Michael Vick has signed with the Philadelphia Eagles and pending review of his suspension by Commissioner Roger Goodell could be cleared to play in a regular season game no later than week 6, and I think he'll probably be reinstated for the first game.
I think the commissioner is doing the right thing by allowing Vick to re-enter the league.
My opinions on dogs and animals are well-known, I don't even kill flies. And it isn't even worth discussing his crimes because no reasonable person would dispute the horrific nature of the things he admitted doing.
But Vick spent the last two years in federal prison and other forms of confinement, a punishment that if it doesn't fit the crime at least satisfies our societal need for justice and fairness.
While considering the next step for Vick I cannot come up with any party who would benefit for Vick's permanent exclusion from the NFL. Certainly not his real victims, the dogs, whose future care depends on Vick's gainful employment.
Won't society as a whole be better served if Vick became a shining example of rehabilitation and personal responsibility?
I don't view Vick as a recidivism threat, nor do I think this will be viewed by anyone as a light punishment.
I think Vick should be reinstated immediately, with a zero tolerance policy.
But looking at this from a football standpoint I don't really think the Eagles are the best fit for him. Vick is not ready to be an NFL quarterback, he was never any good in the first place, and now he has two years of rust.
I would think Vick would be best served going to a team with a big bruising back whom he could replace on third downs. I also think he would have value in the wildcat formation where he could replace a big slow (probably white) quarterback and be a threat to run or pass.
His skills seem redundant with Brian Westbrook and Donovan McNabb.
But more important than how he performs on the field, I hope the remorse he reluctantly expressed is genuine and that he becomes a force for positive social change.
I don't think Vick will ever be usefull in an NFL game at any position. His greatest assets were his legs and they would be the first to deteriorate after two years off and after eating prison food and not having the benefit of NFL-caliber workouts. I'm sure Vick could bench press in the yard with Tiny and Moochie but I doubt they have a leg press and calf raise machine. And is explosiveness and quickness would be the first things he'd lose. Plus, when running, he only took shots from DBs halfway down the field when he scrambled. He'll get broken in half trying to go up the middle or outside against LBs. He's proven that he's terrible in a west coast system. I know a lot of Eagles fans are excited about the thought of him thrown 70 yard bombs and Jackson and Maclin beating everyone deep and running underneath to catch them, but is Vick going to be able to throw the ball that much further than McNabb after two years off? McNabb always had a great deep ball, it was the quick outs that he constantly grounded at the receivers' feet. And now people say that opposing teams will have to spend time scheming against Vick so its less time they can prepare against McNabb and company. I think that's ridiculous. I wouldn't waste anytime worrying about how an out-of-game-shape former quarter back could hurt my defense. That's my two cents about Vick. It doesn't surprise me that he went to the Eagles. Their fans don't care about dog fights. 50% probably beat their dogs after every Eagles loss anyway. The other 50% beat their wives and kids. Assholes.
ReplyDeletewe don't often agree. But I too think he should be reinstated and allowed to play. What he did was heinous - nobody can argue that it wasn't. But he served his time. if the punishment wasn't severe enough than that's the fault of our legal systema and not the NFL's place to further punish him. He lost two year's of his life and millions of dollars. Nothing he can do will bring back the dogs he killed. What does further punishing him accomplish? I think he serves the common good by making the Eagles a worse team.
ReplyDeleteCan someone please send me pics from Focks wedding to justin6e@aol.com?
ReplyDeleteThanks....
Go Steelers.
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