Michael Vick's On-Field Redemption Begins With Work Ethic

For Michael Vick to continue growth as a human being, he must realize one sobering fact: There will be some people who never forgive him for his involvement in Bad Newz Kennels, the brutal dog fighting ring that Vick financed and participated in, which led to his 18-month incarceration. 

In the little more than a year since his release, Vick embarked on a full-court public relations assault in an attempt to get back in the good graces of the American public:  He aligned himself with the NFL equivalent of Bill Cosby in Tony Dungy, who helped broker his two-year contract with the Eagles. Vick then signed on to a BET documentary series where he explored his past and came to grips with his mistakes.

And, with the exception of one nightclub incident, Vick has been nothing but a model citizen since the moment he walked out of jail. 

Feel-good story aside, as Vick completes his ascension to Eagles starting quarterback, it's time for Vick to put personal redemption on the back-burner and focus on redeeming his professional career. 

Much of the focus in the short-lived quarterback controversy in Philadelphia centered on whether Vick was "back to his old-self." If Vick wants to be successful as an Eagle, he needs to not only reach his pre-jail level but also surpass it. 

The inconvenient truth many analysts forget when discussing the ballyhooed former No. 1 overall pick is that he was never a good NFL quarterback.

In fact, Vick's career 76.8 passer rating is worse than the ratings of much-maligned quarterbacks Jake Delhomme and David Garrard and matches the mark of Bills quarterback Trent Edwards—a man who just lost his job to a player (Ryan Fitzpatrick) who wouldn't start for half of the teams in the UFL. 

Vick's value on the football field was solely derived from his unbelievable athleticism and the benefits reaped from exploiting the openings that Vick's electricity provided.

And, early in his career, Vick excelled while resting on the laurels of his athletic advantage, winning a road playoff game at Lambeau Field en route to leading the Falcons to the NFC Divisional Round in just his second season. 

Despite the advantages that Vick's athleticism provided, one could argue that the long-term detriments outweighed the short-term successes. 

In part due to Vick's early anointment into the NFL's elite and Vick's admitted lack of work ethic, he never developed any further as a quarterback following his breakout 2002 campaign. And soon, mistakes excused as growing pains early in Vick's career began developing into career-defining characteristics.

He was an inaccurate thrower who never completed more than 56.4 percent of his passes in any season—a number that regressed during his final seasons in Atlanta. 

In addition to inaccuracy, Vick was often criticized for lacking touch on passes. Screens and 15-yard out patterns were thrown with the same velocity, which led to drops and some receivers criticizing Vick behind the scenes. 

But it was Vick's flair for the big play that caused some of Vick's biggest problems as a Falcon. When he pulled off the big play, the game of football had never looked more beautiful. However, when it didn't work, Vick often put winning the game—and his personal safety—at risk. 

Because he was always looking to stretch plays to their maximum value, Vick often left the ball unprotected and fumbling became a massive plague, culminating in 2004 when Vick fumbled the ball 16 times. 

Analysts lambasted Vick's insistence on stretching the ball downfield over making a safe throw, a practice that led to many receivers being hung out to dry. 

Think of Vick as bizarro Matt Leinart. While Leinart has never met a two-yard check-down he hasn't liked, Vick felt the same way about a 35-yard post pattern. 

Vick's greatest failure, though, was simply his lack of work ethic. 

Atlanta hired multiple quarterback coaches and specialists to work with Vick on his accuracy and all attempts were thwarted by Vick resorting to his old ways. 

Vick's problems with pocket awareness, blitz recognition, and holding the ball too long were all easily correctable traits that could have been solved in a film room, but went uncorrected.

And his fumbling problem could have been solved by my 9-year-old Pee Wee football coach: "Two hands, Michael! Two hands!"

What is the importance of exposing Vick's former flaws to Eagles fans?

It's to warn them not to be so blissfully ignorant as to think Vick has solved all of his woes with one stroke of the Andy Reid coaching wand and Pastor Tony's preaching of the good book. 

In six quarters of play in the 2010 season, Vick has looked better than ever throwing the football. His passes have appropriate touch, he is not taking unnecessary risks with the football, and he is throwing accurately while making the correct coverage reads.

But even at the height of his brilliance last Sunday, Vick showed traits of the Atlanta quarterback who would make Falcons fans' hearts flutter one minute, then break the next. 

Most notably, Vick struggled with the three easily correctable traits mentioned earlier:  pocket awareness, blitz recognition, and protecting the football. 

Last week, Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham ratcheted up constant blitzes and multiple times Vick missed a blitzing linebacker on his blindside, causing multiple jarring hits.

Confirming my suspicions, ESPN's Ron Jaworski noted on Thursday's "Pardon the Interruption" program that, out of the 44 times Michael Vick dropped back to pass last Sunday, he was hit 22 of them. 

I'm no Dr. James Andrews, but I don't think that's exactly the way to keep your starting quarterback healthy. 

If Vick wants to stay healthy and be successful this season, he needs to improve on making pre-snap recognitions or his comeback may be short-lived.

The question, as it has always been with Vick, is whether he's willing to put in the work necessary to correct these problems. 

If Vick learned any lesson throughout this three-year ordeal and he spends the necessary extra time in the film and weight rooms, Eagles fans may be hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in February.

If not, well, maybe those non-believers were right after all.

Week 3 NFL Picks

Last Week:  7-8-1

This Season:  15-14-3

Lock of the Week Record:  1-1

New Orleans (-4) over Atlanta

San Francisco (-2.5) over Kansas City

Detroit (+11) over Minnesota

Dallas (+3) over Houston

Tennessee (+3) over NY Giants

New England (-14.5) over Buffalo -- Lock of the Week

Pittsburgh (-2.5) over Tampa Bay

Cleveland (+10.5) over Baltimore

Washington (-3.5) over St. Louis

Cincinnati (-3) over Carolina

Jacksonville (+3) over Philadelphia

Indianapolis (-5.5) over Denver

San Diego (-5.5) over Seattle

Oakland (+4.5) over Arizona

NY Jets (+2) over Miami

Green Bay (-3) over Chicago