Washington Redskins Should Resist Temptation and Not Sign Michael Vick

Let the games begin, or should I say let the risk taking begin.

On Wednesday, former National Football League and Atlanta Falcons’ star Michael Vick was released from Federal Prison in Leavenworth, Kansas after serving 21 months of a 23 month prison sentence for running a dog fighting operation.

Vick will spend the next two months in home confinement; officially finishing his sentence on July 20, which will make him an active NFL player once again, and will lead to his imminent release by the Falcons, making him a free agent.

This is where the games begin because anyone who follows the NFL even just a little bit knows that whenever there is a big name free agent on the market, there is one team and one man who’s name will always come up as the rumors begin to swirl as to who is going to land the prized player.

Daniel Snyder and the Washington Redskins.

Yes, not too long after Vick walked out of federal prison and stepped into a limousine that drove him 1,100 miles back to his home in Hampton, Virginia, Snyder and the Redskins were mentioned as players in the Michael Vick sweepstakes.

Surprised?

Not here.

Since no one in the Redskins’ organization will say it, and yes, that includes you, too, Vinny Cerrato, Mr. Vice President of Football Operations, also known as Mr. Yes Mr. Snyder, I’m going to.

Mr. Snyder, with all due respect, DO NOT SIGN MICHAEL VICK!!!!!

Was that to brash of a statement?

Oh well.

If there was ever a time for Dan Snyder to use the lessons he claimed he learned from Joe Gibbs’ second go-around as coach, this is it.

I know you have the itch, Mr. Snyder, to pull the trigger and make yet another big free agent splash, and have yet another big press conference at Redskins Park to introduce the latest savior of the franchise, but resist it. This time, exercise a little discipline.

Signing Michael Vick, just like signing Albert Haynesworth, is not the last piece of your Super Bowl puzzle. Heck, it isn’t even the first sideburn if you were putting together a puzzle of Elvis.

Snyder and the Redskins have not been shy this offseason of their desire to get rid of current starting quarterback Jason Campbell. But, bringing in Vick, who last took an NFL snap on Dec 31, 2006, is not the answer to the Redskins perceived quarterback problem.

The thought of adding Vick to an offense that includes Clinton Portis and Santana Moss is most certainly an entertaining one.

Just think of what Jim Zorn could do with Vick, Portis and Moss on the field at the same time?

Wildcat formation anyone?

I can see it now, Vick taking the direct snap, faking the option to Portis then running to his right before tossing the football to Moss on an end around. Moss runs cleanly down the sideline to the end zone; jumping into the stands to celebrate with the fans as “the Danny” jumps up and down in his luxury box, knocking over a glass of champagne. A small mess to cleanup for what he will perceive as his stroke of genius coming to fruition.

Nice thought.

But, that’s all it should be; a thought.

Vick has not played football for two full NFL seasons, and will be 29 years old in just over a month. Though he is still in his youth, it will take Vick at least one, if not two years to fully transition back into playing the quarterback position.

By that time he will be in his thirties, and who knows how long he will last, or if he will even be effective?

Another factor to consider is the evolution of the quarterback position and of NFL offenses since Vick has been away.

More teams are passing out of spread formations (three or more wide receivers) then when Vick was last in the league. Last season, 70.9 percent of passing attempts came out of a spread formation, up five percent from 2006; Vick’s last season.

Vick’s numbers, also, were among the worst in the league in 2006 when throwing out of a spread formation. Vick completed 55.6 percent of his passes with a quarterback rating of 84 when throwing out of a three-receiver set, and was even worse when throwing out of a four or five-receiver set.

Vick’s completion percentage dropped to 48.6 percent when throwing out of a four or five-receiver set, and his quarterback rating fell to a miserable 44.4 rating.

Attention Dan Snyder, these numbers are not going to get any better when Vick has not played in over two years and defenses have evolved to be able to limit Vick’s running ability.

Signing Vick is like playing craps. You’re either going to roll a seven and hit the jackpot, or you’re going to roll a losing number and blow all of your money.  

But, hey, what is money to a guy who just paid a defensive tackle $100 million?

The first roll of the dice, right?