Does anyone remember the 2001 NFL Draft?
The Atlanta Falcons front office sure does.
An organization three years removed from the first and only Conference Championship in team history, the Falcons were desperate to regain that sense of success that had quickly eluded them after two consecutive losing seasons.
Fans and the city of Atlanta began to sense a return to mediocrity for the habitual cellar-dwelling NFL franchise.
On the eve of the 2001 Draft, the previous owner of the Falcons, the Smith family, attempted to resurrect the team's recent relevance. In the Smith family's final significant decision as Falcons owner before selling the team to Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank, they agreed to move up in the draft in order to attain perhaps the most exciting athlete to come out of the college ranks in recent memory, Michael Vick.
The Virginia Tech quarterback was the most sought-after player on every team's draft board, but the Atlanta Falcons were the ultimate possessor of this draft day diamond.
In order for the Falcons to gain the first overall selection, they had to trade away their first round pick (5th overall), their third round pick (67th overall), a 2002 second round pick (39th overall), and a kick return specialist in Tim Dwight to the lowly San Diego Chargers; a team that flirted with a winless 2000 season (1-15).
At the time, the trade seemed like a slam-dunk. The Falcons had an aging quarterback in Chris Chandler and needed a burst of fresh air in order to refill the Georgia Dome's vacant seats. Who better to sell season tickets than a flashy, gun-slinging quarterback?
Seemingly no one.
Just like the apparent "sure things" of Falcons past such as the premature trade of future NFL Hall of Fame Brett Favre, the selection seemed like a no-brainer.
Fast forward six years and the Falcons have yet to post back-to-back winning seasons (still an unaccomplished feat in team history), gone through three different head coaches, and reached the NFC Title game just once. And that's not even the worst of it.
After yet another disappointing season in 2006, in which the Falcons finished 7-9, the off-season was replete with organizational disruption. The firing of head coach Jim Mora Jr., the hiring of new head coach Bobby Petrino, and the loss of "Falcon-lifers" Patrick Kerney and Matt Schaub would certainly have a significant impact on the 2007 campaign.
Of course, all of these changes were overshadowed by Mr. Vick's off-field involvement in an alleged dog-fighting ring. Vick's funding of such activities caused him to be indefinitely suspended by NFL dictator--I mean Commissioner--Roger Goodell.
Vick's "back-paging" of other infamous NFL-ers such as Bengals wideout Chris Henry and Titans corner Adam "Pacman/Mr. Make It Rain" Jones resulted in the polarization of not only Michael Vick, but the Atlanta Falcons organization, owner Arthur Blank, and the image of the Southeastern United States in general.
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about 1 year ago
Great article Ben! San Diego sure got the better end of that deal, ehh?
On the other hand, I sincerely believe that Michael Vick could have been a great Quarterback had the Falcons ever acquired some decent recievers and tried to design their offense around Vick. Instead, they constantly tried to fit Vick into various cookie-cutter schemes that weren't specifically tailored to his strengths, while filling the roster with subpar recievers and inconsistent offensive lines.
I realize that LT is one of the best runningbacks in the history of the game, and that Vick is a downright disgrace to football. But it's not as if Michael Vick was another Ryan Leaf he did in fact show signs of brilliance throughout his career and I think he ends up getting too much of the blame for the Falcons' lack of success.
Just my two cents. Thoughts?
about 1 year ago
yeah, it was a pretty good read ben. i remember that draft/trade pretty well. i didnt remember all the details, so to bringing them back up was interesting to read about.
two things.
one, i wouldnt exaclty call mike vick a "gun-slinging" quarterback, yet thats besides the point. I agree with zander in that vick wasnt exactly a let down. he was pretty good and brought people into the stadium, something that couldve possibly been a risk had they gone after tomlinson (TCU wasnt/isnt exactly a big name program that brings a lot of national media, although LT was incredible way back then)
two, hind sight is 20/20. 5 months ago, the falcons and arthur blank wouldnt trade vick for almost anyone. now they are in trouble with their qb position, even looking for leftwich to potentially help them out. if anything, vick made the mistake, not the falcons. just my thoughts.
about 1 year ago
Living in Atlanta, I experienced first hand the "Vick-mania" back in his first few seasons, but the love affair ended pretty soon after the Falcons last playoff appearance. It might not have as evident around the country, but people in Atlanta were calling for Matt Schaub to become the starter during the end of the 2005 season. Vick was exciting and brought a lot of unjustified attention to a pretty average team, but at the end of the day Vick's on-field performance was inconsistent at best. I always thought that he got a free ride because of the city he played in.
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