season, and they seem to have recovered from the situation very nicely.

[Ian]

Eh ... I disagree. I watched Vick play a lot and I think he is exactly what his stats say he is. A very, very mediocre passer who was able (at times) to make some things happen with his legs.

He's now basically three years older and he's been away from the game for two full seasons. I can't imagine that's helped his agility and speed any. If anything, I think he'll be worse instead of better.

I would never, ever bring him on to my team as my quarterback. In fact, I'd never bring him to my team at all, because of all the PETA nuts that would plague me until I died.

But if I temporarily lost my sanity and did want to bring him in, it would only be as some kind of "Slash"-style player that I could use as a receiver and for some crazy gadget plays.

[gueli]

But if I temporarily lost my sanity and did want to bring him in, it would only be as some kind of "Slash"-style player that I could use as a receiver and for some crazy gadget plays.

Whats with this "temporary" thing ?

but seriously- he would make a fine backup if his skills are still there. He has experience, even in the playoffs (hey look I am not saying it is great experience), and as a backup he would be capable of going in if the primary went down, you know.

[BluewaterBrad]

he would NEVER play for the Rooneys!!

[Ed]

(CNN) -- Nearly two years after he pleaded guilty to a federal charge of bankrolling a dogfighting operation at a home he owned in Virginia, Michael Vick was reinstated to the National Football League on a conditional basis, according to an NFL statement Monday.

Vick "will be considered for full reinstatement and to play in regular-season games by Week 6 based on the progress he makes in his transition plan," the statement said. Week 6 of the NFL season is in October.

Vick may participate in practices, workouts and meetings and may play in his club's final two preseason games under the conditions of his reinstatement, the league said.

Vick, 29, was freed from federal prison at Leavenworth, Kansas, on May 20 and returned to his home to serve the last two months of his 23-month sentence in home confinement.

The former Atlanta Falcons player is a free agent and has not been signed by any team.

~~~~~

My opinion of the NFL has just dropped about 80%. One of the basic tenets of the NFL is good sportsmanship. Killing dogs for "sport" is not my idea of good sportsmanship.

[tjstrike]

I've got mixed opinions on this, I think there's players playing right now that have probably done worse, just haven't been tried and convicted.

[RAIDER]

After what he did .. i suppose theres no chance of him playing for Clevelend then ??

[Hammer]

My opinion of the NFL has just dropped about 80%. One of the basic tenets of the NFL is good sportsmanship. Killing dogs for "sport" is not my idea of good sportsmanship.

Sorry, Ed, but I have to disagree. The NFL has in the past allowed people who have commited DUI manslaughter back into the NFL (though I will be curious what will happen to Duante Stallworth). Vick's crime was not worse than that and should not be made to pay a greater price.

[gueli]

After what he did .. i suppose theres no chance of him playing for Clevelend then ??

WOW !!!

[Ed]

Sorry, Ed, but I have to disagree. The NFL has in the past allowed people who have commited DUI manslaughter back into the NFL (though I will be curious what will happen to Duante Stallworth). Vick's crime was not worse than that and should not be made to pay a greater price.

Just serves to prove my point that the NFL has a complete lack of ethical standards. Sports figures are (or rather, were) expected to be role models, yet the NFL continues to tacitly condone all sorts of unacceptable behaviors.

Vick consciously and deliberately killed defenseless dogs in very cruel fashions, very much unlike anyone (football player or not) who accidentally kills another human without the element of "malice aforethought" being present. If those dogs had been humans, his acts would have constituted murder, not manslaughter.

Lest anyone misinterpret what I'm saying, I'm not defending drunken driving, especially when it results in injury or death of innocent people. I'm just saying that you can't simply dismiss Vick's atrocious acts because the victim was "just a dog."

[PirateLover]

* I just wanted to add that I missed Ed's latest comment when I wrote my response. We are essentially saying the same thing.

I may be alone in this but I think that knowingly torturing and executing countless numbers of animals is a pretty unforgivable crime. DUI/Manslaughter is also unforgivable in my book but it isn't premeditated and systematic. Also I heard reports that Vick was out partying and drinking at a "Gentlemen's" club on his first day of probation?!? This was second hand info. Anyway, I don't think any of these people should be allowed back in. Sorry.

[Hammer]

Guess we will have to agree to disagree on this topic. I think the minute you choose to get behind the whell after drinking constitutes premeditation to me, regardless if that is not how the legal system sees it.

Yes, what Vick did was horrible, but I am saying that the NFL for years has let men who sexually assault or abuse women to play in the NFL. If that has been allowed for years (even back in the day, Ed), why choose to make an example of Vick for this crime?

[gueli]

Guess we will have to agree to disagree on this topic. I think the minute you choose to get behind the whell after drinking constitutes premeditation to me, regardless if that is not how the legal system sees it.

Yes, what Vick did was horrible, but I am saying that the NFL for years has let men who sexually assault or abuse women to play in the NFL. If that has been allowed for years (even back in the day, Ed), why choose to make an example of Vick for this crime?

Its not just the NFL. Football players somehow seem to live in their own special world- from High Scool to college to NFL Stardom. how many times have you heard of someone getting extra privelages because they play ball. Some of these young men think that somehow their talent gives them the right to do many things that are illegal.
The NFL has never been one to promote their players as people worthy of worship- but because many fans heap praise on their teams players, somehow this is supposed to make them heroes.
Not my definition of hero. - I tend to think someone who makes a scrifice to help someone- like the guy who got burned by jumping INTO a burning car to save a child- now imho thats a hero.

But off the moral soapbox-
Now how many teams are afraid to take Vick, fearful of protests (baggage) , etc ?
1 day on the market and still no takers.

[PirateLover]

Christine, just for the record I don't think any one who has committed any of those crimes you mentioned should be allowed back in the league. I know that once you've done your time you have a "right to employment" but lets be honest, in any other profession it would be very hard to get a high profile job after committing such crimes. Why should sports be any different.

[mouseneer]

Who really cares ?????

[WDWfanatic742]

Vick has signed a two year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. It will get interesting since alot of Eagles fans are on here...

[Ed]

Yep. My opinion of the Eagles management organization just went from a 10 to a 0.

Michael Vick is back in the NFL, landing a job with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Vick's agent, Joel Segal, confirmed Thursday that the sides had a deal.

Vick has not played in the NFL since 2006. The former Atlanta Falcons star was convicted in August 2007 of conspiracy and running a dogfighting operation, and was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison. He also was suspended indefinitely by the NFL.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell conditionally lifted Vick's suspension on July 27, allowing him to sign with a team.