Michael Vick granted conditional reinstatement by NFL
 

Under terms of conditional reinstatement, Vick is allowed to participate in all team practices and in the final two games of the preseason, effective immediately if he signs with a team. Once the season begins, he will continue to be allowed to paticipate in practices, but will be ineligible to play until week 6, when his case is considered again for full reinstatement.

I know there's going to be plenty of arguments of whether he should play, whether he's paid his debt to society, yadda yadda yadda. I'll just reply with something way out in left field unrelated to dogfighting:

"The Wildcat is Go."

When Vick entered the league, he generated huge ticket sales for Atlanta. He'll kill any small market team he goes to now. It sounds cynical, but people are more willing to forgive a rapist than they are a man who organized dog fights.

---------- Post added at 03:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:21 PM ----------

Then again, he might be perfect for Dallas :lol:

I was listening to some podcasts last night from two years ago, and the topic was still about Michael Vick, his sentencing, The View, and Whoopi Goldberg.

I wish Vick all the best. What's in the past is something to be learned from, and from his sentencing, community service, and imprisonment, he has impetus to make the most of his second chance. Here's hoping he gets his fair shake.

Three words.. Oakland or Baltimore.

I really dont get what the big deal about the guy is.

I dont support dog fighting, but I find it utterly ludicrous that you can kill some dogs and get jail time, but Chris Brown can beat the shit out of a 110 lbs woman and get a bit of probation and a community service order.

Im not saying that I approve of Vick's actions - but hasnt society gone crazy when we think that hurting a dog is worse than hurting a human being?

Let him play for any team he wants... I dont rate him much as a QB myself, but you cant deny he is an incredible athlete - maybe Atlanta just never found the right way to use him.

sorry i know this thread isn't about whether he paid his debt to society back or not but:

He didn't just hurt dogs, he(and/or his associates) tortured and killed many dogs. Now if Chris Brown had electrocuted and hung Rihanna(along with many other women) and got a lighter sentence then you could use that comparison that hurting a dog is worse than hurting a human, but domestic violence(while extremely reprehensible) is not the same as the torture and murder of a lot of animals.

sorry, /threadjack.

fucking christ.. does every Vick thread have to turn into a Vick vs. Brown thread?

I think he'd be great in Miami. Just think of the devestation a combo like Pennington's brains and Vick's arm and legs could unleash on the AFC East.

I highly doubt the Big Tuna is going to bring Vick in.

Compare it to any one who gets a lesser sentence for harming a human being

More chickens suffer in the average battery egg farm every day than dogs Michael Vick killed or hurt - but people dont care so much for the rights of chickens.

The disproportionate punishment the guy got seems still relevant to me because people are still talking about whether he belongs in the league or not. He is still facing games off.

Like I said, I dont approve of dog fighting or the way in which you need to treat the dogs to make them fight - but people who commit crimes of violence are treated with less contempt that this and it doesnt stack up.

Maybe Vick killed or hurt 50 dogs, I dont know. A battery farm might have 20,000 chickens all suffering in horrible and unnatural conditions. But since a chicken isnt a pet people dont bother about it - is that right? I couldnt believe the guy got jail time. As I understand he wasnt even that involved in the physical side of the dog fighting, he just funded it.

---------- Post added at 10:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:45 PM ----------

Murder is a crime that only really applies to people.

Or else every farmer, fisherman and hunter in the country would be a serial killer. Not to mention anyone who set traps or poison for mice or rats, etc...

A lot of common rat poisons cause the rat to die very painfully by the way, but I wonder how many people who use them are considered or consider themselves to be torturers?

I dont want to get too far off track - so I'll stick to saying I think its crazy that Michael Vick still would be banned for the first 6 games of the season, he should be free to play for any team. The NFL is a sports competition, not a moral organisation... people should expect to be banned for breaking rules on the pitch, dangerous play, serious foul play, etc - or cheating off the pitch in terms of drugs, betting, etc

Whether a guy is cruel to animals or not should have zero percent to do with his fitness to play football.

I heard this rumour/scenario as well, like this article mentions, but why in the world would Miami need yet another ticking decision to make at the helm of QB?

They have the current NFL Comeback Player of the Year in Chad Pennington, yet in the majority of news I'm hearing about Miami's coaching staff, they are loving the future potential of Chad Henne, whom I've heard quoted as "this franchise's future face at QB", and unless I'm mistaken, didn't they also draft WV-sensation Pat White as well? If the NFL's innovator of the 'Wildcat' is going to evolve even more tricks this year, it is going to do so without the help of yet another merry-go-round player at QB like Vick.


I think Baltimore may be a good fit for him in a limited role, and I heard yet another story today that Terrell Owens is supporting Vick, and some reviewers are saying that 'TO' wants Vick in Buffalo; and right now as I'm listening to podcasts, there is talk that San Francisco could implement Michael Vick to some success. My take: looking around the league, and who could, and probably should, ring Michael Vick for his services: my clear answer is Denver.

They have Kyle Orton right now, and no one else. I hear that Denver has had one of the league's better offensive lines these past few years, and for those that followed Denver at all last year, it was a veritable New England Patriots West-version at half-back, where they had so many injuries and different starters throughout the season that their running game was clearly bottom-tier. Vick could definitely inject some life into the ground game at Mile-High, that is, if given the statements that the NFL is truly a copycat league, and if Denver wants to utilize some form of Wildcat schemes this year as well, Vick would be a godsend for the Broncos.

Baltimore is not going to happen. They got so much more out of Joe Flacco as a rookie than they thought they were going to get, why would they stunt his growth now?

If I were in the office for these teams I would be looking at Vick:

Carolina
St. Louis
San Francisco
Jacksonville

and then some of the more mentioned ones:
Minnesota
Oakland

and maybe Tennessee if Vince is really a mess.

Baltimore is Wacco for Flacco, and even if he goes down Troy Smith is probably going to be the next big backup-to-starter guy on the market next year so we're set.

I'd love to see Vick go to the UFL and just tell the NFL to piss off, but that won't happen.

see.. I don't see Vick being used as a QB.. he wasn't that great at the position anyway.. I could see teams using him for special teams.. wide out plays, wildcat plays and other odds and ends..

I don't understand the restrictions that they are putting on Vick's return.
Doesn't that completely mess up whatever team picks him? Either let him in or kick him out, this half-and-half is bullshit.

Seriously. It's like Goodell thinks that NFL law is greater than US law. He's already been out of the league for 2 years serving ACTUAL time in prison, why let someone sign him but he's suspended? I mean he's got to be either reinstated or suspended, it can't be both.

I think Goodell just doesn't want week 1 and 2 stories to be about Vick.

Vick might need the first half of the season to get back in shape. Is it me or does the guy look like he's lost a bit of muscle mass?

http://www.sfgate.com/blogs/images/s...pUA470x330.jpg

The above was a topic I was pondering over last night, and listening to others debate the situation as well.

I think a good reason Vick hasn't been seriously considered by any NFL teams as of yet is because Vick wants it that way; he isn't proactively holding open tryouts and drills for team scouts, besides the fact that he desperately wants his last shot to make his mark in the NFL again. I think if he wants to impress teams, he is biding his time now before a decision needs to be met, (he does still has ~2 months at the latest to sign with a team) he is training his body out vigorously to get back into decent athletic shape, and working out mentally to prepare for what may come. He was in prison for a year, and that takes its toll, and he has not thrown a regular season pass in over two years now. He needs all the preparation time he can muster to persuade a viable NFL team to take a flyer's chance on him. That's my thought on the matter.


I also came across this article ten minutes ago, and I think it warrants mention here:
Where can Vick stick? Six teams that make sense - Vinnie Iyer - NFL - Sporting News

Here is a quick look at six favorable destinations:

And one last reiteration: I truly think the Denver Broncos (and its fans) would embrace a QB competition with what they currently have now, even from a disenfranchised Michael Vick. Do you need more of a reason?

So, along with Baltimore, who has not completely closed the door on signing Michael Vick, that makes 1/4 of the league's teams that Vick still has a minor shot in signing with, ultimately.

Breaking news, as in within the last hour, Michael Vick has signed to a two-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles.


... just waiting for confirmation at this point, and for the blogroll/newswire writers to catch up to this revelation...

---------- Post added at 08:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:42 PM ----------

Here it is, as of three minutes ago:

Michael Vick signs two-year deal with Philadelphia Eagles - ESPN

I need to find this letter my dad wrote, he sent it in to a paper, and espn (not sure exactly all places he sent it to). Anyway it basically broke down how michael vick, should not be able to join any team with an animal name / mascot, or like the patriots or saints does not work well. He was left with 6 teams (I am pretty sure it was 6) I think the raiders was one of them.

I am not sure why the Eagles would sign him... they just reworked McNabb's final two years and drafted Kevin Kolb two years ago as the "QB of the future".

I am really at a loss for words right now.

There's no guarantee the Eagles Organization and coaches would utilize Vick as a "traditional QB", or even a signal-caller at all.

Remember that most analysts were lauding Vick's athletic prowess as a point and compliment for his reinstation, not his ability as a top-tier, or even mid-tier, quarterback.

Think of the ability and playmaking opportunities that both Westbrook and McNabb (less so, but he does have some semblance of "scrambling prowess"); now, add Vick to that equation, and it's virtually impossible to even comprehend where the ball could be coming from during an offensive drive, with all three of these players on the field.