Wowing 'em: whether he's launching a 60-yard rocket or dazzling opponents, with his footwork, Michael Vick will keep you standing anal demanding more. Imagine how exciting—and unstoppable—he'll be when he fully understands the NFL game

Sporting News, The, Nov 25, 2002 by Paul Attner

"Ability is not enough," Vick says. "I can't beat everybody with my running. I know that. I have to be smart about it. I don't want to just go out and try to make plays, I want to manage the game and manage the team. I am learning that right now. I am only 22; I hate to use that as an excuse, but I am only 22. I am pretty sure as my career goes on, you will see a much better Michael Vick."

Not that the 60 percent Vick we now see--his estimate--is doing badly. But Falcons coach Dan Reeves, who also broke in John Elway, is grooming Vick in a most judicious fashion. In the offseason, he reduced the verbiage needed to call plays in the huddle--some had required as many as 15 words--which has given Vick more time to study defenses. Every game, he calls six or so running plays for Vick and moves him outside the pocket another six or so times.

"The game is starting to slow down for him, but it takes time," says Reeves. "He wants to Ire good right now, but you have to have patience," still, Elway's tutor, who thought he had seen everything from a quarterback, has joined the wow chorus on Vick. "When you see him throw it 60 yards and it is like a bullet, and he doesn't use any body torque but just his arm, you go, `Wow.' It's not just his speed; it's his athleticism throwing the ball."

And because the Falcons have the league's third rated rushing offense, they haven't had to force-feed Vick's passing development. Twenty-two starters have thrown more passes this season. Vick also is the team's No. 2 rusher with 469 yards (he's averaging 7.2 yards per carry), already a Falcons record for quarterbacks. And back-to-hack games of 91 rushing yards set an NFL mark for his position.

"He's a freak, there's something in his genes," says Buchanan. "And he's always asking questions. `Why? Why?' I don't like to sit down on the bench, because I don't want to miss him doing something, like when he looks like he is running barefoot and those DBs are running in Timberland boots."

He hasn't beaten anyone yet from the pocket, but that'll change. Still, Kordell Stewart's obsession with becoming a pocket passer ruined him. Vick under stands. "I have to get to the point where defenses can't say"--here, he lowers his voice--`We are going to come in and make Michael Vick beat us by throwing the ball.'" But for him or his coaches to take away his mobility and creativity would have been like turning Secretariat into a plow horse. It's not going to happen.

"As a defensive guy, I want to hear them say he is going to become a pocket passer," says Nolan. "You hate to defend a mobile quarterback, and he takes it to the next level. That is the biggest unique thing about him: No play is ever over with him. If he doesn't like your coverage, he can run it in instead. That's a pretty neat talent."

But for now, Vick tries to make too much out of too many dead plays, leaving him unnecessarily vulnerable to injury. "I hate to punt," he says. He is sacked when he should throw it away or, as in the Steelers game, picks up two intentional grounding penalties and one illegal pass penalty. The Buts and Ravens pressured him, kept him inside, took away his legs. He'll learn to read faster, throw quicker, improve his accuracy, set his feet more consistently and trust his eyes and experience. But it'll take time.