Why the Saints Need Michael Vick

As I drove back home from Sunday Mass at Our Lady of Hopeless Cases, I saw a guy holding up a sign under the Claiborne St. overpass that read: "Homeless, hungry, just lost the CBS sportswriter competition, will work for food," and it scared the living hell out of me to the point where I dialed up my shrink who is vacationing with his 23 year-old Iranian girlfriend in the Virgin Islands.

He told me life is indeed not fair and then we lost the connection.

I, myself, admit that I struck my computer monitor hard several times after I found out I was not a CBS choice, but now I am about as gracious a loser as you will ever hope to find and vow to read every word of the new Saints correspondent's articles with avid interest and great enthusiasm.

The opening of training camp is less than two weeks away, and while I considered writing a piece relating Tom Watson's dramatic performance at the British Open to the New Orleans Saints in the profound way of all profound sportswriters, I realized that I am not that profound and lack the skill to write a column of that nature in a way that anyway would give a s*** about.

As far as Stewart Cink, I don't feel any animosity. The Golf Gods mandate that guys like Stew play at levels they will never play at again in order to ruin historic moments so the game can remain as utterly boring as possible.

One guy I have felt animosity towards over the years is Michael Vick.

In November 2006, I wrote these words about Vick after a Saints win over Atlanta:

"As for Michael "I am sick of people trying to tell me how to play my game" Vick, he has to feel like Aretha Franklin these days—all he wants is a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Vick is a $130 million quarterback with dollar-store ability as a passer. He gashed the Saints defense for 166 yards rushing but those yards seem to come as a by-product of every other facet of the Falcons offense breaking down."

"Teams welcome him running for 166 yards, especially when the result is a meager 13 points at game's end. Watching Vick attempt to mount a passing attack is like watching Sisyphus push his burden up the hill. Excruciating, in a word."

'Inconsistent. Inaccurate. Uncomfortable in his own skin. But definitely ambidextrous. Vick managed to flip off Falcons fans with two hands at once. Now, that's talent."

Obviously, I was an angry young man when I wrote those words three years ago and disliked Michael Vick with the kind of intensity that feels good. As the great French novelist/philosopher Albert Camus once wrote, "only the haters seem alive to me."

However after hours of cognitive therapy and many of Father Tony's sermons on forgiveness at Our Lady of Hopeless Cases, I no longer despise Michael Vick or anyone else for that matter and would be as happy as a clam if the Saints signed him as Drew Brees' backup. The Saints have expressed no interest and Vick has yet to receive the green light from Commissioner Roger Goodell to return.

However, league experts say there is nothing stopping him from signing with a team today.

In spite of his character flaws and travails, the consensus is that Vick was always a model teammate.

Former Atlanta Falcons safety Keion Carpenter told Sports Illustrated in July 2005, "This man is one of the most unselfish teammates you'll ever see, because he truly doesn't care about his numbers. As long as I've known him, every time someone says he can't do something or sets up barriers, he leaps over them."

Former Saint Morten Andersen has echoed similar sentiments about his days as a teammate of Vick in Atlanta.

In the 2000 Sugar Bowl, Vick burst onto the national scene in New Orleans, dazzling us with an electrifying performance in defeat against Florida State back when the Noles were among college football's elite. In just his fourth NFL season, he led the Falcons to within one game of the Super Bowl and, then, clearly bothered by criticism of his unconventional style, he tried to alter his game to pocket passer with disastrous results.

In October, 2006, Vick told The Sporting News, "I don't know what the hell I was thinking to be honest. It was something I wanted to do. I mean, I knew people were saying that the only way you are going to be perceived as a great quarterback is by staying in the pocket. I run a 4.2 a 4.3 40. Why would I need to do that."

It was and never will never be a normal passing game with Vick but as Jim Mora, his coach at the time, pointed out, there are various styles that can produce success in the NFL.

Said Mora three years ago: "Change is hard for people to accept. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, they are prototypical quarterbacks, and that is how it is supposed to be done. But that doesn't mean it can't be done another way. There always will be be criticism of Michael because he is different, and it won't stop until he wins a Super Bowl. That will validate who he is and what he does."

Vick told Sports Illustrated on July 4, 2005, "The commentators can say all they want but tell them to ask any defensive coordinator in the league this question: "Do you game-plan for Michael Vick in the passing game? I guarantee you 31 coordinators will say, 'You're damned right we do.' I don't care what my numbers say; that's a quarterback."

That is a quarterback, Michael.

So how does all of this factor into the Saints situation?

Let's look at at what a war hero has to say about preparing for disasters.

Hurricane Katrina hero Lt. Gen Russell Honore, a John Wayne kind of dude, said in his new book "Survival" that any military strategist will tell you always prepare for worst-case scenarios and the worst-case scenario for New Orleans is for Drew Brees to suffer the same fate as Tom Brady did one year ago.

Some will say that Vick would serve as a distraction and upset the delicate chemistry balance in the Saints locker room, perhaps even alienating Brees- most quarterbacks have fragile egos. However, Brees is a pretty secure, confident guy and unlike the T.O.'s of the world, Vick has never been a locker room distraction in the past.

Is has become fashionable to talk about healthy "peer pressure" in NFL and NBA locker rooms. Peer pressure- meaning the presence of strong veteran leaders to keep the free-spirits in line. And, there is something to be said for this concept. The New England Patriots managed to transform renegade Randy Moss into a solid citizen and that is saying something.

And with QBs falling at an alarming rate every year, it all comes down to this.

Who would you rather take your Super Bowl chances with Saints' fans if Drew Brees should suffer the same fate as Tom Brady did one year ago—Mark Brunell, Joey Harrington, or a young, hungry Michael Vick with something to prove?