Not sold on Vick
Quarterback's play doesn't equal hype
Michael Vick has certainly been a commercial success so far in his young NFL career -- it's hard to watch an NFL game on television without seeing him shilling for something.
Now if only his performance could start matching the hype.
While the Falcons are 5-2 and running away with the NFC South, Vick has been a bit player at best.
He's passed for more than 200 yards once -- 218 in a 21-20 win over San Diego.
He's thrown four touchdown passes -- and six interceptions.
His running ability has been spectacular at times, and he has gained 348 yards on 53 carries, an average of 6.6 yards a clip. But he also has fumbled eight times, losing three of them.
And then there was yesterday's performance in a humiliating 56-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Vick completed only 7 of 21 passes for 119 yards and threw two interceptions. The Falcons finished with only nine first downs, and converted only one of 12 third-down attempts. Atlanta got its only touchdown when Allen Rossum returned a punt 75 yards in the third period.
"They just out-executed us," said Vick, who's a pitchman for
The collapse of the defense, which had been given great credit for Atlanta's 5-1 start, was to blame for Kansas City's easy win. The Falcons allowed eight rushing touchdowns.
But when is Vick going to recapture the form that got him into the Pro Bowl in only his second season -- and into more commercials than Michael Jordan?
An injury-plagued 2003 season was a washout, but he was supposed to rebound this season.
But under new coach Jim Mora and offensive coordinator Gregg Knapp, the Falcons have been winning despite Vick. Perhaps Vick is having trouble playing in a West Coast offense for the first time in his career. His big-time arm may not be conducive to the short passing game that relies more on timing than arm strength.
Vick doesn't agree.
"I really don't know what that means," Vick said earlier this season. "We have a system and you play within the system. It allows you to get the ball out of your hands. In [former coach Dan] Reeves's system, we had plays similar to this. So, I don't understand that."
Understand this: He entered the weekend rated 21st among NFL quarterbacks. Not many in that neighborhood are flooded with endorsement requests for long.
Sign of the times
Terrell Owens spent the week insisting he wanted to end his messy and public feud with former teammate Jeff Garcia. That didn't mean he wanted to tone down his act, though, and he didn't when his Eagles played Garcia's Browns in Cleveland. Owens caught two TD passes in the Eagles' overtime win, and after each score took aim at signs directed at him. After the first score he celebrated by spiking the ball off a sign that read "T.O. has B.O." On the second he ripped another sign targeting him off the wall and was flagged for excessive celebration . . . Maybe it was because linebacker Barrett Green signed a five-year, $16 million contract with the Giants before this season. Maybe it was because he'd made 25 tackles in five games. Whatever the reason, when Green thought he could be late for a team meeting without repercussions, he was sadly mistaken. What, he hadn't heard the incessant talk since training camp began about Tom Coughlin's obsession with timeliness? Whatever, Green lost his starting job at weakside linebacker because he was late for a meeting during the bye week. Nick Greisen got the start and had seven tackles in the Giants' 28-13 loss to the Detroit Lions. Green played on special teams and assisted on one tackle. "For a lack of words, it was sad," Green said. "I don't understand it. It's not my prerogative to." . . . Are you going to believe me or your lyin' eyes? Quarterback Peyton Manning and wide receiver Reggie Wayne got into a shouting match late in the Colts' loss to Jacksonville. Wayne denied the two had words, even though it was caught by television cameras . . . A season-long holdout until he was finally traded last week by Tampa Bay, wide receiver Keenan McCardell had an impressive debut in the Chargers' win over Carolina. He finished with 65 yards on five catches . . . The Giants' Tiki Barber, who led non-quarterbacks with nine fumbles last season, fumbled for the first time in 119 rushes and 22 receptions this year. It wasn't all bad, though -- he recovered it . . . Mike Sherman already is the coach and general manager of the Packers. But he may be best suited to his new job -- calling the offensive plays. Sherman was a smashing success for the second straight week filling in for offensive coordinator Tom Rossley, who, still weak from heart surgery, is limited to offering advice from the press box. In yesterday's 41-20 rout of Dallas, the Packers scored on their first seven possessions. "It's not easy, it's a grind," said Sherman, who directed the Packers to 31 points and 343 yards last week at Detroit . . . Titans quarterback Steve McNair is known for playing through injuries, but even he may be throwing in the towel after aggravated a chest injury that had put him in the hospital for two nights last month. "This is not going to heal in one or two weeks if I continue to go out there and play," McNair said. "I don't want to sit, but if I have to that's fine." . . . The defending NFC champion Panthers -- now 1-5 with four straight losses -- shuffled their offensive line, starting Travelle Wharton at left tackle for injured Tutan Reyes, and starting Todd Fordham at right tackle instead of Matt Willig. Finally, something worked for the Panthers. Brad Hoover, a fullback filling in as lead running back with Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster sidelined by injuries, gained 99 yards on 24 carries. That's more carries than he had in two of his four NFL seasons . . . The Baltimore defense has scored three touchdowns this season, including yesterday's 48-yard interception return by Deion Sanders. It was classic Sanders, who prime-timed it after making an easy catch of a deflection, high-stepping like he was trying out for the Rockettes. He added a second interception of Buffalo's Drew Bledsoe, and even at 37 has shown he can be a force. Asked about next week's challenge -- Owens, Donovan McNabb, and the Eagles -- Sanders was unusually quiet. "Man, will you let me enjoy this one?" he pleaded . . . Former Boston College star Matt Hasselbeck's breakout season keeps breaking down. In yesterday's loss to the lowly Arizona Cardinals, Hasselbeck was 14 for 41 with four interceptions and a quarterback rating of 18.9. Hasselbeck has had three of the 10 worst-rated games of his career this season -- a 59.5 last week against New England two weeks ago and a 60.9 in a win at Tampa Bay . . . Green Bay's bludgeoning of Dallas left Bill Parcells with a 7-10 mark since opening the 2003 season with a 5-1 run. Now 2-4 and already four games behind NFC East-leading Philadelphia, reports out of Dallas are calling for the rebuilding to begin now. Parcells doesn't seem to disagree. "We don't have a chance right now," said. "This is the low point of my tenure in Dallas. I'm embarrassed to put a team on the field that looks like that."
Material from Associated Press was used in this report.
