Michael Vick was guilty of many crimes such as funding an illegal gambling ring and animal cruelty. Vick has served his time in prison, but still has additional obligations to the criminal justice system as well as to his employer, the NFL. The issue of whether Michael Vick should play football is actually a non-issue because if he has the ability to play well and to stay out of trouble, then Vick will be forgiven by the public for the crimes he committed similar to Robert Downey Jr. The real issue behind Michael Vick is whether he deserves the privilege of playing in the NFL after bringing so much negative attention to the league.
Similar to Ron Artest staining the image of the NBA, Michael Vick has stained the image of the NFL because since Michael Vick was drafted 1st overall by the Atlanta Falcons, he has been a headliner for the NFL. The NFL has used Vick and in return, the NFL has rewarded Vick with tens of millions of dollars, positive acclaim, endorsement opportunities, and many other luxuries that comes with being a star quarterback of the NFL.
The NFL has been strong is determining that Vick deserves the chance to play, but does not deserve the chance to star because he has to prove that he will not further embarrass the league. Similar to Ricky Williams’s return to the NFL, he will be seen more as a bad seed trying to become good as opposed to a star player returning to the limelight. So now, the media will focus more on the rehabilitation of Michael Vick as opposed to his actual gameplay.
Even with two years off, Vick has more talent than half of the starting quarterbacks in the NFL because he has a strong arm and he has always had great instincts when it comes to running the ball. Many quarterbacks have neither the strong arm, nor the running ability. I strongly believe that Michael Vick can walk into the 49ers training camp in Santa Clara and immediately be the best QB on the team without even throwing a pass, but SF was hesitant to go after Vick.
The NFL does not want Vick to dominate on the field until he proves himself socially that he can live up to the high standard expected of big name NFL stars. While it seems crazy that the NFL would try to keep Vick from being signed and succeeding on the field, the league intentionally blackballed Vick so that teams would be cautious to sign him and play him. They blackballed him by not only throwing him under the bus since the federal investigation went public, but by also refusing to defend him against all the different critics who were tearing Vick down publicly. The NFL’s public relations machine could have easily silenced PETA and other crybabies, but the NFL was livid with Vick for his actions.
So now Vick must regain the NFL’s trust by staying out of trouble, keeping his mouth shut, and allowing Tony Dungy and other NFL representatives to chaperone, counsel, advise, and supervise him. When Vick has been a good boy long enough, he may be allowed to start once again or have an important role on the field of play. The slow rehabbing process can be accelerated by Vick achieving great success on the field and playing an important role in the success of his team. The only way this can happen is if the Philadelphia Eagles uncharacteristically play him under center or find a way to get the ball in his hands (as a running back, receiver, whatever).
The chances of Vick finding the field outside of scrub time is extremely low because the Philadelphia Eagles seem set at both QB and RB. So Vick will have to be good and play the waiting game as if he were serving an in-house suspension….
Disclaimer: entire entry is based on my opinion and is not based on fact.