By Joshua M. Boraz
Right now, I'm heaving a large sigh...
Why?
Because Michael Vick is killing Arthur Blank and the Atlanta Falcons.
I say Arthur Blank, because he's really the one who matters in these incidents. He's the Home Depot cofounder and good-natured humanitarian who also just happens to be the extremely high profile owner of the Atlanta Falcons. He's the one who pushed Michael Vick in the wheel chair. He's a great guy. Do a google search on Arthur Blank, and you'll see nothing but good works for the community from a great guy.
Blah, blah, blah, right? Nothing interesting about another executive who works for the United Way... Yawn, it's all gravy... At some point it gets nauseating. But Arthur Blank himself is not. The Atlanta Falcons--particularly Michael Vick--have a different diagnosis, however.
Wait, what's this? Michael Vick and The Atlanta Falcons lose to the Browns and the Lions in consecutive weeks when Vick just happens to play very badly? Michael Vick flipped off the fans? What? Did Jim Mora, Sr. just say that Michael Vick is a coach killer? Did Jim Mora, Jr. just say that he wanted to coach Seattle? Isn't he the coach of the Atlanta Falcons? Is that Michael Vick telling sources last year at the Pro Bowl that he's not comfortable with the offense?
The problem with all these stories in the last three years is that they lead to one common question:
Doesn't Arthur Blank own the Falcons?
The answer to all these questions--and especially that last one--is "Yes".
Two things I deliberately didn't bring up:
One thing I did not bring up was Marcus Vick, who will always be associated with Michael, because he's his brother.
The other thing I didn't bring up is that Michael Vick just got busted at the airport for having some kind of water bottle with a secret compartment. A secret compartment that seemed to smell like an illegal substance.
(On a quick side note, have you ever seen an Aquafina water bottle? Where can you have a secret compartment in a plastic Aquafina water bottle? Under the cap? Behind the label, but between the plastic and the label? Are you laughing right now? Back to my article.)
I didn't mention either of those two things, because they just don't really add anything to an already obvious decision that needs to be made. There are two choices. One is smart, and one is stupid.
-------------
OPTION #1
Michael Vick needs to be traded away from the Atlanta Falcons, so that Arthur Blank can stop dealing with all the nonsense that accompanies such a high profile problem player.
He has to be traded, because the Falcons can't take the $22.1 million cap hit that cutting him would bring. They've only got $9 million in cap room to begin with, and that's already taking into account that the cap is being increased by approximately $20 million. Enough said, he's not geting cut.
The good news is that you have the game's best GM in Rich McKay who can execute trades no matter what the situation and usually can bring valuable things back. There are SEVERAL OPTIONS for trades, seeing as how Michael Vick is a top 20 quarterback when he's bad and a top 10 quarterback when he's focused.
If McKay or Blank feels like picking up the phone, here are some teams that would probably take him in a minute and what they could ask for:
Oakland Raiders: No.1 draft pick, WR Randy Moss, WR Jerry Porter, LT Robert Gallery
Detroit Lions: No. 2 draft pick, WR Roy Williams, K Jason Hanson, LG Jeff Backus
Cleveland Browns: No. 3 draft pick, WR Braylon Edwards, TE Kellen Winslow Jr., C LeCharles Bentley
Tampa Bay Bucs: No. 4 draft pick, WR Michael Clayton, DE Simeon Rice
Washington Redskins: No. 6 draft pick, QB Jason Campbell, WR Santana Moss, LT Chris Samuels
Minnesota Vikings: No. 7 draft pick, DE Kendichi Udeze, CB Antoine Winfield
Houston Texans: No. 8 draft pick, WR Eric Moulds, WR Andre Johnson, OLB DeMarco Ryans, DE Mario Williams
Miami Dolphins: No. 9 draft pick, WR Chris Chambers, WR Marty Booker, TE Randy McMichael
Those are 8 of the 9 teams with top draft picks--the exception being the Arizona Cardinals, since they have Matt Leinart--that qualify as needing a quarterback. Of those teams, the only team without a problem/loud mouth player is the Minnesota Vikings. That's right, all those coaches have taken problem players on in one way or another.
By the way, those teams all have those picks in the later rounds also, which means that if the Falcons would rather have multiple picks instead of the players I listed, that option is also available. Take the salary cap room, and improve the overall team situation.
--------------
OPTION #2
Keep Michael Vick, pray that neither he nor his brother Marcus does anything else stupid to draw negative media attention, and continue trying to build around him. Because it's worked so well in the past.
What will that require? Does it mean that drafting offensive linemen to try to protect Vick while the defense slowly deteriorates with the loss of DE Patrick Kerney and the constant injuries of DE John Abraham? Does that mean drafting new receivers? Trying to sign more defensive guys? Is Bobby Petrino's offense--now coordinated by Hugh Jackson--going to be so much better than Gregg Knapp's? Does that mean losing backup QB Matt Schaub and leaving college-tested-but-unproven-in-the-NFL QB D.J. Shockley as #2?
HEY! ATLANTA FALCONS! YOU ONLY HAVE $9 MILLION!!!
Spend it wisely.
---------
CONCLUSION
One option leads to solutions, while the other leads to more questions.
Seriously.
Falcons Organization: Stop sugar-coating it, stop deluding yourselves and your fans, and stop trying to ignore it. Get on the telephone, and do something about it.
Or don't.
Your off-season is in your hands.
---------
Additional places to see/hear my work:
On Radio:
WIFN Macon/Warner Robins, GA 105.5 The Fan on Four Downs between 4:30-4:50 (usually first down)
On the Internet:
http://www.sportscolumn.com/user/JMBoraz
http://jmboraz.blogspot.com/index.htmlÂ
Right now, I'm heaving a large sigh...
Why?
Because Michael Vick is killing Arthur Blank and the Atlanta Falcons.
I say Arthur Blank, because he's really the one who matters in these incidents. He's the Home Depot cofounder and good-natured humanitarian who also just happens to be the extremely high profile owner of the Atlanta Falcons. He's the one who pushed Michael Vick in the wheel chair. He's a great guy. Do a google search on Arthur Blank, and you'll see nothing but good works for the community from a great guy.
Blah, blah, blah, right? Nothing interesting about another executive who works for the United Way... Yawn, it's all gravy... At some point it gets nauseating. But Arthur Blank himself is not. The Atlanta Falcons--particularly Michael Vick--have a different diagnosis, however.
Wait, what's this? Michael Vick and The Atlanta Falcons lose to the Browns and the Lions in consecutive weeks when Vick just happens to play very badly? Michael Vick flipped off the fans? What? Did Jim Mora, Sr. just say that Michael Vick is a coach killer? Did Jim Mora, Jr. just say that he wanted to coach Seattle? Isn't he the coach of the Atlanta Falcons? Is that Michael Vick telling sources last year at the Pro Bowl that he's not comfortable with the offense?
The problem with all these stories in the last three years is that they lead to one common question:
Doesn't Arthur Blank own the Falcons?
The answer to all these questions--and especially that last one--is "Yes".
Two things I deliberately didn't bring up:
One thing I did not bring up was Marcus Vick, who will always be associated with Michael, because he's his brother.
The other thing I didn't bring up is that Michael Vick just got busted at the airport for having some kind of water bottle with a secret compartment. A secret compartment that seemed to smell like an illegal substance.
(On a quick side note, have you ever seen an Aquafina water bottle? Where can you have a secret compartment in a plastic Aquafina water bottle? Under the cap? Behind the label, but between the plastic and the label? Are you laughing right now? Back to my article.)
I didn't mention either of those two things, because they just don't really add anything to an already obvious decision that needs to be made. There are two choices. One is smart, and one is stupid.
-------------
OPTION #1
Michael Vick needs to be traded away from the Atlanta Falcons, so that Arthur Blank can stop dealing with all the nonsense that accompanies such a high profile problem player.
He has to be traded, because the Falcons can't take the $22.1 million cap hit that cutting him would bring. They've only got $9 million in cap room to begin with, and that's already taking into account that the cap is being increased by approximately $20 million. Enough said, he's not geting cut.
The good news is that you have the game's best GM in Rich McKay who can execute trades no matter what the situation and usually can bring valuable things back. There are SEVERAL OPTIONS for trades, seeing as how Michael Vick is a top 20 quarterback when he's bad and a top 10 quarterback when he's focused.
If McKay or Blank feels like picking up the phone, here are some teams that would probably take him in a minute and what they could ask for:
Oakland Raiders: No.1 draft pick, WR Randy Moss, WR Jerry Porter, LT Robert Gallery
Detroit Lions: No. 2 draft pick, WR Roy Williams, K Jason Hanson, LG Jeff Backus
Cleveland Browns: No. 3 draft pick, WR Braylon Edwards, TE Kellen Winslow Jr., C LeCharles Bentley
Tampa Bay Bucs: No. 4 draft pick, WR Michael Clayton, DE Simeon Rice
Washington Redskins: No. 6 draft pick, QB Jason Campbell, WR Santana Moss, LT Chris Samuels
Minnesota Vikings: No. 7 draft pick, DE Kendichi Udeze, CB Antoine Winfield
Houston Texans: No. 8 draft pick, WR Eric Moulds, WR Andre Johnson, OLB DeMarco Ryans, DE Mario Williams
Miami Dolphins: No. 9 draft pick, WR Chris Chambers, WR Marty Booker, TE Randy McMichael
Those are 8 of the 9 teams with top draft picks--the exception being the Arizona Cardinals, since they have Matt Leinart--that qualify as needing a quarterback. Of those teams, the only team without a problem/loud mouth player is the Minnesota Vikings. That's right, all those coaches have taken problem players on in one way or another.
By the way, those teams all have those picks in the later rounds also, which means that if the Falcons would rather have multiple picks instead of the players I listed, that option is also available. Take the salary cap room, and improve the overall team situation.
--------------
OPTION #2
Keep Michael Vick, pray that neither he nor his brother Marcus does anything else stupid to draw negative media attention, and continue trying to build around him. Because it's worked so well in the past.
What will that require? Does it mean that drafting offensive linemen to try to protect Vick while the defense slowly deteriorates with the loss of DE Patrick Kerney and the constant injuries of DE John Abraham? Does that mean drafting new receivers? Trying to sign more defensive guys? Is Bobby Petrino's offense--now coordinated by Hugh Jackson--going to be so much better than Gregg Knapp's? Does that mean losing backup QB Matt Schaub and leaving college-tested-but-unproven-in-the-NFL QB D.J. Shockley as #2?
HEY! ATLANTA FALCONS! YOU ONLY HAVE $9 MILLION!!!
Spend it wisely.
---------
CONCLUSION
One option leads to solutions, while the other leads to more questions.
Seriously.
Falcons Organization: Stop sugar-coating it, stop deluding yourselves and your fans, and stop trying to ignore it. Get on the telephone, and do something about it.
Or don't.
Your off-season is in your hands.
---------
Additional places to see/hear my work:
On Radio:
WIFN Macon/Warner Robins, GA 105.5 The Fan on Four Downs between 4:30-4:50 (usually first down)
On the Internet:
http://www.sportscolumn.com/user/JMBoraz
http://jmboraz.blogspot.com/index.htmlÂ
http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/JMBoraz
