Michael Vick

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Michael Vick
Date of birth	June 26, 1981
Place of birth	Newport News, Virginia
Position(s)	QB
College	Virginia Tech
NFL Draft	2001 / Round 1/ Pick 1
Pro Bowls	2002, 2004, 2005
Statistics	NFL.com DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
2001–Present	Atlanta Falcons

Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is an American football quarterback who plays for the National Football League's Atlanta Falcons franchise.

At 6'-0" and 215 pounds, the left-handed passing Vick is one of the smaller quarterbacks in the league, but is regarded by many commentators and fans as being one of the league's most exciting players due to his speed, agility, and arm strength. However, Vick's detractors have pointed to his mediocre passing statistics and ratings, as well as his inability to lead his team to consistent playoff appearances.

Vick attended Warwick High School in Newport News, Virginia where, in a single game, Vick ran for six touchdowns and threw for 3 touchdowns. He was selected with the first overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft out of Virginia Tech.

He is the older brother of Miami Dolphins wide receiver Marcus Vick, and the cousin of Oakland Raiders quarterback Aaron Brooks.

1 High school and collegiate career
2 NFL career
3 Career Stats
4 Style of play
5 Controversies
- 5.1 Ron Mexico controversy
- 5.2 Obscene gesture incident
6 Contract
7 External links

High school and collegiate career

While in grade school, Vick showed promise in baseball and basketball. But by junior high, he became a disciplinary problem for his teachers. His mother pushed him to get involved with an after-school activity. He chose football, and gave up all other sports in the ninth grade.

Vick first came to prominence while at Ferguson High School in Newport News, VA. As a freshman, he impressed with his athletic ability and throwing for over 400 yards in a game that year. In 1996, as a junior, Vick and Coach Tommy Reamon both moved to Warwick High School, also in Newport News, after Ferguson High School was shut down.

Vick was not the most notable high school player in his area: quarterback Ronald Curry of Hampton High School in Hampton, Virginia earned Gatorade National Football Player of the Year honors and made first team Parade All-American in basketball. In Curry's shadow, Vick failed to make even the first-team all-district. Curry received a scholarship to the University of North Carolina, but suffered injury problems and eventually was drafted by the NFL's Oakland Raiders as a wide receiver.

After high school, Vick attended Virginia Tech. In his first collegiate game as a redshirt freshman in 1999, he scored three rushing TDs in just over one quarter of play. His last touchdown was a spectacular flip in which he landed awkwardly on his ankle, forcing him to miss the remainder of the game in addition to the following game. He led the Virginia Tech Hokies to an 11-0 season and to the 2000 Bowl Championship Series national title game in the Nokia Sugar Bowl against Florida State University. Although Virginia Tech lost, 46-29, Vick was able to bring the team back from a 21 point deficit to take a brief lead.

Vick led the NCAA in passing efficiency that year, setting a record for a freshman (180.4), which was also good enough for the second-highest all-time mark (Shaun King holds the record at 183.3 from his 1998 season at Tulane). Vick was awarded an ESPY Award as the nation's top college player, and won the first-ever Archie Griffin Award as college football's most valuable player. He was invited to the 1999 Heisman Trophy presentation and finished third in the voting behind Ron Dayne and Joe Hamilton. Vick's third-place finish matched the highest finish ever by a freshman up to that point, first set by Herschel Walker in 1980 (Adrian Peterson has since broken that mark, finishing second in 2004).

Vick's 2000 season did have its share of highlights, such as his career rushing high of 210 yards against the Boston College Eagles in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. After finishing with an 11-1 record, with only a loss to the University of Miami (who finished the season ranked #2), and earning the Toyota Gator Bowl MVP award in 2001, Vick went to the NFL. Virginia Tech later retired his jersey.

NFL career

In 2001, the Atlanta Falcons traded receiver Tim Dwight and several draft picks to the San Diego Chargers for their number one selection spot in the NFL draft. With their downgraded spot (the 5th overall), the Chargers selected Texas Christian University running back LaDainian Tomlinson. The Falcons selected Michael Vick as the first overall pick.

On January 4, 2003, Vick led the Atlanta Falcons to an upset victory over the heavily-favored Green Bay Packers 27-7 in the NFC playoffs, ending the Packers' undefeated streak at Lambeau Field. The Falcons would later lose 20-6 to the Donovan McNabb-led Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC divisional playoff game.

During a pre-season game against the Baltimore Ravens the following season, however, Vick suffered a fractured right fibula and missed most of the regular season. Doug Johnson assumed the quarterbacking duties. Upon Vick's return in week twelve, the Falcons went 3-1, defeating the Carolina Panthers, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Jacksonville Jaguars. In 2004, he led the Falcons to a record of 11-5, earning a first-round bye in the NFL playoffs for only the third time in franchise history. The Vick-led Falcons rushed for a playoff record 317 yards (Vick himself had 119 of them), and he threw two touchdown passes. However, the Eagles again played the role of heartbreaker, beating them in the NFC title game 27-10.

On October 22, 2006, Vick had his first game in which he threw three or more touchdowns. After three quarters, Vick had four touchdowns, three of which went to Alge Crumpler. The following week against the Cincinnati Bengals, he threw three more with no interceptions.

Only Randall Cunningham and Steve Young have more rushing yards at the quarterback position than Vick, who is ranked first in career rushing yards among active QB's. Vick is also first among QB's all-time in rushing yards per game, at 53.6 yards per game. Cunningham is second (30.6/g), (Bobby Douglass is third (29.8/g), and Daunte Culpepper is fourth (29.4/g)). Vick also holds the NFL record for most rushing yards by a QB in one game (173), and in a five-season span. After Week 13 of the 2006 season, Vick had 3,460 rushing yards since the start of the 2002 season, besting Cunningham's total of 3,232 from 1986-1990.

Career Stats

Year	Passing					Rushing
Year	Comp	Att	Yds	TD	Int	Att	Yds	Avg	TD
2001	50	113	785	2	3	31	289	9.3	1
2002	231	421	2,936	16	8	113	777	6.9	8
2003	50	100	585	4	3	40	255	6.4	1
2004	181	321	2,313	14	12	120	902	7.5	3
2005	214	387	2,412	15	13	102	597	5.9	6
2006	157	307	1,892	15	9	105	929	8.8	2
Total	883	1,649	10,923	66	48	511	3,749	7.3	21

Year	Receiving
Year	Cat	Yds	Avg	TD
2002	0	16	-	0
2005	1	-14	-14.0	0
2006	1	1	1	0
Total	2	3	1.5	0

Style of play

Vick is noted for his unique, explosive playing style. Some commentators consider him the most exciting player in the game of football, and he has given himself the nickname "Superman". Gifted with agility, speed, and a strong arm, he can engineer big plays with both his arm and his legs. Notable is the fact that while he throws left-handed, he is otherwise right-handed. In the 2004 football season (including post season), he rushed for over 1000 yards. Vick's mobility has often caused major problems for opposing defenses, which have to defend against him differently than they would against a conventional-style quarterback. Whereas most quarterbacks are not a major threat to run the ball for a lot of yards, Vick is capable of breaking huge runs from anywhere on the field or evading defenders to give his receivers time to get open.

The Falcons are one of the few teams in the NFL to have a large number of specifically-designed running plays for their quarterback. His speed and arm strength also pose a threat to "Cover 2" defenses, which can be neutralized by short and medium range passes, which requires a quarterback with a strong arm.

While Vick is not the first scrambling, lefty-throwing quarterback (Bobby Douglass was a dual threat with the Chicago Bears in the 1970s, and Steve Young of the 49ers in the 1990s), few present-day quarterbacks possess Vick's mobility.

Despite Vick's past injuries, which include knee and hamstring ailments, Falcons head coach James L. Mora implemented an offensive scheme derived from the option offense early in the 2006 season to take advantage of Vick's athleticism. The option offense is generally not used in the National Football League due to the punishment option quarterbacks often receive.

Vick stated after the 2004 season that he wouldn't cut his hair until he won a Super Bowl.

Controversies

See also: Bang Cartoon

Ron Mexico controversy

In March, 2005, a woman named Sonya Elliot filed a civil lawsuit [1] against Vick alleging she contracted genital herpes from Vick and that he failed to inform her that he had the disease. Elliot further alleged that Vick had visited clinics under the alias "Ron Mexico" to get treatments and thus knew of his condition. This led to a number of fans ordering customized #7 Atlanta Falcons jerseys with the name "Mexico" or "Herpes" on the back [2]. Due to the media interest surrounding the case, the National Football League disallowed the use of the jersey/name combination two days after the lawsuit.

On April 24, 2006, Vick's attorney revealed that the lawsuit had settled out of court with an undisclosed settlement. [3]

Video game developer Midway Games has alluded to Vick and his Ron Mexico alter-ego in their 2006 title, Blitz: The League. Due to Midway's loss of the National Football League license (EA Sports now has exclusive NFL licensing), all teams and players in the game are fictitious. However, the "Washington Redhawks"' star quarterback is a mobile, left-handed passer named "Mike Mexico".

Obscene gesture incident

After a Falcons loss to the New Orleans Saints in the Georgia Dome on November 26, 2006, Vick made an obscene gesture at Atlanta fans, holding up two middle fingers. Vick has said, "I'm sorry and I apologize to all the young kids and to whoever saw me make that gesture. I just let my emotions get the best of me in that situation and it won't happen again." [4] On November 29, 2006 he was fined $10,000 by the NFL for his obscene gesture, and agreed to donate another $10,000 to charity. [5]. Vick split his charity donation to two separate causes. He gave $5,000 to the family of a local fireman who died fighting a fire Thanksgiving night 2006. He gave the other half to the Warrick Dunn Foundation (which helps support single mothers).

Contract

On December 23, 2004, Vick signed a ten-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons worth 130 million dollars with a 37 million dollar signing bonus, which makes him the highest paid player in National Football League history. Vick's deal surpasses the 98 million dollar contract the Indianapolis Colts' Peyton Manning signed in March, 2005. Manning, who signed for seven years, is guaranteed 34.5 million in bonuses. Vick's deal also tops Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb's twelve-year, 115 million dollar deal that runs through the year 2013.

External links

Preceded by: Courtney Brown	1st Overall Pick in NFL Draft 2001	Succeeded by: David Carr
Preceded by: Chris Chandler	Atlanta Falcons Starting Quarterbacks 2002-	Succeeded by: current starter
Preceded by: Marshall Faulk	Madden NFL Cover Athlete Madden '04	Succeeded by: Ray Lewis