Michael Vick: Forget Brady and Manning Because No. 7 Is NFL's Best QB by Far
Michael Vick had what you might call a "statement game" on Monday night. From the first play, Vick let the entire league know he's the starting quarterback of the present and the future for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Vick has had a bumpy road to get to where he is, and while he's paid for his crimes, there are a lot of people who will not root for him because of his dog fighting past.
But that issue is what it is, and Vick is back in the league and showing everybody why he was a first-round pick in 2001.
Here are 10 reasons why Vick now is the best quarterback in the league.
10. Vick Is Younger Than Brady and Manning
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At age 30, Vick is the youngest of this trio of quarterbacks, and he has less wear and tear on his body than either of them.
Granted, the time off was due to sitting in prison, but the fact is it probably makes Vick younger than his physical age in football terms. Vick still can move around like he did four years ago, which is something Brady can't really say after tearing his ACL in 2008.
9. Arm Strength
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If you watched the Monday night game, you know Vick still can throw that ball down the field 60 yards with pinpoint accuracy.
This isn't a knock on Brady or Manning's arm strength, but let's put all three to the test right now and see who comes out on top.
8. Scrambling Ability
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While we can sit here all day and debate arm strength, the competition over scrambling ability is no contest.
Michael Vick can scramble better than any quarterback in the league. This aspect of the debate is over.
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7. Offensive Weapons
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As things stand right now, Tom Brady has a diminished Wes Welker and a developing Rob Gronkowski.
Peyton Manning has a list of injuries, Reggie Wayne, and the hope some of the younger guys will step up.
Vick has DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy.
6. Better All-Around Physical Ability
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As touched on earlier, not only does Vick probably have the least beat-up body of the three, he also can use it in more opportunistic ways on the field.
Vick can run, throw, hurdle, juke, jive, somersault, dance a jig, and sprout wings and fly like few other quarterbacks in the history of the league.
5. Sizzle
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When Vick is on the field, he just "sizzles." There's an electricity about his play that gets everyone on the field and in the stands excited.
Every time he trotted out behind center yesterday, there was the palpable feel in the air that "something" was going to happen.
A lot of quarterbacks have that sizzle some of the time, Vick has that sizzle all of the time.
4. Vick Transformed the Team
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Whatever issues the Eagles had on their offensive line, or with the play-calling, those issues are now gone.
Vick's ability to move automatically makes the offensive line look better because he can make plays few other quarterbacks can make, and he can do it on the run.
Vick also can adapt to the defense and transform a play that might be dead in the water for some quarterbacks and turn it into six points.
3. The Redemption Factor
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Unlike some other pro athletes who've come up on the wrong side of the law, Vick truly seems to have learned from his mistakes, taken responsibility for his crimes and come out of the whole process a better person.
This doesn't excuse what he did, but Vick paid for his crimes and the rules of the land state he is allowed a second chance at putting his life back together—and he has.
You can hear in interviews the need Vick has to prove to everyone he's a better person now, and the drive he feels to prove he's still an elite quarterback on the field.
That drive was evident in the game versus the Redskins.
2. Vick Changes the Way Defenses Play
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How do you defend a quarterback who can throw for 88 yards on one play and run for 75 yards on the next play?
Manning and Brady are "classic" quarterbacks in that they'll try and beat you through the air, or hand it off to the running back.
Not Vick: He'll drop back to pass, see a running lane and take off for a 30-yard gain.
It's maddening to defend because you have to spread your defense out no matter what, and that gives Vick an edge Manning and Brady don't have.
1. Focus
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Vick said he spent a lot of time in prison thinking about the game of football, and how he could be a better player once he was back in the game.
He's shown that focus since his return in Philadelphia. Vick pushed two quarterbacks out of the starting spot in Philly with Donovan McNabb's trade to the Redskins and Kevin Kolb's demotion to backup.
There was nothing wrong with Kolb as a starter, but once you saw Vick in action this year, there was no question who the better quarterback on the roster was.
Vick prepares for games like a professional, leaves distractions outside the stadium, and comes into games 100 percent prepared to play.
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