Alot of weight falls onto the shoulders of Vick in his sophomore season as the rebuilding Falcons have thrown down the gauntlet and named Vick the starter for the 2002 season, ready or not.

Many a FFLer seem ready to annoint Vick as the "next great thing" and I've seen him go as high as 7th by some guy name *** Chris Smith?? *** , but I'm not buying into the hype.

Biggest misconception i see out there is the comparison of Vick to D. McNabb. People like to point out that Vick, like McNabb had limited exposure for a year and then emerged onto the scene in his first year as a starter. People also like to point out that McNabb accomplished his feats without a talented receiving corps.

I don't believe the McNabb to Vick comparison is relevant for the following reasons:

1) McNabb was more experienced -- Yes, both were Big East standouts but Vick was a starter for two years at VaTech while McNabb was a four year starter at the 'Cuse.

2) McNabb was more polished -- People seem to forget that McNabb was in a pro style offense at 'Cuse and was named Big East Offensive MVP in two different seasons.

McNabb holds the all time Big East records for:

*** Passing TDs (77)
*** Total TDs (96)
*** Passing Yards (8,389)
*** Total Off. Yards (9,950)

He also finished his career with 58.4% completion percentage and a QB rating of 155.1

Vick had a career 55.6% completion percentage. After setting an NCAA record with 180 QB rating his rookie year, he fell to 127.4 his sophomore year, which ranked 36th nationally.

3) Vick doesn't have Andy Reid as his coach/mentor -- Say what you will about Vick's athleticism, which is without question. But what we need to see is steady development as a QB. Reid drafted McNabb with every intention of teaching him the nuances of the West Coast offense. Reid was vehement in that he saw a QB reminiscent of Favre in McNabb. No one, Dan Reeves included, saw that kind of QB skills in Vick. Vick was drafted on athletic potential, and the belief that he may some day redefine what being a QB means.

4) Reeves has the horses to run the ball, and is inclined to do so -- Andy Reid is a pass first, use the run to set up the pass coach. Reeves prefers to play ball control. While Vick will be attempting to make plays with his feet, he has to deal with Dunn, Duckett, Christian getting carries/goal line situations.

5) Offseason focused on running game, not the passing game -- While I won't argue that improving the run game should improve the passing game somewhat, the Falcons signed Warrick Dunn and drafted TJ Duckett in the offseason, while seemingly ignoring the glaring deficiencies at WR in both the draft and during free agency.

If this weren't enough, I harken back to what Bill Walsh (one of THE best evaluators of QB talent in the last 20 years) said of Vick prior to the 2000 NFL Draft.

"Vick is not ready to be an NFL quarterback," Walsh said. "He has more potential than (Drew) Brees, but I don't see how he'll be able to play regularly until his third year. I hope those coaches in San Diego are secure in their jobs. They'll need to be to see this kid through." Walsh added: "Ultimately, running like this in the NFL would be a negative. It won't help when he makes electrifying plays with his feet in the preseason and drives the fans crazy. No matter what the coaches tell him, he'll figure he can play the same way in the NFL that he did in college."

Passing
** 254 completions-490 attempts
** 1,950 passing yards
** 14 TDs
** 24 Ints
** 90 carries
** 675 Yards rushing
** 6 TDs

Injury risk: 4 out of 10

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chris Smith: Footballguys.com:

Today’s Player of the Day is QB Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons

---

Michael Vick is one of those "great athlete might not translate into great football player" individuals. Sure he has a cannon arm. He runs like a runningback. He's pretty strong and fast, too. However, those only help a quarterback within the scope of a quarterbacks duties - direct the team. Vick might be mature enough to handle leadership, but his play isn't developed enough to provide it, and I think many issues will develop because of this.

Vick is not accurate enough in the short-medium range, where NFL quarterbacks make their living. He also is too slow making decisions, he was the most sacked per attempt quarterback last season. With this seriously diminishing his threat as a passer, teams will find it much easier to defend him. They will put eight men in the box, play press coverage, and put a spy LB on Vick. Voila!

I simply can't see Vick's game translating to the Pros. I know people will see Elway and Young comparisons, and they are valid in some ways. However, both took many years to truly develop into good quarterbacks, and there is some argument on whether they were good, or the systems made them good.

Passing yds 2800
Passing TDs 15
INTs 32
Rushing yds 500
Rushing TDs 4

edited to add-
Injury Risk: 7 - Vick simply takes too many hits to play all 16 games.

Bottom line is the kid wants to win. He is a great athlete and will work hard to improve. That combination is really tough to find.

I think he'll surprise with a fairly good year:
Passing yds 3100
Passing TDs 20
INTs 24
Rushing yds 700
Rushing TDs 8

Not too shabby....

Passing 2100
Passing TDs - 15
Ints - 21
Rushing 500
Rushing TDs - 4
Injury 5 - (he may be young, big and fast, but doesn't know how to get rid of the football, and tries to make miracle plays)

Patience is the key with Michael Vick. So many people get excited when they see this kid's physical abilities; they think he should be the starter right now. I disagree. Vick should be holding a clipboard at least through the 2003 season in my opinion. It takes more than physical ability to be a great QB (just ask anyone who has coached Jeff George). I think Michael Vick has to grow and mature as a QB to live up to his hype. I think the Falcons are making a big mistake rushing him into the starting position. Sure, he's got a strong arm, but his accuracy and his ability to read coverages is still a couple years away. I remember Steve Young made a comment on Primetime, which he stated by the time most QBs fully understand the position they are in their 30's, then unfortunately their physical skills start to diminish. I think Vick will have a great career but he won't become an elite QB for another 5 years in my opinion. Looking to this year, I think we will see a very frustrated QB at times, when he gets confused or pressured he will just tuck the ball and run which will make him highly suseptible to injury. I'll be surprised if he plays all sixteen games. I hope I'm wrong, but that's my two cents.

2200yds
14TDs
25INTs
675yds rushing
6TDs
3-10 injury risk

Player Name

Team

Com

Pass Yards

TD

Car

Rush Yards

TD

Fant. Pts.

Michael Vick

Atl.

247

2794

15

45

405

2

254

Player Name

Team

Pass Yards

TD

Rush. Yards

TD

Fant. Pts.

Michael Vick

Atl.

2627

16

566

6

261.7