By FRANK WARD
DailyPhiladelphian.com Editor
The human video game want awry following two years of inactivity. Now, he’s ready to regain the explosiveness that made him into the NFL’s best ultimate weapon this side of Randall Cunningham.
Michael Vick had hoped to be a starter for some team this season. Based on his pedestrian performance when he was on the field for the Eagles last year. That didn’t happen. Now, Vick just wants to be dangerous on the field in hopes of joining the ranks of starting quarterbacks again.
For now, he knows he must improve and according to Philly.com, he is working on that now.
“You’re going to have an opportunity to be a starter,” Vick is quoted as saying. “And I’ll say, ‘OK, I’m going to go back to the drawing board and work on a lot of things that I didn’t have a chance to work on because I was forced into action so fast.’ I have to work on those things and when I get back to doing them I’m going to be dangerous. That’s all I can say — I’ll be dangerous.”
Michael Vick scores one of his few touchdowns last year. He knows he needs to regain his explosiveness to put him back on the NFL QB radar.
The Vick apologists will point to the fact that he was just getting into shape last year. And, while they are right, the fact remains that Vick never displayed the explosiveness that became his trademark before being incarcerated. Ron Mexico never displayed the athleticism in turning the corner. What were once 15 or 20-yard gains became four-yard carries last year. Vick had just one big-time carry, a 34-yarder up the middle against the Bears.
Short of that, his time in the Andy Reid version of the Wildcat was a bust. Anything he can do to show the league he’s regained his speed will go a long way toward giving him a shot at a starting job next year.
He also realizes that he needs to improve his accuracy and is working on that, too. Of course, the fact that he’s never approached a 60 percent completion rate as an NFL signal caller is a concern. It’s that very reason that he’s not a threat to help a team win without his speed. If he can get his elsiveness back and become more accurate, there’s a chance we haven’t seen the last of Vick under center.
If not, he’ll understand why some people refer to the NFL as Not For Long.
