By Zack Cimini
notjustagame23@gmail.com

The mega contract and all world 2010 season is what intrigued many fantasy owners to draft Vick highly. He admitted that he never worked on the little things or diving into his playbooks while an Atlanta Falcon. Throughout his entire time there he made plays based on his raw abilities. After being a wildcat down player in 2009, it was unclear whether Vick could or would be able to get back to the level of his pre-jail days.

Once Vick stepped in and electrified during Kevin Kolb’s absence, it was apparent he still had his legs left. The work ethic and drive to finally attack and fine tune his pocket presence and proper reads started to show dividends. He always had a cannon of an arm but laser throws would sail wide, high, or inaccurately to the ground. Those type of mistakes pop up now and again but not anywhere near the extremes they use to be.

With his demeanor and his play on the field, Vick has completed a 360 in life and in his profession. How that carries over during the tenure of his contact, will either create a lasting legacy or an end to a promising talent. Vick’s health will likely be the main issue if Vick can get it done or not.

Lets point out the facts. Mike Vick is 31 and has always never been a big bulky quarterback like most in the NFL. He is only 6’0 and is listed at 215, which I find questionable. His style of play has advanced but hasn’t changed over his career. His speed, nimbleness, and shiftiness is still there. That has resulted in some, “how did he do that” type of runs, and also some crushing blows upon impact from defenders.

He has got a lot better at recognizing when to slide and avoid unnecessary hits upon getting adequate yards with his legs. If it isn’t one issue with getting hit, it’s the other. Teams know the glaring weakness with the Eagles is their front line, and they aren’t afraid to send attacking blitzes to disrupt Vick. Ignoring his speed, they’re coming from all angles to cut the lanes of Vick’s scrambling away.

In week one alone, Vick was hit and hurried numerous times vs. the St. Louis Rams. Way too many for a signal caller that you want to lead you to a championship. With the hits piling up, it is going to affect in other areas of his passing game. Completions will decline. In week one he threw for less than fifty percent. Often balls were just rushed because he could not get that extra half second to step into his throw.

One of his strengths is the deep ball, and he has two great receivers to stretch the field. That requires an extra few seconds to let the play develop. Will Vick get flustered when plays don’t go according to plan on a consistent basis because of the offensive line constantly breaking down? We all saw in preseason that he made some poor reads just to get read of the ball.

Most importantly out of all of this, is the fact that Vick has been injury prone throughout his career. Last year it was his ribs, and in prior years it was a plethora of things. Keep in mind that this will be the first season Mike Vick tries to play a full sixteen games since the year 2006. That was a 26 year old Mike Vick.

Fantasy owners should not be laughing too hard at buddies that drafted Peyton Manning or were trapped in their dynasty leagues. More than likely at some point this year, you’re going to have to start your backup fantasy quarterback. Hopefully it’s not for an extended amount of games, but even one game could derail you from getting a playoff seed. Just like head coaches have to prepare for the worst, my advice is to do the same with Vick. Ensure you get a quality insurance quarterback for a just in case scenario.