Michael Vick

[BengalszoneBilly]

Buh-bye.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Might be a while before we see Vick in an NFL uniform again, probably won't be with the Falcons.

[HoosierCat]

Might be a while before we see Vick in an NFL uniform again, probably won't be with the Falcons.

I think he's done. You have to figure that, at an absolute minimum, he's out for two years, one in the pokey and one on suspension. Minimum. And by that time the Falcons will certainly have moved on, so even if he gets reinstated before the '09 season (which I doubt) he'll have to find a new team at 29.

[SkinneymulleT]

CNN speculated the sentence based on federal sentencing guidelines will be 18-36 months. There will likely be a reduction for good time credits. But, if this was a gambling operation what about the irs, and state charges. He admitted he did it, so the local prosecutor should file charges as he said he would. Vick could be get another 1-2 years, up to 5. He is done or should be. I hope he runs into a couple of dog lovers while in the shower.

[Riagogogoindanati]

no comment.......just a big...........................WOW!

[jjakq27]

Might be a while before we see Vick in an NFL uniform again, probably won't be with the Falcons.

I think he's done. You have to figure that, at an absolute minimum, he's out for two years, one in the pokey and one on suspension. Minimum. And by that time the Falcons will certainly have moved on, so even if he gets reinstated before the '09 season (which I doubt) he'll have to find a new team at 29.

Out this year for sure, out next year for sure for jail time and anything after that (from the league) probably puts it into 2010 at the earliest. Throw in the tax issue and local jurisdiction and he might be out another year or two after that.

I will be interested to see if anyone else gets named (other players) and if the plea deal mandates that he cooperate and name others with the promise of a reduced sentence.

[BengalszoneBilly]

Just out of curiosity (and the fact the Bengals play Atlanta this week) I visited a Falcons message board. I was shocked to see they had one entire forum devoted exclusively to Micheal Vick, and his current legal problems! I guess the subject had entirely over run their Falcons forum, and they decided to spill it over into there. What I read was what I thought/hoped I would find. Not a lot of support for the man and his actions. It appears they have resigned themselves to Vick being gone a long time, if not forever. I doubt he'll wear a uniform for Atlanta again. Possibly not for any other NFL team either except possibly the Raiders. You can never tell with Al Davis.

[DesperateDerelict]

A few random thoughts after the fall of the house of #7 -

1) IMHO Michael is done with the NFL

2) IF he comes back, and a GM is willing to take a chance on him, it won't be as a QB

3) One of the sadder notes is what he did to Arthur Blank, who loved him like a son.

4) I'd like to see Good-all request / require the Falcons to go after him for every dime they can - retroactively if possible.

5) There have been very few falls as rapid, and from such a 'height', as Vick's. Tyson, Rose, and a few politicians come to mind, but their's weren't as rapid.

6) Since this story broke, there have been a lot fewer Bengal jail-bait comments in the media.

7) You've got to feel sorry for Falcons fans, Hokie fans (what a year they've had), and especially the Atlanta players.

[jjakq27]

A few random thoughts after the fall of the house of #7 -

1) IMHO Michael is done with the NFL

2) IF he comes back, and a GM is willing to take a chance on him, it won't be as a QB

3) One of the sadder notes is what he did to Arthur Blank, who loved him like a son.

4) I'd like to see Good-all request / require the Falcons to go after him for every dime they can - retroactively if possible.

5) There have been very few falls as rapid, and from such a 'height', as Vick's. Tyson, Rose, and a few politicians come to mind, but their's weren't as rapid.

6) Since this story broke, there have been a lot fewer Bengal jail-bait comments in the media.

7) You've got to feel sorry for Falcons fans, Hokie fans (what a year they've had), and especially the Atlanta players.

I saw an interview with him the other day and the pain in his voice was so evident. What a shame. I also believe that the Falcons should be able to get some if not all of the bonus money back.

Somewhere John Butler is smiling.

[HairOnFire]

Somewhere John Butler is smiling.

Not unless the undertaker painted it on.

For whatever it might be worth, John Clayton claimed that if Vick is out for a predicted 3 years the Falcon's will keep Vick on their roster (inactive) so that they can legally claim a portion of his signing bonus each year....adding up to more than 20 million. Combined with unpaid salary and bonuses Clayton claimed that the jail time and predicted suspension will cost Vick, and save the Falcons, an estimated 86 million dollars. In addition, I spoke to a fairly knowledgable Falcon fan just today who said that when lost endorsements are included the total reaches 230 million.

The most interesting speculation I've heard in regards to the negative impact on the Falcon's franchise involves Goodell's anticipated decision to suspend Vick only after he's served whatever sentence is handed down....a move that would almost negate any long-term financial burden to the franchise. Obviously that's great news for the owner of the Falcons and for the franchise itself, and it's probably exactly what any commisioner would have to do under the circumstances. However, the bailout directly contradicts Goodell's empty promise to hold accountable and punish teams who drafted players with questionable character by essentially giving the Falcons a financial Get-Out-Of-Jail card.

[BengalszoneBilly]

For whatever it might be worth, John Clayton claimed that if Vick is out for a predicted 3 years the Falcon's will keep Vick on their roster (inactive) so that they can legally claim a portion of his signing bonus each year....adding up to more than 20 million. Combined with unpaid salary and bonuses Clayton claimed that the jail time and predicted suspension will cost Vick, and save the Falcons, an estimated 86 million dollars. In addition, I spoke to a fairly knowledgable Falcon fan just today who said that when lost endorsements are included the total reaches 230 million.

Damn thats HUGE! It's hard to make a f**k up that bad outside of the stock market!

[HoosierCat]

For whatever it might be worth, John Clayton claimed that if Vick is out for a predicted 3 years the Falcon's will keep Vick on their roster (inactive) so that they can legally claim a portion of his signing bonus each year....adding up to more than 20 million. Combined with unpaid salary and bonuses Clayton claimed that the jail time and predicted suspension will cost Vick, and save the Falcons, an estimated 86 million dollars. In addition, I spoke to a fairly knowledgable Falcon fan just today who said that when lost endorsements are included the total reaches 230 million.

Damn thats HUGE! It's hard to make a f**k up that bad outside of the stock market!

I think that when the next edition of the Oxford English Dictionary comes out, the definition of the word "f**kup" is going to have a picture of Michael Vick next to it.

No words, no prononciations, nothing else...just a picture of Vick. That says it all.

[BengalszoneBilly]

I think that when the next edition of the Oxford English Dictionary comes out, the definition of the word "f**kup" is going to have a picture of Michael Vick next to it.

No words, no prononciations, nothing else...just a picture of Vick. That says it all.

I submit this one for their use:

CNN speculated the sentence based on federal sentencing guidelines will be 18-36 months. There will likely be a reduction for good time credits. But, if this was a gambling operation what about the irs, and state charges. He admitted he did it, so the local prosecutor should file charges as he said he would. Vick could be get another 1-2 years, up to 5.

How long is that in "Dog Years"?

[jjakq27]

Somewhere John Butler is smiling.

Not unless the undertaker painted it on.

I am certain that Mr. Butler is smiling in the spiritual sense....

[BengalszoneBilly]

Good thing Vick struck a deal with the prosecutors. A jury trial might have been a disaster!

BTW, the NAACP has voiced their support of Vick's return to the NFL. Jesus H. Christ...supporting someone who abuses animals is beyond my comprehension. I don't give a s**t what their skin color is.!

Atlanta NAACP: After sentence, let quarterback Michael Vick return to NFL, preferably Falcons

By ERRIN HAINES, Associated Press Writer

August 22, 2007

ATLANTA (AP) -- An NAACP leader said Michael Vick should be allowed to return to the NFL, preferably the Atlanta Falcons, after serving his sentence for his role in a dogfighting operation.

"As a society, we should aid in his rehabilitation and welcome a new Michael Vick back into the community without a permanent loss of his career in football," said R.L. White, president of the NAACP's Atlanta chapter. "We further ask the NFL, Falcons, and the sponsors not to permanently ban Mr. Vick from his ability to bring hours of enjoyment to fans all over this country."

White said the Falcons quarterback made a mistake and should be allowed to prove he has learned from that mistake.

On Monday, Vick said through a lawyer that he will plead guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and conspiracy to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture.

Three Vick associates have pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge and say Vick provided nearly all the gambling and operating funds for the "Bad Newz Kennels" dogfighting enterprise. Two of them also said Vick participated in executing at least eight underperforming dogs, raising the possibility of the animal cruelty charges.

Last month, state and local leaders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People urged the public not to rush to judgment in the Vick case. The civil rights organization said animal rights groups, talk radio and the news media were vilifying the embattled athlete, and that his team and corporate sponsors were prematurely punishing Vick.

White said the Atlanta chapter supports Vick's decision to accept a plea bargain if it's in his best interest, but he questioned the credibility of Vick's co-defendants, saying an admission of guilt might be more about cutting losses than the truth.

"At this point, you're not looking at guilt or innocence," White said, referring to the possible harsher sentence Vick could have received had he taken his case to trial and been found guilty. "You're thinking, 'What I better do is cut my losses and take a plea.' But if he saw this as the best thing to do at this point for his future, then I think he made the correct choice."

White said he regretted that the plea deal will mean all the facts of the case might never be known.

"Some have said things to save their own necks," White said. "Michael Vick has received more negative press than if he had killed a human being."

White said he does not support dogfighting and that he considers it as bad as hunting.

"His crime is, it was a dog," White said.

These lines I find the most incredulous:

"Michael Vick has received more negative press than if he had killed a human being."

Are you s**tting me dude?

And this one:

White said he does not support dogfighting and that he considers it as bad as hunting.

A real hunter does not torture animals. When I hunt, I strive to make the kill as quick and PAINLESS as I can for the animal. Not have them slowly ripped apart as in a freakin' dogfight! This guy is an idiot.

[agreen_112]

For whatever it might be worth, John Clayton claimed that if Vick is out for a predicted 3 years the Falcon's will keep Vick on their roster (inactive) so that they can legally claim a portion of his signing bonus each year....adding up to more than 20 million. Combined with unpaid salary and bonuses Clayton claimed that the jail time and predicted suspension will cost Vick, and save the Falcons, an estimated 86 million dollars. In addition, I spoke to a fairly knowledgable Falcon fan just today who said that when lost endorsements are included the total reaches 230 million.

Damn thats HUGE! It's hard to make a f**k up that bad outside of the stock market!

There's no damn way Vick could've made 230 million in 3 years.

[redsbengalsbucks]

White said he does not support dogfighting and that he considers it as bad as hunting.

I have no problem with Vick making a comeback after he has served his time/suspension. He has every right to go back to football if he does pay his dues for his inappropraite actions.

Now, on to hunting. Does this person not understand that without hunters there would be no conservation programs in the US. Most conservation programs were started with money from and the efforts of hunters. Hunters still give the majority of money to fund these programs. Has he never seen the affects of overpopulation on a group of animals? Does he actually want to be overrun with the sick and dying animals that would abound without hunters? Does he want to have disease carryover from these sick/dying animals(or carcasses) affect the pet population and possibly spread to humans? He obviously does not understand that humans are the #1 predator in nature and if we were to stop that role, life as we know it would change dramatically. Hunters preform a vital role in nature, and there is nothing wrong with staying in touch with the natural order of things. This man has obviously never left the city long enough to realize the abject stupidity of this statement.

[HairOnFire]

There's no damn way Vick could've made 230 million in 3 years.

No, the jail term and suspension are rumored to be three years. Vick's contract runs through 2014 and several of his endorsement deals were said to be long-term. Clayton's claim that the Vick could lose roughly 86 million over that time accounts only for salary and bonus money that he either won't be paid by the Falcon's, and just as importantly....signing bonus money that he's already received but will have to pay back. As for the endorsement money rumored to be lost, I've got no clue whatsoever, but the Falcon fan that I spoke to said that the total was determined by Atlanta area newspapers after combining lost contract and endorsement money. Several of those already lost endorsements (Reebok, Madden) were said to be long-term deals.

BTW, Sam Farmer of the LA Times wrote a piece that touched on the long-term finacial impact to the Falcon franchise and concluded that Goodell's likely strategy of suspending Vick only after he's been released from jail is a finacial bailout only in regards to real money paid by Falcon owner Artie Blank. The salary cap implications are still said to be considerable, and will fluctuate wildly from year to year.

Last, ESPN Radio host Doug Gottlieb(sp?) just did a 20 minute rant attacking Goodell's habit of delaying suspensions until after a player has served his legal sentence. During the rant Gottlieb pointed to the staggering amount of money that Vick will lose, and mocked the idea that his penalty for killing dogs could somehow be far greater than Leonard Little received after killing a person in a drunk driving incident.

Gottlieb then concluded the rant by stating...."When you've paid your debt to society...you've paid your debt to the NFL."

[HoosierCat]

Some interesting thoughts from Florio over at PFT on what the Falcons might be able to get back...could be a lot less that was thought...

POSTED 1:54 p.m. EDT, August 23, 2007

VICK COULD OWE FALCONS ONLY $3.75 MILLION

Michael Vick's December 2004 contract extension included $37 million in bonuses. Although the money was characterized as a signing bonus, a league source has explained to us that it wasn't. At least not completely.

The signing bonus was only $7.5 million. The remaining $29.5 million was paid out as two roster bonuses.

But the Falcons had the right to convert the roster bonuses to guaranteed amounts, making them the equivalent of signing bonuses for the purposes of proration under the salary cap.

The problem, however, is that the payments were not initially characterized as signing bonuses, and therefore might not be treated as such in a forfeiture effort.

The Ashley Lelie case resulted in a finding that option bonuses are not subject to repayment. Some believe that the next step in the overall NFL labor relations process in this regard is a finding, if/when the issue is presented in a grievance, that roster bonuses are also untouchable, even if the team has the right to treat the payment as a signing bonus in order to manage cap costs.

Think of it this way. Roster bonuses are paid out in a given year, and are charged under the cap only for the year in which they are paid. After the year ends, a default is irrelevant because the money has been paid, and earned.

Why, you might ask, didn't the Falcons just give Vick a $37 million signing bonus? The problem is that such a payment would have required 1/6th of the amount to have been counted against the 2004 salary cap. Since the Falcons likely didn't have more than $6 million left in 2004 cap space at that time, it wasn't a realistic option. By paying only $7.5 million as a signing bonus, the Falcons were required to carry only $1.25 million in 2004.

So the Falcons deferred $22.5 million of the money into a roster bonus due in March 2005, and $7.5 million to a roster bonus due in March 2006. The conversion of the roster bonus to a guaranteed payment was a no-brainer, since there was no way that the Falcons were going to show under the salary cap an extra $22.5 million in 2005 or an extra $7.5 million in 2006 when the money could be spread out over time.

The only alternative would have been to use two option bonuses, and the fact that the roster bonuses that became guaranteed payments operate no differently, as a practical matter, than option bonuses could influence the outcome. The device the Falcons used is no different than an option bonus. Thus, if an option bonus can't be recovered, roster bonuses converted to guaranteed payments are protected, too.

If the converted roster bonuses don't count, Vick likely owes the Falcons only (only?) $3.75 million, which is the remainder of the proration on his original signing bonus. The bonus forfeiture formula that the Falcons were using in 2004 could push that number higher, since it attempts to spread the bonus money beyond the six seasons of cap proration. But if it's determined that the 2006 CBA retroactively restricts forfeitures to the amount of the signing bonus that has yet to be allocated as wages under the salary cap, the amount owed will be $3.75 million.

The other potential twist here is that the Falcons might have to keep Vick on the team (via a reserve/suspended and/or a reserve/in-the-hoosegow list) for the next three seasons (or maybe longer) in order to get the full amount of whatever they are owed. Owner Arthur Blank might be more interested in simply getting Vick's name off of the books than Blank is in chasing money that might not ever be collected anyway.

PLUMMER GRIEVANCE COULD SETTLE THE ISSUE

If/when the Falcons attempt to recover money from Mike Vick, our guess is that they'll aim as high as possible. Though some folks are describing the potential debt as $22 million, the maximum number that can be pursued (based on the Falcons' bonus forfeiture formula) is in excess of $28 million.

Regardless of the team's best-case scenario, the precedent for its ultimate recovery could be set by the Jake Plummer grievance.

The Bucs and the Broncos currently are pursuing more than $7 million in bonus money due, to his premature retirement. But it's our understanding that at least some of that money is the result of other payments being converted to guaranteed amounts. Thus, if it is determined in Plummer's case that a salary cap accounting device that spreads money due in a current year over multiple seasons doesn't mean that the money can be recovered later, that same ruling would likely apply in the Vick case.

And, to the extent that securing forfeiture rights could result in a cap credit to the Falcons, the Bucs might want to ask themselves whether the wiser move in the grand scheme of things is to screw up the Plummer grievance, so that their rivals in the NFC South won't be able to pick up as much as $28 million in additional money that can be spent on players.

[HairOnFire]

The signing bonus was only $7.5 million. The remaining $29.5 million was paid out as two roster bonuses.

Mixed feelings.

I have no love for Mike Vick and didn't shed a tear when John Clayton detailed how much money he risked losing. That said, I also have no love for Artie Blank or the Atlanta Falcons, and I think the NFL stupidly put itself in a precarious position when it allowed agents and large market teams to subvert the original intent of the salary cap, first many years ago with signing bonuses that dwarfed actual salaries, and then later when roster bonuses became the favored tool for getting around the controls intended to regulate signing bonuses.

Edit: It just occured to me that my rantings about signing and roster bonuses might sound a little bit like an old man yelling at kids who dared walk accross his lawn. Well, so be it.

[BengalszoneBilly]

Now Vicks dad drops some details about his sons involvement in this animal abuse. From Yahoo Sports:

Vick deeply into dogfighting, father says

QB's dad says he didn't abandon family

By BY MATT KEMPNER

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 08/24/07

Michael Vick's father said he pushed his son to quit dogfighting years ago or, at least, put property used for the fights in the name of friends to avoid being implicated some day.

Michael Boddie, in two sometimes tearful interviews with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution this week, said some time around 2001 his son staged dogfights in the garage of the family's home in Newport News, Va. Boddie also said Vick kept fighting dogs in the family's backyard, including injured ones — "bit up, chewed up, exhausted" — that the father nursed back to health.

Michael Boddie pauses in a bedroom of the Duluth apartment provided by his son, whose photographs adorn the wall.

Michael Boddie pulls a photo of him and Michael Vick from a box of pictures and memorabilia of his son's football career.

Boddie, who is estranged from his son, dismissed the idea that Vick's longtime friends were the main instigators of the dogfighting operation.

"I wish people would stop sugarcoating it," Boddie said. "This is Mike's thing. And he knows it."

He "likes it, and he has the capital to have a set up like that."

Daniel Meachum, an attorney for Vick, said his client never mentioned situations described by Boddie, nor discussed Boddie in relation to dog activities. "It's a disgrace Mr. Boddie, who chose for nearly 22 years not to be part of Mike's life, would at this time seek to capitalize on his son's current situation."

Vick's mother, Brenda Vick Boddie, who hasn't lived with her husband for the past five years, did not return calls seeking comment.

Boddie said he and the Atlanta Falcons quarterback have had a volatile relationship for years and that his son has refused to speak with him directly for the last 2 1/2 half months. Boddie said he is speaking out because he's been hurt by his son and wife's failure over the years to correct what he considers inaccurate media reports that Vick grew up without his father present.

"I've been drug through the mud," Boddie said.

He said he intends to write a damaging book about more of what he knows.

Boddie, 45, lives in a Duluth apartment that his son has paid the rent on for the last three years. Vick, who has a $130 million contract with the Falcons, also gives him a couple of hundred dollars every week or two, the father said.

Boddie wanted more. Two years ago, he said, he asked Vick for $1 million, spread out over 12 years, enough to keep him comfortable for the rest of his life. Vick declined, the father said. In recent weeks, Boddie asked Vick, through an assistant, for $700,000 to live on.

Boddie said he hasn't been contacted by federal investigators pursuing dogfighting accusations against Vick. A federal grand jury indicted Vick with one count of conspiracy to cross state lines to engage in illegal gambling; to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture; and to buy, transport and receive dogs for animal fighting.

The indictment does not mention the parents' former home in Newport News, where Boddie said he cared for Vick's pit bulls and where he said three dogfighting session were held, roughly around the time that Vick was transitioning from college football to the pros.

Earlier this week, Vick agreed to plead guilty Monday in the federal dogfighting case in Richmond. He faces prison and the possible end of his football career. Three co-defendants already pleaded guilty and were expected to testify against Vick if the case went to trial. In addition, a Virginia prosecutor is considering bringing state charges against Vick.

Boddie lives in an apartment, just a few miles from where his son lives in the upscale, gated Sugarloaf neighborhood. Posters of the football star are thumb-tacked to the walls of a guest bedroom. A picture of Vick's two young children is framed on a wall near the kitchen. Hung on a wall beside the kitchen sink is a long list entitled "Quick Drink Recipes."

In language blanketed with profanity, a sometimes sitting, sometimes pacing Boddie recounted what he said was some, but not all, of what he knows about his son. At times while discussing his wife and children, Boddie appeared to alternate between anger and anguish. His cellphone rang several times. At one point he answered, paused, unleashed an expletive-laced torrent of words and marched out of the apartment with the phone to his ear. He later said the caller was an assistant of Michael Vick's who asked what he planned to disclose to a reporter and urged him to keep quiet.

"I know some things," Boddie said. "That's why they're going crazy."

He said he's not perfect. He said he hasn't worked since 2003, went through drug rehab in 2004 paid for by his son, was sometimes high or drunk around his children when they were young, has gotten in trouble for drinking and driving and had his driver's license revoked.

"There are some things I wish I could go back and change," he said.

But Boddie said he gave Vick something that most kids didn't have in the Newport News housing projects where both grew up: "I never left his side. Never left his mother's side. And where we come from, this day and time, that's a hell of a thing."

He and Vick's mother weren't married when Michael Vick was born. But they married later and Boddie said he lived with the family from the time Vick was 3 years old until after his eldest son went to Virginia Tech to play football. He said he was usually working during Vick's youth, often on jobs sandblasting and repainting ships.

He said he is frustrated about continued suggestions that Vick was raised without a father. He said his son and wife should have set the record straight.

But in a 2001 AJC article about their son, his wife was quoted as saying that Boddie's presence in Vick's childhood "means a lot to me."

"He was always there, providing, taking care of what needed to be taken care of. Through everything, we stayed together as a family. I have a lot of respect for him for that."

But in other press reports, both Michael Vick and his mother suggested that Boddie was an emotionally distant father. He "never paid that much attention to me," Vick said, according to a Sports Illustrated story in 2000.

Boddie said that, over the last year, his son has been disrespecting him, "talking to me like I'm one of his . . . dogs."

Boddie said he's tried to look out for his son. Around 2002, while at Vick's rural property near Smithfield, Va., he warned his son.

"I told him basically, 'You don't need to be doing this. You got bigger fish to fry. You got more important things that you can do.' "

Boddie recalled telling his son to transfer the property to the name of one of his friends: " 'Take this place right now, put it in one of their names because if anything goes wrong . . . it's you they coming after.' "

Boddie said he doesn't recall his son's reply.

Boddie also said dogfighting occurred at the family's Newport News home on Terrace Drive. The family was in the house for about a year or more as Vick moved from playing college football at Virginia Tech to the pros.

Boddie said he cleaned out the home's garage three times in 2001 to make room for dogfighting sessions held by Vick and his friends.

"I hung around long enough to actually walk in there when an actual dogfight was going on," Boddie said, but he added that he didn't stay long.

"It wasn't my thing," he said.

He said he had already witnessed test fights of dogs — in which dogs battle to see how well a prospective fighter will perform.

"It's really something to stand there and watch. You have to have the stomach for it," he said.

Boddie said Michael Vick kept pit bulls in eight cages in the backyard of the Terrace Drive home.

However, a neighbor, Willie-Mae Hansell, said she only saw one dog at the house, and never heard anything unusual there.

"I fed the dogs," Boddie said. "I've nursed them back to health, dogs that have been in fights. Raised litters of puppies."

The injured dogs could barely muster up enough strength to eat at first, he said.

Boddie contends that Vick's mother was aware of the dogfighting and said he heard her tell her son to stop it.

Boddie said of his son: "I think he basically told her, 'OK, Mama. OK, I'll stop.' "

Boddie said he wasn't aware of any dogfighting in the Newport News projects when Vick grew up there. The closest he recalled was kids being fascinated as dogs chased stray cats in a nearby lumber yard.

He said that, despite his earlier warnings to his son, he never expected Vick would someday face the dogfighting troubles he is in now.

"I thought he would have gotten out of it by then, gotten it out of his system."

[HoosierCat]

Latest reports from espn today are that Vick is trying real hard to squirm out of anything serious. According to their sources he wants to sign a "statement of facts" in the plea deal in which he does not admit to killing dogs or gambling on dog fights. If he tries that I can see the Feds yanking the deal.

[BengalszoneBilly]

Latest reports from espn today are that Vick is trying real hard to squirm out of anything serious. According to their sources he wants to sign a "statement of facts" in the plea deal in which he does not admit to killing dogs or gambling on dog fights. If he tries that I can see the Feds yanking the deal.

The NFL fan in me wants to see him play football again. It really does. The animal lover in me wants to see him hung by his balls.

[HoosierCat]

Latest reports from espn today are that Vick is trying real hard to squirm out of anything serious. According to their sources he wants to sign a "statement of facts" in the plea deal in which he does not admit to killing dogs or gambling on dog fights. If he tries that I can see the Feds yanking the deal.

The NFL fan in me wants to see him play football again. It really does. The animal lover in me wants to see him hung by his balls.

Yeah, I hear ya about the whole hung-by-the-balls thing. But from a strictly football perspective, I have a lot of sympathy for his teammates and the Atlanta fans, all of whom he screwed big time.

As for Vick himself, I guess I never quite got just what exactly was so super-awesome-incredible about him. Yes, he was a great talent...but there are a lot of great talents around the league. Yes, he was a home-run threat every play...but so are a lot of other guys. I suppose it was because he played QB, which is generally the big glamor position, but he wasn't even that good a QB, at least by modern standards. If anything he was something of a throwback to the pre-forward-pass era, a "run-first QB." And if that was a winning formula in today's NFL, college option QBs would be in a lot higher demand on draft day.

Short-term this is obviously a huge blow to the Falcons but long-term I'm not sure it isn't a blessing in disguise, because I'm far from convinced that they ever would have seen Vick hoisting a Lombardi.

[jjakq27]

Latest reports from espn today are that Vick is trying real hard to squirm out of anything serious. According to their sources he wants to sign a "statement of facts" in the plea deal in which he does not admit to killing dogs or gambling on dog fights. If he tries that I can see the Feds yanking the deal.

The NFL fan in me wants to see him play football again. It really does. The animal lover in me wants to see him hung by his balls.

Sounds like the Pete Rose/Bart Giamatti agreement in which there no finding that Pete ever bet on baseball. Either you did it or you didn't. If they are going to let him off then they have wasted their time and they should just drop the charges.