Vick Silences Critics

I’m not going to go out and make any wild predictions. I’m not going to stamp my foot down with certainty, or rave over possibility, or yell about opportunity. Nope. I just want to inform you to keep your eyes on the 6-2 Falcons, who seem to have all the ingredients for a Super Bowl caliber team. Including, dare I say, the best quarterback in the NFC. Michael Vick, Hot-lanta’s marquee man, has been under a lot of scrutiny the past few weeks, mainly for his below-average passing numbers. Through 8 games in 2005, Vick has thrown for only 981 yards at a completion percentage of 56, with 6 TDs and 6 Ints–a QB rating of 70.8 (almost 7 points below his career average). Moreover, his rushing totals are slightly down from a year ago (only 57 carries for 340 yds and 3 TDs).

But one number is not deflated and that is the Falcons winning percentage. At 6-2 atop the NFC South, Atlanta has won three straight and are well on their way to a third playoff bid in four years. And while the one year they missed out on the playoffs (2003) may seem like a fluke, well, it was–the Falcons finished 5-11, but played 12 of those games without their quarterback, who was injured in preseason. When Vick returned in November the team went 3-1. The following year, with a healthy No.7, the team went 11-4 and to the NFC Championship game.

So goes the trend for the Falcs: in games since 2001 that Michael Vick has started, the team is 30-13-1 with three postseason bids. Compare that to Tom Brady (50-21), Peyton Manning (47-22), or Donovan McNabb (52-20) over the same span and you’ll see that the four QBs are not so dissimilar. In fact, Vick’s winning percentage (.697) is better than Peyton’s (.681) and just below the NFL’s golden boy Brady and the Super Bowl champion Patriots (.704).

Okay, sure, these numbers only tell half the story. But the question is what story are you looking for. Vick will never be mentioned in the same breath as the statistical legends Manning or McNabb or Brady who lead their team, as most people believe, like a quarterback should: high completion percentages, lots of TDs, few interceptions, and a good QB rating. It’s hard to see Vick throw for 3000 yards in a season, never mind 4000. He has been criticized for his decision making and passing accuracy for a while now, and many do not believe that the offensive system he is playing in–the West Coast offense–is the right choice for him. I’ve even heard fans call for a trade, letting backup Matt Schaub run the team, and selling Vick to a system that can let him run wild.

Let me explain something to all the skeptics: forget the beautiful numbers. I think Panthers defensive end said it best when he said that there is no category for “winning ugly”; the standings don’t read “wins, losses, and ugly wins”. Substitute Michael Vick for any other quarterback in football and you won’t see the same success–not with his wide receivers (or lack thereof; Dez White and Michael Jenkins? Come on)–not with the constant game-planning and defensive schemes to try and contain him (Miami linebacker Zach Thomas said, despite all the criticism he had been recieving, Vick was all the Dolphins talked about the week heading into Sunday’s game)–and not with a city that has been so championship starved.

This past Sunday’s performance, in which Vick threw for a season-high 228 yards, did not prove anything to me; there was nothing that needed confirmation. All those criticizing the NFL’s most dynamic and frightening player were barking up the wrong tree, and are scared of the fact that he is indeed revolutionizing the position. Who needs 300 passing yards when you can win a game simply by leading, scrambling, and intimidating? Who needs to have perfect accuracy when you already have a near-perfect track record?

I think sportswriters and TV hosts look so hard for the dazzling and the exquisite that they refuse to consider the bottom line. Unless Michael Vick makes some mind-blowing runs, or 75-yd TD pass, he is tossed aside and disregarded. And a lot of this is his own fault: we’ve become so accustomed to hearing his name at the top of every Sportscenter that, unless he’s there, he must be doing something wrong.

In actuality, he’s been doing everything right. He is the outright leader of a team without an image problem, locker room cancer, or off-field scandal. He is the most feared opponent in the game–forget LT or Peyton or Dwight Freeney. And he will be playing late into January, with an offense that may or may not fit him, and skeptics who may or may not believe in him.

  Open your eyes. Stop predicting how much better Marcus will be until you can fully appreciate how good his older brother already is: too good.

And for all the other NFC teams: too bad.