Author Topic: Mike Vick gone Till October (Read 185 times)

Perfection · « **on:** August 18, 2003, 11:29:39 AM »

Mike Vick broke his fibula on Saturday in a pre-season game vs the Ravens, and he is now out at least 6 weeks.

This of course wouldn't of happened if Vick had just slid, instead of tyring to be a running back.

Now for Vick to help the Falcons in the future he's got to think about running the ball 3rd, it's got to be pass 1st, then if nothing is therego outside the tackle box and try passing it again 2nd, then if nothing is there then he can run. Also when he does run he has to slade other wise he's going to be able to stay healthy enough to help the Falcons.

Black_Smoke · « **Reply #1 on:** August 18, 2003, 12:55:44 PM »

PLANT · « **Reply #2 on:** August 18, 2003, 01:41:50 PM »

Before I get to Browns coach Butch Davis' gutsy -- but logical -- move of picking Kelly Holcomb over Tim Couch as his starting quarterback, let's discuss the biggest news of this preseason -- Michael Vick's injury.

First of all, I'm not writing off the Atlanta Falcons. Not at all.

There are several reasons why I still believe in the Falcons. Vick is expected to miss only one quarter of the season because of a broken right fibula. That's the first reason. And the Atlanta backfield of Warrick Dunn and T.J. Duckett can still carry more than a third of the offensive load, as they did last year. That's another. And, as Falcons coach Dan Reeves told me over the phone late Sunday afternoon: "Nothing's happened to our special teams, and nothing's happened to our defense, and we feel like both of those units are pretty good. I've been involved in this game a long time, and it's not often that losing one person for a few games costs a team its season." That's another reason: Players don't like it when one guy on their team is set apart as the total reason why they win. Hearing that about Vick has chafed some of his Falcons teammates. Not that they don't like Mike. They love him. Great team guy, gutsy teammate every Sunday. But other Falcons get a little tired of hearing that the flashy QB is the whole team, and I can guarantee you that they're going to work particularly hard to prove they can win without him.

The other reason I think the Falcons still have a chance has something to do with the tone of Vick's replacement, Doug Johnson, whom I spoke with Sunday morning. Atlanta's new starting QB was bold. Confident. Sure of himself. Has no doubts about whether he can do the job. Thirteen hours after he walked into the huddle and took over for The Man for the next six to eight weeks, I asked him if he'd had any trouble sleeping now that he had the fate of a playoff contender in his hands for the first time.

"Nah," Johnson said, speaking from his home in suburban Atlanta. "I mean, we've got some family over at the house, and so there's kids running around, but I usually get up the same time every week. No different today."

That's how Johnson is taking this. No difference.

"I've never considered myself a backup quarterback," he said. "I consider myself a quarterback. When you're a quarterback, and you're in my position of being behind a great quarterback, you still have to prepare every week like you're going to take the biggest test in your life -- and you really have no idea if you're going to get to take it. But you still have to prepare. You have to stay ready. Our quarterback coach says, 'Stay ready so you never have to get ready.' That's the way I take this now. Now I'm finally going to take that test."

When the Falcons talk about Johnson, they speak of a guy who plays with inordinate confidence for someone whose professional resume isn't that thick. Johnson has had a pretty interesting career so far. His amateur resume is pretty good. He grew up in Gainesville, Fla., in the shadow of Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators program, and earned high-school All-America honors as a senior. But he was a better baseball player. As a senior infielder/pitcher in 1996, he batted .407 with 12 homers and 42 RBIs, while going 7-1 with an 0.98 ERA. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays took him in the second round of the June 1996 draft. Johnson worked out a deal in which he played baseball in the Rays' minor league system in the summer before going to the major league Gators (just kidding ... sort of) in the fall. He once batted against former Cy Young winner David Cone in a spring game.

The baseball experiment lasted two years. It ended, Johnson said, "because my heart and soul was into being the quarterback at Florida. It's funny, because I always thought I'd be a baseball player. But it was pretty tough. Baseball's a game of failure. If you fail seven out of 10 times at the plate, you're considered a good player. But it was hard for me to make outs. If I have a bad at-bat, I'm pissed off."

As a quarterback, Johnson had a passable arm, not much mobility, and just OK accuracy (55.6 percent during his four years at Florida). But the lessons he learned under Spurrier will be with him forever, he says. "Even thought I wasn't drafted coming out of college, I felt I came out ahead of everyone in my draft class mentally because of what you go through as a quarterback under Coach Spurrier. He's a passing-game genius. He challenges you to be better every single day. The big thing I learned at Florida is to go into every game with confidence that you'll succeed."

Johnson signed with Atlanta as an free agent in 2000 because he saw an opportunity there. Vick wasn't with the team yet. Even after the No. 1 pick of the 2001 draft arrived, Johnson's stock rose. He beat the Giants in a must-win game last year when Vick was sidelined. And when Johnson's contract expired after last season, the Falcons had a choice. Because Johnson was a free agent, they could offer him the minimum salary and he could sign with any team, with Atlanta receiving no compensation in return. Or the Falcons could offer him a contract tender of $1.35 million and, if another team signed him, they would get a first-round pick in return. Obviously, no one was going to pay a first-round pick for Doug Johnson, but the price shows how much the Falcons valued him -- and how much the club thought it needed a backup who knew the system and the talent around him. It may not seem very important to the outside world, but because Vick risks serious injury in every game, Atlanta had darned well better have a good backup in place in the event of ... well, in the event of a night like Saturday, when the football lights went out in Georgia.

"I've been here four years now," Johnson said, "and I know this offense. I know what needs to be done. We'll still be a contender. I don't feel any different today than I did yesterday. I was a leader on this team before this happened and I'm going to be a leader now."

Last point: Johnson was a 65-percent passer last year. I think he'll be efficient enough to go 3-1 in September and keep the seat nice and warm for Vick.

eS El Duque · « **Reply #3 on:** August 18, 2003, 01:52:17 PM »

well...vick wont need surgery so thats good

A-Trak · « **Reply #4 on:** August 18, 2003, 06:48:58 PM »

thats a big blow to the Falcons.

its the Madden curse. lol. Seems like whoever is on the cover of EA Sports Madden video game gets injuried. Vick joins the likes of Dante Culpepper, Marshall Faulk and Eddie George who have been on the cover and got injuried in the same year.

white Boy · « **Reply #5 on:** August 18, 2003, 09:19:52 PM »

ha ha

Hatesrats™ · « **Reply #6 on:** August 19, 2003, 01:21:12 AM »

Quote from: White Jesus on August 18, 2003, 09:19:52 PM

ha ha

It's kinda fucked up!!
but at the same time I did get tired off all the danm tv sport's caster's drooling over this fucken guy like he was a bomb ass bitch. He's is/was very overated ImO...
aKa Randall Cuningham 03'

Like Dre said "Been there done that"
Vic ain't creating the wheel.
Just another good player who fell out with injury it happen's to everybody.
he'll be back.....(Go Arnold)
OnE
Hatesrats 2oooTre