As predicted in my July blog Michael Vick is literally days away from being the biggest waste of god given talent the NFL has ever known. With today’s revelations that Vick will plead guilty to illegal dog fighting, betting and mistreatment of animals it is all but guaranteed that Vick will never play another down in the NFL. In fact, it is being speculated that Commissioner Goodell will announce after the sentencing on Monday that Michael Vick will receive lifetime banishment from the league. The justification is accredited to not only his guilty plea to felony charges but also the fact that he lied while looking at the commissioner directly in his eyes that he was innocent of any illegal activity. Although this is still speculation I believe Vick deserves getting “Pete Rose(d)” from the NFL in consequence of his actions.

Many people may think I am a hard a$$ for making such of statement but I think I am in the majority of former and current professional players. Clearly this belief lies on a couple of facts.

First – Michael Vick has pleaded guilty to felony charges. From now and forever, no matter what Vick does to repair his image he will always have the title of “convicted felon”. As I stated in my July blog Vick would be a public relations nightmare if a team tries to sign him to a contract. The PETA people will be relentless in protesting against not only Vick but the team he signs with and even the NFL for reinstating him.  Yes I understand people must be forgiven, but he should of thought of the possible consequences when participating in illegal behavior.

Second – He lied to the commissioner. The NFL is like any other business in the world in the fact that everyone has to answer to a boss. In Vicks case he had to answer to the Commissioner for his actions. No matter the size of contract a player would sign (in Vicks case $130 million) or the control an organization would have on a players future, every NFL player is accountable to the “Commish”. In Vicks case, the moment he told his boss, Commissioner Goodell, that he was innocent and then today pleading guilty to felony charges, Vick lost all respect and trust from his boss. As the acting CEO of the NFL Goodell has the right to hire and fire any employee if they betray his trust. Therefore, even though we may forgive Vick of his mistakes and he may do everything to recompense his actions, the “Commish” of the NFL will never be able to trust Vick in being a capable representative of the league again.

It is clear that Michael Vick has made some serious mistakes and now he is accepting responsibility for them. However, in this case it is a great example to all that when you engage in illegal activities you risk not only millions of dollars but displaying your talents at a level the world will never see again.

With the upcoming 2007 NFL season several quarterbacks have put themselves in a very difficult predicament with their team, the fans and even themselves. In essence they have painted themselves into a corner. They either needs to have personal best years statically, take their team to the big dance (Super Bowl) or simply make some noise in the playoffs. If none of these are accomplished you may find many of them looking for a new team or contemplating retirement. The nominees are:

1)      Brett Favre – General Manager Ted Thompson has meticulously crafted a fairly talented group of receivers and offensive lineman the past couple of years to give Brett the best possible chance to succeed in recent memory. In addition a solid defense could provide him the game clinching ability that he has not had since the 2003 season. IF Bret does not led the team to the playoffs he will retire.

2)      Ben Roethlisberger- Having had a disaster of a season statistically last year, only winning a handful of games, and potentially beginning to show signs of durability problems. If he does not lead the team to the playoffs this coming season or he throws more interceptions than touchdowns in the first 8 games, don’t be surprised if Ben is benched and trade rumors start circulating.

3)      Eli Manning – He has got the biggest mountain to climb among all the other quarterbacks of the group. Having under achieved the last 3 seasons by never making it past the first round of the playoffs and lacking the ability to finish each season strong Eli has really put himself in a sudden death scenario. The Giants possess a very talented receiving corp with a decent running game and a capable defense. If Eli doesn’t lead New York to a first round win or a NFC Championship birth, he could end up being unemployed come March 2008.

4)      JP Losman – Each season I seem to have the same reaction when I see JP is the starting quarterback of the Buffalo Bills, I always shake my head in disbelief. Having never won a game against a viable defense, nor ever able to produce a QB rating higher than his teams winning percentage each season, JP must take the Bills to the playoffs or he will find himself in the back seat for the rest of his career.

5)      Rex Grossman – With having probably the most talented receiving corp in the NFL, second to only New England, and having the best overall defense to protect any lead, there is no reason why the Rex leads the Chicago Bears back to the Super Bowl. However, if he ends up throwing more interceptions than touchdown passes and does not advance past the NFC Championship game, Grossman will need to start getting advice from Eric Couch how to prepare for life after football.

Brady Quinn has to become one of the most overrated athletes in recent sports history. More overrated than Eli Manning, more than baseballs Randy Johnson and more than the NBA’s Andrew Bogut. Brady Quinn has this honor all to himself. Much of this has to do with the “fantasy” like expectations that he places upon himself with every team he plays with.

Start with his freshman year at Notre Dame. Quinn thought he was the highest rated quarterback coming out of high school in the nation. He expected not only to start as a freshman but also be able to lead the Irish to a National Championship within the first 2 years of his career. Obviously history proved that none of the two occurred and in fact he had a losing record (11-13).

Then Charlie Weis is hired as the new Notre Dame head coach and with Quinn running the show, it was expected (not hoped for) that a National Championship was to come to South Bend. However, Ohio State (Fiesta Bowl 2006) and LSU (Sugar Bowl 2007) both showed the country that Quinn and the fighting Irish shouldn’t have belonged in the BSC.

The next “overrating” moment in Quinn’s career was draft day 2007. Brady Quinn thought without a doubt he was the best quarterback in the draft. He believed he had excellent workouts and of course he played for the greatest football programs in the country, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. But he was given once again a big piece of humble pie for not being selected until 22nd of the 2007 NFL draft.

Now at this point in Quinn’s life, he should have come to the realization he is not as good as he always had thought. In fact, maybe he had a few thought cross his mind that he was somewhat overrated. Unfortunately, he was thinking completely the opposite. Quinn decided to hold out on reporting to training camp because he felt like he should be paid like a top 5 pick. As a result he missed the first 16 practices of the Cleveland Browns camp and lost valuable time working preparing for the upcoming season.  And the funny thing is, he held out for almost the same amount of money the Browns had offered him at the beginning of camp ($500,000 difference). 

Clearly someone should let Brady Quinn in on a little secret, he is OVERRATED!

JaMarcus was doing what any #1 draft pick would do sit, wait and hold out till Al Davis would flinch and give him the largest NFL rookie contract in history. David Carr, Carson Palmer, Eli Manning, Alex Smith did it and even Mario Williams was able to negotiate better contracts with more guaranteed money than the previous #1 picks. Unfortunately for JaMarcus that trend went to a scratching halt with the signing of Dante Culpepper.

Dante Culpepper has just become the greatest bargaining chip the Oakland Raiders could have ever wished. Basically his signing presents THREE nightmares for Russell.

1)      Dante Culpepper is JaMarcus Russell. Dante has all if not more talent than Russell IF he is 100% healthy. It is undeniable he has just the same amount of arm strength, speed, and size.

2)      Dante is a proven NFL quarterback. He is only 2 seasons off of having his best season ever as a professional. He understands NFL coverages, and how to play smart. Something JaMarcus has yet to prove. In fact, if JaMarcus is anything like the past #1 draft picks who were quarterbacks, it will take him a good two to three seasons until he is able to compete at his full potential.

3)      Dante is due to have a breakout season. If I were to put money down right now who is going to be the “NFL Comeback Player of the Year” I would put it down on Dante with no questions asked. He has had the worst luck of any elite quarterback in the past two seasons. First he severely blew his knee out and then he is rushed back too early to help out the helpless Miami Dolphins last season.  Now that he has had a good 9-10 months to recover completely from his 2005 knee injury, he is due to return like the Dante we all came to know.

No doubt these three facts were a major reason why Oakland signed Dante Culpepper. Unfortunately JaMarcus’ conversations with his agent have turned from being,

 “They have to pay me top money, they have no choice I am the savior to this organization.”

TO PREHAPS

“Why did you make me hold out? We should have taken yesterdays offer!!!!! You’re FIRED!!!”

Greed is a nasty human trait…To be continued….

As a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, I had the privilege to be on the same field as Michael Vick during the NFC Championship game January 2005. During that game I was able to witness in awe the most gifted athlete the NFL has ever seen. Possessing a unique combination of speed, quickness, and sheer athletic ability you could not help yourself wondering, “What act of superhuman ability will he exhibit to single handily take this game over and win it?” Though that moment never came to pass there where instances where only inches separated him from breaking off game changing plays.

To think that I, an NFL player, could still look at him as almost supernatural and godlike in his football abilities, I cannot imagine at what magnitude the millions kids around the country idolize him.   One thing is for certain they look up to him, just like my generation looked up to another famous Michael…Michael Jordan.

Based upon Vick’s incredible athletic ability and the influence he makes upon young athletes he is in my mind the biggest waste of god given talent to ever have played in professional sports. This statement can be attributed to one thing… his decision to be influenced and perhaps pressured in participating in illegal activities.

Up until now we only know that Michael has participated in some form of illegal dog fighting, and drug possession. I believe this is only the tip of the ice burg. We as the public only see what illegal activities Vick has participated in because he has been caught in the act. But it is a high likelihood there is much more below the surface. Many NFL experts and insiders believe Vick will never play another down in the NFL, even if he is found not guilty in the dog fighting scandal. 

It is a shame, that I as a fan and a former player does not have another opportunity to ever witness Vick play another down in the NFL. Though he may possess some of the greatest athletic ability the NFL has ever seen and he may be an icon as big as Michael Jordan, there is only one person to blame for any of us ever seeing him perform again on the football field and that is Michael Vick himself.