Former Virginia Tech star Michael Vick has received widespread praise for his play quarterbacking the Philadelphia Eagles, and rightfully so. After Vick accounted for six touchdowns in a 59-28 road win against the Redskins two weeks ago, many NFL experts called Vick a possible MVP candidate, and some even called him the best player in the NFL.
But many members of the media who have nothing but good things to say about Vick, especially the talking heads on ESPN, are the same people who insisted that Vick would play a different position once he returned to the NFL.
Virtually every analyst at ESPN either said that Vick would not only come back playing a different position, but that he was never a good quarterback in the first place. Chris Mortensen of ESPN was one of many who said Vick might play receiver, defensive back, and return kicks, and do it in the UFL, whatever that is. It’s funny how none of those “experts” admits he was wrong. At least one blogger predicted before the 2009 season that Vick would be successful again as a quarterback, though, and gave Vick credit for winning 10 more games than he lost.
The trade last spring that brought former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb to the Redskins made Washington better, but who would have thought that not only would the Eagles stay playoff bound, but the Vick would be their starter? Vick has become a better player since he has become the starter for Philadelphia, and he has also been helped by Eagles coach Andy Reid and good receivers. But there was a reason Vick was the highest played player in the game before he got busted for dogfighting. Vick’s ability to throw, run, and throw on the run struck fear into the hearts of defenses.
Ask defenders who they fear more, a quarterback who can hurt them in multiple ways, or an interception machine like Jay Cutler or Brett Favre? Quarterbacks like Cutler and Favre get overrated, while quarterbacks like Vick have traditionally been underrated (Jemele Hill of ESPN.com has an idea why).
Vick has paid his price and made a great comeback. But back to the original point: when it comes to football, Vick deserves all the credit he gets. It’s just staggering, though, how so many so-called experts said that a quarterback who was 10 games over .500 for his career not only couldn’t play anymore, but was never any good in the first place. It was also strange that these carnival barkers, many of them former players and writers, also said Vick wouldn’t return as a quarterback.
But if you said that Vick couldn’t play quarterback, and even tried to tell everybody that he was never any good in the first place, at least admit you were wrong about his ability two years ago when you talk about how great he is now.
To see my entire article on Examiner.com, click here.
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