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The value of Vick: the true worth of Michael Vick—an unconventional quarterback who can't be measured by conventional numbers—is that without him the Falcons are mediocre, but with him they can beat anyone

Sporting News, The, Jan 28, 2005 by Dan Pompei

Is a quarterback who wins the game worth $130 million, even if his statistics are average?

The first step in determining Michael Vick's value is to write some of his statistics on a piece of paper: 2,313 passing yards, which ranked 26th in the NFL; a 78.1 passer rating, which tied for 21st; a 56.4 completion rate, which ranked 27th; 16 fumbles, most in the NFL; and one sack for every eight dropbacks, worst in the NFL.

The second step in evaluating Vick is wadding up the paper. Or shredding it. Or, if you want to live dangerously, putting a flame to it.

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These are the numbers that matter: The Falcons are 24-12-1 in the regular season with Vick as their starting quarterback and 3-11 without him. The other numbers are irrelevant. Statistics describe Vick no better than words describe the birth of a child.

Vick has it right--he pays no attention to numbers. He has no envy for Peyton Manning's records. Several times this season, one of the Atlanta coaches gingerly approached Vick on the sideline to let him know the plan was to stick with the run. Urn, it's OK with you, Mike, isn't it? Whatever it takes to defeat the opponent, Vick replies. And he means it. "I just want to win football games," he says. "As long as I'm in the playoffs every year, I'm good. Everything's all right with me."

Without their quarterback, the Falcons are an average team. With him, they are capable of beating anyone. It is no coincidence that in the four losses he started this season, Vick had a 47.4 passer rating.

No one will argue Vick is more valuable than Manning, save for Vick's agent, Joel Segal, and Detroit News football writer Mike O'Hara, the only voter who tabbed Vick in the AP's most valuable player balloting. Even Falcons owner Arthur Blank and general manager Rich McKay, the men who signed Vick to a 10-year contract extension, and Vick himself acknowledge Manning is the most valuable. Vick's $130 million deal, signed last month, is the richest in NFL history, based on total value. Based on guaranteed money and average yearly salary, it is second to Manning's deal.

However, it is safe to say no team is more dependent on one player than the Falcons are on Vick. Says Falcons safety Keion Carpenter, "He is the team."

See, Vick isn't just a quarterback. To his teammates, he is a fountain of hope. To fans, he's the reason to make sure the trip to the bathroom is over by the time the Falcons get the ball back. To sports marketers, he's a thrill ride in an amusement park. To Georgia, he is a modern-day Red Grange, the man who made pro football relevant.

As a passer, Vick is a dazzling runner. But his passing has improved in his four years in the NFL. Part of the philosophy of investing in Vick was realizing he is like a growth fund. There will be regular dividends, but the real payoff is years away.

Vick became a more serious professional in the last year, showing more enthusiasm for the off-season program and paying attention to details he would have glossed over in the past. On the eve of a game, Vick doesn't watch TV and chat away on the phone anymore. Now you can find him studying his game plan until midnight or 1 in the morning. "It's to the point where I say, 'OK, enough, we've got to go to sleep--can you cut the light?" says Carpenter, his roommate on the road.

Since the offseason, Falcons offensive coordinator Greg Knapp has been preaching it will take Vick three seasons before he really takes off in the West Coast offense. "Mike's completion percentage will go up because his knowledge of the offense will be better, and once you get the knowledge of the offense, you don't worry about the offense; you see what's on the other side of the ball," Knapp says.

Early in the season, when he was still learning the protections as well as the passing schemes, Vick was inconsistent against the blitz. About one third of the way through the season, Falcons coaches began devoting extra meeting time to the blitz. Recently, Vick has handled extra pass rushers well--which is significant given the Falcons' NFC championship game opponent is the Eagles.

The last time Vick and the Eagles met, two years ago, Philadelphia defensive coordinator Jim Johnson used an ambitious pressure package. Vick was held to 30 rushing yards, sacked three times and intercepted twice in a 20-6 loss in the divisional round of the playoffs. Johnson brushes that off as "ancient history," and it is. But Johnson's blitzing history is likely to repeat itself. "We've won a lot of games over the past four years and have gotten to four straight NFC championship games by blitzing and causing turnovers and coming up with sacks," Johnson says. "So, we're not going to depart from what's gotten us here. Not when it's worked so well for us."

You should have seen how quickly left tackle Kevin Shaffer sprinted to help Vick up after he had been sacked by Rams defensive end Leonard Little last Saturday night. The Falcons can't afford for Vick to be injured. "If Michael gets hurt, God forbid, you can see a large piece of that investment going down the drain," Blank says. "It's not just the financial loss, it's the loss to the team, the greater community of Atlanta, the state of Georgia."

The value of Vick: the true worth of Michael Vick—an unconventional quarterback who can't be measured by conventional numbers—is that without him the Falcons are mediocre, but with him they can beat anyone

Sporting News, The, Jan 28, 2005 by Dan Pompei

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