What To Make Of Mike Vick

Philadelphia Eagles QB Mike Vick made headlines this past weekend after a shooting took place outside of a Virginia nightclub that was hosting Vick’s birthday party last Thursday. Vick’s attorney Larry Woodward maintains that Vick was neither present at the scene of the crime nor the nightclub itself when the shooting took place. Vick has stated that he had already left the party and had been gone for some time before the shooting took place. Virginia Beach police have further stated that Vick “is of no interest to us” in regards to the investigation after Vick spoke with Police and was reported as being “fully cooperative”. Vick did not learn of the shooting until Friday afternoon while he was holding a football camp at Hampton University and running drills with former teammate Roddy White.

The main point of intrigue regarding Vick is that the victim of the shooting was Quanis Phillips who was one of Vick’s co-defendants during his conviction for dogfighting several years ago. As a part of his probation Vick is prohibited with associating with any of his convicted co-defendants although it is unknown at this time whether or not Phillips was invited to the party or if he had any interaction with Vick whatsoever.

The NFL is also investigating to the facts to determine if there is any culpability on Vick’s part. Commissioner Roger Goodell has stated that Vick’s margin for error would be “extremely limited” when he lifted his suspension last summer. It’s sad to see Vick involved in another criminal investigation after it had appeared he was back on the right track following a 23-month prison sentence when he returned to the NFL and joined the Eagles last August 13. It will be interesting to see how the NFL choosing to react to this situation especially considering that Vick appears to have almost no involvement with the shooting that was reported at 2:11 AM, nearly 2 hours after Vick said he left the club with Roddy White.

I hope Vick faces no serious repercussions because he appeared for all the world to be doing his best to atone for his crimes, a process that will likely take up the rest of us profession career. Vick only received limited playing time last season but showed flashes of his former self as the season progressed. I believe there is a solid chance that Vick can be the secret weapon Head Coach Andy Reid thought he was getting this coming season. With a year of conditioning and learning the system under his belt as well as a better idea of what works and what doesn’t I think Vick will fit much more snuggly into the versatile Eagles offense in 2010. Vick will also benefit from being the full-time backup QB this year behind first-year starter Kevin Kolb after the departure of Donovan McNabb to Washington. Don’t be surprised to see an increase in the flashes of brilliance we caught from Vick at the end of last year (including a 75-yard TD pass to Jeremy Maclin in the playoffs) as he is likely to get many more reps this season. Granted he does need to avoid any consequences from the commissioner’s office and perhaps I am being a little too optimistic but if he does do well next year, you heard it here first.