Vick vs. Ryan matchup in jeopardy again - AJC.COM

[The Falcon Jedi]

Vick vs. Ryan matchup in jeopardy again

By D. Orlando Ledbetter and Jeff Haws

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

FLOWERY BRANCH -- The Michael Vick versus Matt Ryan quarterback showdown that some have been clamoring for might not happen again because of an injury.



Last season, when the Eagles faced the Falcons at the Georgia Dome, Ryan was out with a turf-toe injury.

The Falcons (4-1) are set to face the Eagles (3-2) at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, but Vick has a rib injury and did not practice Wednesday.

"He has friends on that team," Philadelphia coach Andy Reid said Wednesday via telephone. "He would love to play against them. I don't think any of the emotion is gone from him."

Last season, the Eagles, with Vick accounting for two touchdowns, defeated the Falcons 34-7 at the Georgia Dome.

The "We want Vick; we want Vick" chants cascaded to the field after the Eagles built a 20-0 lead. Reid obliged the crowd and Vick, in his 10th game back in the NFL after a suspension, tossed a late touchdown pass to Brent Celek.

Ryan, a suburban Philadelphia native, doesn't plan to get caught up in the Vick vs. Ryan hype.

"It's business as usual for me," Ryan said. "I don't view it any differently than I would any other week. I will go out there and prepare as best as I can and cut it loose on Sunday."

There aren't many Falcons left who played with Vick, who is arguably the most talked-about and controversial player in franchise history.

Vick led the Falcons to the playoffs three times and to the NFC championship game after the 2004 season. He was 40-30-1 as a starter from 2001-06 under coaches Dan Reeves and Jim Mora.

After two seasons of missing the playoffs, Mora was fired and Bobby Petrino was hired. Vick's fall from grace started in the spring of 2007 with a federal dogfighting investigation that resulted in a guilty plea and jail sentence.

His six years in Atlanta was a study in contrasts, and now he's surprising everyone after making good on getting a second chance from Philadelphia.

He won the starting job there this season and was playing well, leading the Eagles to back-to-back victories over Detroit and Jacksonville, before suffering an injury against Washington.

"It's big for him," said wide receiver Roddy White. "That's my friend. That's my guy ... it's great for him to get back into the league and have such a good start."

The two have been texting each other about tickets for White's mother. They've steered clear from texting about the game.

"He's playing well," White said. "I think that's good for him. I'm just happy for him, as long as he continues to play well. ... Maybe he can take off another week or two, get ready for the games after us."

That's entirely possible, as Vick's rib cartilage injury has already kept him off the field for one week and could extend at least one more.

"He's actually starting to lift light weights," Reid said. "He hasn't thrown. We are just taking it day by day."

If he doesn't play, the Falcons will face Kevin Kolb, who was expected to be the Eagles' 2010 starter before Vick played well enough to supplant him in that role. He guided the Eagles to a 27-24 victory over San Francisco last week.

They're very different styles of quarterback, and few know what Vick is capable of better than his former teammates.

"He was a winner; he did whatever he could to win football games," said Falcons wide receiver Michael Jenkins, who played with Vick from 2004-06 and is expected to make his 2010 season debut Sunday after recovering from a shoulder injury. "Making unbelievable plays and just outrunning [defensive backs] in this league as a quarterback was just really unheard of. That's just the kind of guy he was."

He was also a different style of quarterback than most have played with before or since.

His ability to run, combined with his strong arm, made him as much of a dual threat as any quarterback the NFL has seen.

His play on the field and personality made him a popular player, both in the locker room and among some fans in Atlanta. Four years later, the players who were here still speak well of him, even after the problems that sent him to federal prison.

Plenty of teams who lose their star quarterback take many years to recover, but the Falcons' selection of Ryan in the 2008 draft has allowed them to climb back to respectability quickly.

[Jesus]

It should be the biggest showdown in Vick's life since Rover v. Fido.

[Tandy]

I'm confused. Vick's record with us:

1-1 Year 1
8-6-1 Year 2
3-1-0 Year 3
11-4-0 Year 4
8-7-0 Year 5
7-9-0 Year 6

That's 38 - 28 - 1

Is he including the playoff games? Yeah, that has to be it - he was 2-2 in the playoffs.

I just want to know how many years it will be before we can have someone write about our team for a solid year with no mention of Petrino, Vick, the disaster of 2007, blah, blah, blah, blah.

[Jen]

You know what irritates me? I keep hearing hear how Vick throwing TDs on us last year was a "feel good" story. I've read it, I've heard it from Falcons fans and especially from Vick huggers. Feel good story for who? Wasn't aware that Michael Vick was a victim with the Falcons in that he needed a feel good story against us. Part of me hopes he plays so that Biermann can plant his shoulder into his ribs once or twice. I can't stand the guy.

[mcsupersport]

After two seasons of missing the playoffs, Mora was fired and Bobby Petrino was hired. Vick's fall from grace started in the spring of 2007 with a federal dogfighting investigation that resulted in a guilty plea and jail sentence.

This^^^^ sentence from above is false, the Feds didn't really care about the dogfighting, other than he was running a sports betting ring doing it, and the evidence of dogfighting only provided proof that he was also running the bets, too. His going to jail wasn't about killing dogs, or fighting them, it was about illegal betting rings a federal offense when done across state lines. Everyone makes a big deal about him doing big time for fighting dogs but forget or don't know that the dogs weren't the reason for his going to jail. Dogfighting sells papers and is looked at differently than saying he ran a multi-state gambling ring, that bet on dogfighting and may have had ties to organized crime or other betting enterprises.

[Falcon Fanatic]

Vick was nothing but a wart on the ass of our franchise in 2007. Glad he is playing again after he served his time but I am glad we are miles away from him and moved on.

Personally it was hard on my son who held him in high esteem and was ridiculed at school because his football hero was a dumb ass. I had to sit him down and explain how people could be so ignorant and do what he did to animals even though he could not understand how people could mistreat dogs or any other animal. I love him more for his resolve and taking the shit he did during this trying time in his life. I also told him how role models could be less than what they portray to the public and can let people down due to the high expectations that they should uphold being "Professionals".

I took him to the Eagles game last year and he booed him even though I sat silent. This guy deserves nothing but my scorn but I believe in second chances and truly hope he learned his lesson. My son even learned forgiveness through this episode and I did too. Good luck MV but not when you play the Falcons in the future.

[Peyton]

The media attempts to create drama over whether or not Vick is going to play is killing me. There is zero chance he is going to play and has been zero chance he was going to play since the moment he got hurt.

Ledbetter is better than th.................wait..................

[NorCal Falcon Fan]

(10-13-2010 09:01 PM)Jen Wrote:  You know what irritates me? I keep hearing hear how Vick throwing TDs on us last year was a "feel good" story. I've read it, I've heard it from Falcons fans and especially from Vick huggers. Feel good story for who? Wasn't aware that Michael Vick was a victim with the Falcons in that he needed a feel good story against us. Part of me hopes he plays so that Biermann can plant his shoulder into his ribs once or twice. I can't stand the guy.

Me too, but I'd be happy for Kolb to live that experience. They'll double team Abe and KB71 should be able to run unchallenged a lot. Take Kolb out of the game and who is left???

[bF™]

(10-13-2010 09:01 PM)Jen Wrote:  You know what irritates me? I keep hearing hear how Vick throwing TDs on us last year was a "feel good" story. I've read it, I've heard it from Falcons fans and especially from Vick huggers. Feel good story for who? Wasn't aware that Michael Vick was a victim with the Falcons in that he needed a feel good story against us. Part of me hopes he plays so that Biermann can plant his shoulder into his ribs once or twice. I can't stand the guy.

Thats what I hate. The media makes it look like we did something wrong to vick when it was actually the opposite. We gave him everything he wanted and if he wasn't such a fuck up he would STILL be here.

If anything the story should be about the falcons getting revenge against vick for fucking up our franchise.

I wish he was playing so Ryan and co could smack the shit out of the eagles and shut all the vick huggers up once and for all.

[ChrisD]

The media acts like the front office of the Falcons put Vick into prison.