Don't Believe The Michael Vick "Second Chance" Spin

Patrick Mauro

Aug 17, 2009

And they said he couldn’t be coached.

I didn't see that at all on Sunday night's 60 Minutes interview with James Brown.

Team Vick—the best lawyers, PR and marketing people money can buy—did quite well preparing, and Mike Vick stuck with the game plan. He didn't improvise or call an audible.

He came off as fairly sincere and honest, saying the right stuff. “I blame me.”

He claimed to crying in his cell at night. “I let myself down.”

He evoked a higher power. “I lost touch with my savior.”

And then unleashed the quote that will go down in the annals of history, “Love your reptile.”

But come on, who wouldn’t have some humility after losing what he did?

But enough with the "he deserves a second chance" chants. Vick is a ridiculously fast man who plays quarterback. He has the most unique skill-set of anyone to ever play the position. This is why he's even in a position for a second chance.

Is he contrite? Does he feel remorse? Not sure that it really matters.

He beat the Packers at Lambeau in the playoffs. This is why he gets a second chance.

He’s the only quarterback to surpass 1,000 yards rushing in a season, and likely just a couple bad Donovan McNabb games away from being the Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback.

The second chance propaganda is almost insulting to any random convict who can't get work because of some offense far less felonious than Vick's.

Doesn't mean I'm not excited to see him play.

The idea of an offensive set featuring McNabb under center and Brian Westbrook in the backfield, and then DeSean Jackson, rookie Jeremy Maclin, and Vick going out as receivers makes Eagles games necessary Sunday viewing.

But if it's any other walk of life, how many of you in a position of power hire a guy who did what Vick did? Unless it's organized crime doing the hiring, I think Vick is out of vocational luck.

So unless you’d hire the guy, stop carrying on about this man deserving a second chance, and don’t be deluded as to why he’s receiving one.

They’re not investing in this guy out of the goodness of their hearts or a belief in second chances.

And why is the Humane Society using him as a spokesperson? It would be like O.J. or Chris Brown serving as some sort of poster boy for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

McNabb was instrumental in Vick's Philadelphia arrival, but how will he feel when the entire town is calling for the dog guy to start if the Eagles drop a few consecutive games, or if he has just mediocre stats?

It seems like only recently that he stopped bitterly talking about the Terrell Owens days in Philly.

He likes it now, but how will McNabb react to any adversity? How will he feel about Vick’s jersey dramatically outselling his?

If Vick is around for both years of the deal, the $5.2 million he would earn in 2010 likely spells bad news for Kevin Kolb. If Vick still calls Philadelphia home next year, you’d have to believe he'd be the Eagles starting quarterback.

Give the the organization some credit for removing emotion from the Vick equation.

If two years ago someone told you it would only take $1.6 million for the first year to sign Michael Vick as a free agent, you’d say they were crazy.

Ignoring what he did to canines and focusing what he still could do on the field gives Philadelphia the quarterback of their future who should improve their bottom line right now.

The Eagles were Super Bowl hopefuls before this move. Now, and it might be tumultuous, they’re the NFC’s team to beat.