Football Function
NFL Immortals #8: Michael Vick
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If you're a fan of this show, once you do us a favor, the best way you can support this show is by subscribing on Patreon or spreading the word, telling a friend, getting more ears on the product. That's really the best way to get this bad boy moving. Multiple shows here on this platform like this one, it's a little bit different than what we're normally doing here on a month-to-month basis. It's usually all centered around news and analysis, which we're going to get more of that, a, I guess, more attention to detail version of a new show this season. I'm looking forward to that being announced just in a matter of time. First and foremost, guys, we have to touch on something not necessarily too positive today. We got some very sad news. Jacobi Jones passed away, former NFL player, for obviously the Baltimore Ravens, but the Houston Texans as well, and Jacobi, he was an interesting player. He was obviously a lightning rod difference maker in that asset, you know, like talking about the special team's units. He could play a lot of different positions, most notably famous for the kick return that he had in Super Bowl 47 for the Baltimore Ravens, where they went on to win that game. I think he might have even had a receiving touchdown in that game, if I'm not mistaken. He was a big-time factor for the Ravens in that season, specifically in the postseason, but also as a member of the Houston Texans where for the better part of a decade he was a consistent threat. As a return man, it just so happened that he came in the same era as Devin Hester and Josh Cribbs, and many other kind of flash-in-the-pan players. I think Jacobi Jones was pretty consistent, playing for a new franchise like the Texans, where at the time, you know, pretty much year-in-year-out, getting beaten by teams like the Colts. The old version of the Jacksonville Jaguars, right, where we're talking about the power running game with Maurice Jones Drew and Fred Taylor, a lot of good players there, and then Tennessee, they were a legitimate NFL team for, you know, a good chunk there, talking about the Eddie George, Steve McNair era, leading in to Vince Young and what he was able to do, Chris Johnson, the Titans have been a threat. So the Texans always kind of had competition amongst their division, and Jacobi Jones kind of fell victim to that for the better part of his career, until he ended up in Baltimore, where he got on the big stage and obviously shined brighter than he ever had in previous season, so I didn't want to give him a shout-out here on the show. A hell of a player in what I consider my era of football, which is the 2000s, whether it's mid to late, I really enjoyed watching the NFL during that time period, and Jacobi Jones was a pretty fascinating, entertaining player, and for a team like the Texans that doesn't really have that many, you know, homegrown players that they developed that ended up being really successful, and obviously, you know, that list is growing, right? The Texans are about to enter the most successful era in their team's history. I really believe that, and I hope so, for guys like Kevin Watson, who's one of my best friends, who's been with this team through thick and thin, and he's finally getting a chance to see them be a legitimate contender in an era that has Patrick Mahomes. So the fact that the Texans are able to be taking serious, or to be taken serious, in this time period, when you got the Mahomes, the Joe Burrows, the Josh Allens of the world, the Marjaxons, it's not necessarily easy to be considered a legitimate threat, and you get the weapons that they have now, you can expect the Texans to take a pretty big jump forward, but I just think that, you know, for a franchise that over the course of their history doesn't really have that next level of players that are worthy of throwing into their ring of honor. I think Jacobi Jones is worthy. I think he should be inducted into the Houston Texans ring of honor. I'm not sure about the number 12, what they'll do with that. It's currently being worn by one of their most productive offensive players, Nico Collins, but we've seen, you know, people do things in the past where they change their number or whatever, but, you know, I don't know if he's worthy of having his number never worn again, but, you know, you can put players in the ring of honor and still use their number. We do it all the time. Dion Sanders is in the Falcons ring of honor. Number 21 is literally worn by fourth string cornerbacks, players that are cut. So I think the Texans could definitely do something special. Maybe even the Ravens too, he won a Super Bowl with him was a big factor in that Super Bowl 2. You don't watch Super Bowl 47 and watch those highlights without coming away thinking, damn, that number 12 might have been the best player, the best playmaker with the ball in his hands in that entire game. And, you know, that game features a pretty talented player, you know, Tori Smith and Kwame Bolden as the two wide receivers for the Ravens. And you look at Michael Crabtree, Frank Gore, Vernon Davis, the threat of calling Kaepernick, trust me, as the Falcons fan who lost in the NFC Championship game at home to that team, I know just how dangerous they really were. And Jacoby Jones was even more dangerous on that day. And, you know, he was able to reign victorious, but yeah, I wanted to give him a major shout out, RIP, Jacoby Jones, my thoughts go out to his family and, you know, obviously we'll learn more about the situation in due time. But I am looking forward to this specific episode of NFL Memorial's very special one. Almost doesn't get more special than this. Like, I'll be honest, in the first season, last year, whenever we were doing this, the first six episodes, I would say the most special one I did was probably Emmett Smith. He was the first NFL player I was ever introduced to. Like I said, my dad, diehard Raiders fan. But in the 1990s, for whatever reason, he was just he had an admiration for the Dallas Cowboys and what they were doing in that decade, how they were built. He loved him as Smith, he loved his story. Because, you know, obviously he was an underdog 17th overall pick. And what was it the 1990 NFL draft? I'm not really sure maybe 89. I don't know. That's on me. We literally just talked about it. But I am a little bit foggy. I think it might have been 1990 though. Now that I'm actually thinking about it. Because I think it was Ervin in 88, Eggman in 89, and Emmett Smith in 1990. So I can pretty much take that to the bank. But a lot of people thought Emmett Smith was quote unquote too small to make it. And fast forward 2003. I'm, you know, my stepmom is pregnant with my little brother at the time. And he was due in January. He ended up being born in September, you know, big time premature. He only weighed one pound eight ounces had to live here in Amarillo where I currently live right now. Pretty much in the hospital for like the first four months of his life. I think something like that. But he ended up, you know, surviving. He is healthy and everything like that. But he was too small to make it to some people. Like, and that's literally what some people pitched to my parents thinking, Hey, like, there's a chance that he's not going to make it. I mean, one pound eight ounces, you do the math yourself. That's not necessarily great chances. But his name is Emmett. Like my little brother's name is Emmett. So clearly, there's a massive, massive connection there with like how much my dad likes Emmett Smith. And you know, in order to name his kid after him. But I grew up kind of with that connection to Emmett Smith as well, you know, and just seeing autographed merchandise around my house, literally going to watch Emmett Smith speak here in Amarillo. It was like a worth the weight type of biography. Emmett Smith telling a story. That was a pretty fun night. Obviously, we got to bid on some stuff. I got outbid, but I was only in the eighth grade, but I got the green light for my dad to go handle some bid. So he didn't have to walk around and go handle this. He gave me an amount, a number amount that I wasn't allowed to go over. I ended up betting like $500 on assigned Emmett Smith helmet and somebody came and outbid me because that's the thing is I'd bet or I'd write down 200. Somebody went and wrote, you know, 205. I'd go over $1. I'd continue to go over $1, whoever the previous bidder was. And then they finally put like 800 underlined it twice just to kind of say, Hey, little kid, step away, you know, you, this is growing people stuff over here and other eye. Yep, your eyes probably take a chill pill here. But nonetheless, there's a connection with Emmett Smith, which leads me to this episode saying that, you know, I think every series I should post or talk about and include a player that has a very special connection to me. And I really don't think that there's a player in NFL history that has as big of a connection to me as the player we're talking about today, none other than Michael Vick. Now, the connection kind of came out of nowhere just being completely honest. Because like I said, I grew up in the 1990s watching football, specifically, you know, the Dallas Cowboys every now and then I mean, I watched a Super Bowl pretty much every year from like 1997, 1998 on. But you know, as far as like the games that I would watch during the regular season on a weekly basis, I mean, we lived in Texas. And I felt Sunday ticket was not in my household ever growing up. So you had to watch what was on locally. Most of the time, Dallas Cowboys. And then later on, you know, obviously the Houston Texans came to CBS whenever they were featuring the AFC package. And obviously, we just talked about Jacobi Jones. That's why the familiarity is there because I was watching the Texans a lot watching the Cowboys a lot and whoever else was playing at the three o'clock slot. I wasn't really watching as many Falcons games as I would have liked to because I lived in Texas. Falcons games don't really come on in Texas. We weren't necessarily a national or, you know, a national media type of mainstay. The Falcons really weren't a good team, especially before Matt Ryan got there. And we'll talk about that much later. But so there was no, I guess, easy immediate connection. I wasn't watching Falcons games. So I wasn't exposed to Michael Vick early on. I didn't really know exactly who he was until Madden came out. And as I mentioned, you know, there was always that connection, right? With the Dallas Cowboys and specifically a Miss Smith in the 1990s. But I did not have a favorite team. Like I didn't have a team that I had, you know, a invested emotional interest in. Like there was nothing that I mean, I watched football, you know, purely as a fan of the game, just watching all the teams that I could. And, you know, just seeing all different versions of the sports seeing different stars from different teams. And then, you know, one day, I'm not really sure exactly when this was, I know I was for sure like in the third, maybe entering the fourth grade, somewhere in that time period, we went to a store called Alco, which was in my hometown. Very small store like we're talking like local, very local store, they had some electronics, they had some toys, things like that. But for the most part, you're going there to get, you know, dog food, cheap patio furniture, school supplies, things like that. I mean, they had things. I don't want to sell it short. It was a decent store, especially for the time, you know, talking about the early 2000s. And I went in there and I got a copy of Madden 04 for PlayStation, obviously. PlayStation 2, I should make sure I specify that. But, you know, I get my, I get Madden 04 and immediately asked my dad, who is this? Because the Falcons just got new uniforms at the time. And the Falcons that I knew were, you know, they, the throwback uniforms, which is the uniforms I freaking love, because that's the Falcons that I was introduced to as a kid. And, you know, I love the new look. Don't get me wrong, the new logo, they brought red back into the equation. Now, of course, red is no longer in the equation, ironically. But in 2003, whenever the Falcons got that new look and Michael Vick was on the cover, it caught my eye as I'm sure it did a lot of other people. But the difference with me was the connection that I had wasn't really just about the Falcons. It was really deep and entrenched with Michael Vick because immediately asked my dad, hey, who is this guy? And he tells me that's Michael Vick, right there. Bam connection. I have the same first name as Michael Vick. So clearly I was like, Oh man, like, that's cool. He's one of the best players in the league. And he has the same name as me. Like that's awesome. So I play with them on Madden 04. And as I'm sure people that are my age or older, maybe a little bit younger, anybody that got their hands on a copy of Madden 04, you played with the Atlanta Falcons, specifically Michael Vick. And the things that you were able to do with him in that game were just absolutely unfair. And they would make any kid become a fan of him. I truly believe that the difference is I was very, very influential or influenceable. Whatever word I don't think that's a word. So pardon me on that. But you know, you get what I'm trying to say, right? Like I was easily influenced at that age. Like I'm not really sure, you know, I guess the iron struck exactly when it needed. Like if I would have ran across Randy Moss that day, you know, if Randy Moss would have been on the cover as a member of the Minnesota Vikings, maybe I'm like Grim Reaper and I'm, you know, Minnesota Vikings fan or anything like that. You know, I just truly think that in that moment in time, it hit and it stuck. And really I could never shake it. Even, you know, obviously when we talk about the bad things that happened with Michael Vick, there was always that connection there. And I don't really feel like it's ever going to go away just before we get into, you know, his actual story and everything like that. This isn't, you know, an honest to God thing that happened on my birthday 2018 Falcons versus Giants Monday night football. I have second row seats, but before the game, you know, you're getting as close as you possibly can, especially in the Falcons stadium, notoriously known for the fans getting there late if they show up at all and the stadium isn't overtaken by the visiting team's fans. Happens way more often than I would like and it really doesn't have a whole lot to do with the Falcons fans per se. I mean, it does to a little bit of an extent, but it's more so the PSL's and the fact that the diehard Falcons fans were priced out. So the season ticket holders now, the people that own those seats pretty much and that have those tickets, they're selling them for insane prices. So going to Falcons games is not what it used to be in the Georgia dome here in Mercedes been stadium. These tickets are very, very expensive. So, you know, fans that for whatever reason, they don't necessarily show up to late or they sell their tickets off because like I said, they're not a diehard fan. They'll sell them to visiting teams. And that's exactly what happens pretty much anytime that the Falcons play at home. But anyways, I was there Monday night football, 2018, and I'm wearing my black Michael Vick Jersey. And it just so happens that Michael Vick walked right by me. Literally, I'm talking 10 feet in front of me to go pull the horn to start this game. And I have video proof that he pulled the horn because another thing that's crazy about this not only was it on my birthday, but it was I was on TV that day. Like I legitimately, the camera found me in the pregame and they showed me for a solid second. I was waving my Falcons flag. And next thing you know, because I, of course, I didn't really know that I was going to be on TV. I saw the camera there, you know, watching me, but I mean, dude, you're sitting there second row, there's dozens of cameras around. You don't know it's actually ESPN and their broadcast right there that has their live camera on you. And next thing you know, I'm getting, I'm getting a bunch of text messages. People tell me, Hey, I just saw you on TV. I just saw you on TV. The person behind me tapped me on the shoulder and said, Hey, did you see this like this? Because I mean, they were kind of in the corner like right over my shoulder, you could see their faces of the two people that were sitting behind me. And one of their friends sent that to them saying, Hey, like you guys are on TV. And they're like, Oh crap, we better show this guy. This is a huge shot of him. And I was like, I know like, it was pretty cool. Literally one of the coolest moments of my entire life. But anyways, as Michael Vick was walking by to go up and pull that train horn. He took a double look because he saw me wearing his jersey. Like he looked back and he went, Oh, he like took a second look. And he gave me like a salute, a little chest pound. That moment right there, I immediately the kid came out and me I called my dad, who you know, who was the one that took me to the store years and years ago. And you know, got me that Falcons game. So he knows just how big of a fan I am of Michael Vick. Same way as you know, all of my friends that, you know, grew up with me at the time. They have a different point of view for the whole Michael Vick on Madden. They absolutely hated it. They hated when I played with the Falcons, because that's all I would do. It's not necessarily saying that I would always win or that I was unstoppable. But whenever you played me, you know that you were getting 48 rushing attempts from Michael Vick. That's just pretty much, you know, how the game was going to play out. We all have somewhere we're trying to get to. As the largest energy producer in Colorado, Chevron is working to responsibly meet rising energy demand. So everyone can get to where they want to be. You've arrived. 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Uncover opportunity and move upward at MossAtoms.com. But after that happened, I called my dad and I was like, "Man, Michael Vick just acknowledged me. He walked by and made eye contact. My heart was beating through my chest. It was a crazy moment." Of course, the Falcons go on to win that game and it was just special. To be honest, that was the last Falcons win that I saw in person for four years. We didn't win again until 2022 whenever I went to go watch us play another game at home. Of course, now I'm on a heater. I've watched us go watch three in a row and the Falcons have come out on top. I want to keep this momentum going. Obviously, it's going to be tested week three whenever I'm at the Kansas City Chiefs game on Sunday night football. We're taking on the defending Super Bowl champions. Are you kidding me? Clearly going to have our work cut out for us. But I believe I'm going to have my work cut out for me in this episode because I'm going to be talking about one of the most electrifying players. We're not going to linger on here with this pre-talk banter. I'm rolling on 18 minutes and I haven't even gotten in to the actual NFL immortals portion of this. That's how you know this is a special episode because there's a lot that goes into it. There's a lot of substance. This isn't just a player that is historically known as one of the all-time greats and I have no connection to him, but I'm going to go ahead and break it down anyway from a respect aspect from just doing my due diligence and wanting to make this series as good as I possibly can because you want the best players on it. But I am going to be a little bit selfish with a few of these and talk about players like Michael Vick. You know, I started off with Devin Hester because that's just truly one of my favorite players of all time. And I'm going to feature many, many other players like that you know, out of these weeks come on. But yeah, we're going to go ahead and dive in and start talking about this very, very good player that really took the NFL by storm. Michael Dwayne Vick is an American football quarterback who played in the NFL for 13 seasons. Regarded as having transformed the quarterback position with his rushing abilities, he is the NFL leader in quarterback rushing yards and was the league's first quarterback to ever rush for over 1000 yards in a season. Vick played college football at Virginia Tech where he won the Archie Griffin Award as a freshman and was selected first overall by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2001 NFL draft. During his six years with the Falcons, he was named at three Pro Bowls and led the team to two playoff runs, one division title and an NSC championship game appearance. Vick's NFL career came to a halt in 2007 after he pleaded guilty for his involvement in a dog fighting ring and spent 21 months in federal prison. His arrest and subsequent conviction garnered Vick notoriety with the general public, which lasted throughout the rest of his career. He was released by the Falcons shortly before leaving prison. After serving his sentence, Vick signed with the Philadelphia Eagles for the 2009 season as a member of the Eagles for five years. He had his greatest statistical season and led the team to a division title in 2010, earning him comeback player of the year and a fourth Pro Bowl selection. In his final two seasons, Vick played for the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers, primarily as a backup. He officially retired in 2017 after spending the 2016 season as a free agent. Michael Vick was born in Newport News, Virginia, has the third of four children to Brenda Vick and Michael Body, then unmarried teenagers. His mother worked two jobs, untamed public financial assistance and had help from her parents, while his father worked long hours in the shipyards as a sandblaster and a spray painter. They were married when Michael Vick was about five years old, but the children, they decided to continue to use their Vick last name. The family lived in the Ridley Circle Homes, a public housing project and a financial depressed and crime ridden neighborhood located in the east end section of the poor city. Local residents interviewed in a 2007 newspaper article in the Richmond Times Dispatch noted that "not much had changed nearly a decade after Vick left." One resident said that there were drug dealing, drive-by shootings, and other killings in the neighborhood and suggested that sports were a way out and a dream for many. In a 2001 interview, Vick told the Newport News Daily Press that when he was 10 or 11, "I would go fishing even if the fish weren't biting, just to get away from the violence and stress of the daily life in the projects." Body's employment required a great deal of travel, but he taught football skills to his two sons at an early age. Vick was only three years old when his father, Nick, named Bullet for his speed during his own playing days, began teaching him the fundamentals of the game, and then Vick, Michael Vick, subsequently taught the game to his younger brother Marcus. As he grew up, Vick went by the nickname "Uki" and learned about football from Aaron Brooks, a second cousin who was four years older. Vick and Brooks spent a lot of time at the local Boys and Girls Club. Sports kept me off the streets. Vick told Sporting News Magazine in an interview published April 9, 2001. It kept me from getting into what was going on, the bad stuff. Lots of guys I knew have had bad problems. Vick first came to prominence while at Homer L. Ferguson High School in Newport News. As a freshman, he impressed many with his athletic ability. He threw for over 400 yards in a game that year. Ferguson High School was closed in 1996 as part of a Newport News Public Schools Building Modernization Program. Vick, as a sophomore, and coach Tommy Reiman both moved to Warwick High School. Vick was a three-year starter for the Warwick Raiders. Under Reiman's coaching, he passed for 4,846 yards with 43 touchdowns. He added 1,048 yards and 18 scores on the ground. As a senior, he passed for 1,668 yards, accounting for 10 passing in as many as 10 rushing touchdowns as well. During one game, he ran for six touchdowns and threw for another three touchdowns. Reiman, who had helped guide Brooks from Newport News to the University of Virginia, helped Vick with his SATs and helped him and his family choose between Syracuse University and Virginia Tech. Reiman favored Virginia Tech, where he felt better guidance was available under Frank Beamer, who promised a red shirt season for Michael Vick, and gave him the time that he needed to develop. Reiman sold Michael onto sports proximity to his family and friends, and Vick chose to attend Virginia Tech University. As he left the Newport News Public Housing Projects in 1998 with a college football scholarship in hand, Vick was seen in the Newport News community as a success story. In his first collegiate game, as a red shirt freshman, against James Madison in 1999, Vick scored three rushing touchdowns in just one quarter of play. He performed a flip to score his last touchdown, but landed awkwardly on his ankle, forcing him to miss the remainder of the game and the following game. During the season, Vick led a last-minute game when he drive against West Virginia in the annual Black Diamond Trophy game. He led the Hokies to an 11-0 undefeated season and to the BCS National Title Game in the Nokia Sugar Bowl against Florida State. Although Virginia Tech lost 46-29, Vick brought the team back from a 21-point deficit to take a brief lead. Vick led the NCAA in passing efficiency in 1999, a record for a freshman, 180.4 rating, and the third highest mark of all time. Vick won both an SB award as the nation's top college player and the first ever Archie Griffin award as college football's most valuable player. He won the Big East offensive player of the year. He was invited to the 1999 Heisman Trophy presentation and finished third in the voting behind Ron Dane and Joe Hamilton. Vick's third place finish match to highest finish ever by a freshman up to that point, first set by Herschel Walker in 1980. One highlight of Vick's 2000 season was his career high rushing total of 210 yards against Boston College and Chestnut Hill. Against West Virginia University in the Black Diamond Trophy game, Vick accounted for 288 total yards of offense and two touchdowns and a 48-20 win. The following week, Vick led the Hokies back from a 14-0 deficit to beat Syracuse at the carrier dome where the Hokies had not won since 1986. Vick put the game away with a 55-yard run with one minute and 34 seconds left. In the following game against Pittsburgh, Vick was injured and had to miss the rest of the game. He also missed the game against Central Florida and was unable to start against the Miami Hurricanes who handed Virginia Tech their only loss of the season. Vick's final game while playing for Virginia Tech was against the Clemson Tigers in the Toyota Gator Bowl. Virginia Tech won and Vick was named the game's MVP. His football accomplishments in two seasons led to his induction to the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2017. Vick finished sixth in Heisman Trophy voting for the 2000 season. Vick left Virginia Tech after his red shirt sophomore season aware that the rest of his family was still living in their three-bedroom apartment in the Ridley Circle homes. Vick stated that he was going to buy his mother a home and a car. ESPN later reported that Vick used some of his NFL and endorsement earnings to buy his mother a brand new house in an upscale section of Sioux Folk, Virginia. At his pro day workout, Vick ran the 40-yard dash in 4.33 seconds. His time has been clocked as low as 425, the fastest ever for an NFL quarterback. Vick was selected first in the 2001 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons becoming the first African-American quarterback to be taken with the top pick. The San Diego Chargers had the number one selection but traded it to the Atlanta Falcons the day before the draft for the Falcons first and third round picks in 2001. Vick was selected in the 30th round of the 2000 MLB draft by the Colorado Rockies despite not playing baseball since the eighth grade. Are you kidding me? Like they took this dude. I don't know it's the 30th round but they drafted someone that hadn't ever played since you know the eighth grade that's still wild. Wild thing to think about but anyways Michael Vick did end up signing a six-year 62 million dollar contract. In the 2001 season, Vick made his NFL debut against the San Francisco 49ers on September 9th 2001 and saw limited action. He completed his first NFL pass to Wider-Sever Tony Martin in the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers on September 23rd and scored his first NFL touchdown on a two-yard rush in the fourth quarter to help the Falcons to a 24-16 victory. Vick made his first start against the Dallas Cowboys on November 11th and threw his first touchdown pass to tight an algae crumpler in a 20-13 victory. He accounted for 234 of Atlanta's 255 yards in the season finale against the St. Louis Rams on January 6th 2002. In two starts and eight total games played that season, Vick completed 50 of 113 passes for 785 yards with two touchdowns and three picks. He rushed the ball 31 times for 289 yards 9.3 yards per carry and one touchdown. Vick made 15 starts in 2002 missing one game against the New York Giants on October 13th with the sprained shoulder. He completed 231 to 421 passes for 2900 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also had 113 carries for 777 yards and eight rushing touchdowns. Vick said numerous single game career highs during the season, including in passes completed, passing attempts and passing yards. Vick also set a then NFL record for most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single game with 173 against the Vikings on December 1st. But it was broken by Colin Kaepernick with 181 so nine yards or eight yards more in 2013. He tied for third in team history for the best touchdown to interception ratio in a season. He had a streak of 177 passes without an interception as the Falcons finished with a nine, six and one win lost high record and reached the playoffs. On January 4th, 2003, Vick led the Falcons to an upset victory over the heavily favored Green Bay Packers 27-7 in the NFC wildcard round. The Falcons lost 20-6 to the Donovan McNabb led Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC division around the following week. Vick was named to his first Pro Bowl after the season. Vick suffered a fractured right fibula during a preseason game before the 2003 season against Baltimore Ravens, aka the Madden Curse. He missed the first 11 games of the regular season making his debut in week 13. Vick substituted for quarterback Doug Johnson during the third quarter in a game against the Houston Texans on November 30th, completing eight of 11 passes for 60 yards and rushing for 16 yards on three carries. He started his first game of the season against the Carolina Panthers on December 7th and amassed the third highest rushing total by a quarterback in NFL history with 141 on 14 carries and one touchdown. The Falcons won the game 21-14. Vick ended the season with a 21-14 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on December 28th, in which he completed 12 of 22 passes for 180 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Vick returned to form in 2004, passing for 2313 yards, 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. I know that's kind of a high interception number there, but hey, you know it's Michael Vick in 2004. You got to put some context to know the era, know the situation and the type of player he was, but he also added 902 rushing yards and three touchdowns as the Falcons finished with an 11-5 record on October 31, 31, 2004 in a game against the Denver Broncos. He became the first quarterback to throw for more than 250 and rushed for more than 100 in the same game. Vick set an NFL postseason record for a quarterback with 119 yards in the first round of the 2004 NFL playoffs. Atlanta beat the St. Louis Rams, 47-17 in the divisional round, but lost the following week 27-10 to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Vick, whose single-season rushing total was the third highest for a quarterback in NFL history, was named to his second Pro Bowl after leading Atlanta to their third division title at the end of the season. He signed a nine-year $130 million extension on December 23. Vick finished second in the NFL MVP voting, earning one first-place vote, preventing Peyton Manning from being, you know, a unanimous victory, and this is a very important case here, like this is actually kind of historic. Peyton Manning wasn't a unanimous MVP in 2004, which was arguably his best statistical season up to that point for sure, but it's one of his best of his career, no doubt about it. That Colts team two, they were probably better in 2004 and 2005 than they actually were in 2006 whenever they won the Super Bowl. It sometimes it just works out like that, but Peyton Manning wasn't a unanimous MVP because Michael Vick got a first-place vote from someone. There was a lot of people that were pissed off about that at the time, a lot of Colts fans, and a lot of people that are, you know, award obsessive. They think that this is kind of a fluke and that Peyton Manning should have been the unanimous MVP, and some people still consider him a unanimous MVP just because it was one vote to Michael Vick. You feel how you want about that, but you know, hey, it is what it is. You cannot change the facts, but let's talk about 2005 where Vick made his third Pro Bowl during the season, which he passed for 2,412 yards and 16 touchdowns while rushing for 597 yards and six touchdowns. The Falcons, however, finished with an 8-8 record in Mr. Playoffs. In 2006, Vick became the first quarterback to ever rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season. He also set a record by rushing for 8.4 yards per carry. Vick and teammate Warwick Dunn became the first quarterback running back duo to eat surpass 1,000 yards in a single season. Despite Vick's record-setting season, the Falcons finished with a 7-9 record, and again, Mr. Playoffs. And then here we go, boys and girls. In 2007, August to be specific, hours after Vick pleaded guilty to federal charges in the bad news, Kendall's dog-fighting investigation, the NFL suspended him indefinitely without pay for violating its player conduct policy. In a letter to Vick, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the quarterback had admitted to conduct that was "not only illegal, but also cruel and reprehensible," while Vick was technically a first-time offender under the league's personal conduct policy. Goodell handed down a harsher suspension because Vick admitted he provided most of the money for the gambling side of the dog-fighting operation. Goodell left open the possibility of reinstating Vick depending on how he cooperated with federal and state authorities. Goodell had barred Vick from reporting the training camp while the league conducted its own investigation into the matter at his July 26 arraignment. The terms of his bail barred him from leaving Virginia before the November trial, effectively ending any realistic chance of Vick playing any type of football, not even a single down in the 2007 season. On August 27th, Falcons owner Arthur Blank said at a press conference that the Falcons would seek to recover a portion of Vick's signing bonus. He said the team had no immediate plans to cut Vick signing salary cap issues. It initially appeared that Goodell had cleared the waiver Falcons to release Vick since he ruled that Vick's involvement in gambling activity breached his contract. On August 29th, the Falcons sent a letter to Vick demanding that he reimburse them for $20 million of his $37 million signing bonus. The case was sent to arbitration, and on August 10th, an arbitrator ruled that Vick had to reimburse the Falcons for $19.97 million. The arbitrator agreed with the Falcons' contention that Vick knew he was engaging in illegal activity when he signed his new contract in 2004, and that he had used the bonus money to pay for the operation. In February 2009, the Falcons revealed that they were considering trading Vick to another NFL team. Atlanta general manager Thomas Dimitrov said NFL rules allowed teams to trade the contractual rights to first suspended players. The Falcons released Vick in early June, however, making him an unrestricted free agent. After his release from prison, Vick was mentored by former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy. The prospect of his return to professional football was the subject of much conjecture as the suspension and incarceration continued. In 2007, ESPN's John Clayton said, "Few general managers were in a strong enough position to consider taking a chance on Vick, and even then, most NFL owners would be concerned about a fan and media backlash." There was also no chance of Vick resurrecting his career in the CFL, he said, following a "furerer" in 2007 over Ricky Williams playing there while serving a suspension, the CFL banned players currently suspended by the NFL. In any case, Clayton said it would be nearly impossible for a convicted felon to get a Canadian work visa. He did think, however, that Vick would be unstoppable if he decided to play in the arena football league. Vick signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles on August 13, 2009. The contract was worth $1.6 million with no money guaranteed. It contained a team option for the 2010 season with $5 million. Vick was allowed to participate in all team practices in meetings as well as the Eagles' last two preseason games. He was eligible to play in the regular season for Week 3. Starting quarterback Donovan McNabb told reporters that he's the one that gave Andy Reid the idea to sign Michael Vick. Vick was activated to the 53-man roster in mid-September and played sparingly for the rest of the season as McNabb's backup. In Week 13 against the Atlanta Falcons, Vick both threw and ran for a touchdown, his first score since 2006, December 2006. Vick was voted by teammates as the winner of the Ed Bloch Courage Award in December. The award honors players who exemplify commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage. "It means a great deal to me," Vick said at the time. "I was voted unanimously by my teammates. They know what I've been through. I've been through a lot. It's been great to come back and have an opportunity to play and be with a great group of guys. I'm just ecstatic about that and I enjoy it every day." The Eagles finished the season with an 11-5 record making the playoffs and the team's NFC wildcard round game against the Dallas Cowboys on January 9, 2010. Vick threw the longest touchdown pass of his career to rookie Jeremy Maclin for a 76-yard touchdown. The Eagles did lose the game however 34-14. Reid named Donovan McNabb the Eagles starter for the 2010 season but McNabb was traded to the Washington Redskins and Kevin Cobb was named the starter. While relegated to a second-string role, Vick said he knew he could still play at a high level. He was asked if he wanted the Eagles to pick up the second year of his contract. He said "I hope so. I feel like I'm probably better than I ever was in my career as far as the mental aspect of the game." The Eagles exercised his option for the 2010 season in March and Vick received a $1.5 million roster bonus. Reid named Vick the Eagles starting quarterback on September 21st after Cobb suffered a concussion and Vick performed well in his absence. In a second game as an Eagle starter versus the Jacksonville Jaguars, Vick led the Eagles to a 28-3 win throwing for 291 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for another touchdown. He was named the NFL offensive player of the month for September. Vick suffered a rib cartilage injury in Week 4 against the Washington Redskins and replaced by Cobb. Vick had passed for 49 yards and three carries for 17 yards in the game prior to being injured. In a Week 10 Monday night football match up against Washington on November 14th, Vick passed for 333 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 80 yards and another two. Vick threw an 88-yard touchdown pass to DeShawn Jackson on the first play from scrimmage and went on to help the Eagles beat the Washington Redskins 59-28. Vick was named the NFL offensive player of the week following his performance and the pro-football Hall of Fame asked for his game jersey to display. After he became the first player to pass for three touchdowns and rush for two touchdowns in the first half of the game. In a game later in the season against the New York Giants, Vick led a fourth quarter rally to erase a 21-point deficit. He accounted for three touchdowns to tie the game with under two minutes left. DeShawn Jackson returned the Giants last pump of the game for a touchdown to win the game for the Eagles as time expired. Vick earned NFC offensive player of the week for his game against the Giants. Vick finished the season with 3,000 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, six interceptions and a passer rating of 100.2. He had 100 carries for 700, almost 700 yards and nine touchdowns. Philadelphia finished with a 10-6 record in 2010 and made the playoffs but lost to the eventual Super Bowl 45 champion Grumé Packers, 21-16 in the wild card round. Vick made his fourth Pro Bowl after the season and was named the Eagles starting quarterback. The AP and sporting news named him the NFL comeback player of the year. He also won the Burt Bell Award on March 4th, 2011. Vick finished second in the NFL offensive player of the year voting with 11 first place votes and NFL MVP was both awarded to Tom Brady. So NFL offensive player of the year and MVP was unanimous for first place with Tom Brady. In early 2011, the Eagles placed their franchise tag on Vick. He signed the one year tender on March 2nd on August 29th. However, Vick and the Eagles announced they had agreed on a sixth year, 100 million dollar contract with almost 40 million and guaranteed money. So clearly he's come a long way since you know having to pay the Falcons back and you know everything that happened. Now moving on to 2011 in week four and a game against the San Francisco 49ers. Vick had 416 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and one interception to go along with eight carries for 75 rushing yards. The final game of the season was a 34 to 10 victory on January 1st, 2012 at home against Washington. Vick completed 24 of 39 passes for 335 yards and three touchdowns. In the 2011 season, Vick appeared in and started 13 games. He finished with 3,300 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, 14 picks to go along with 76 carries for 589 rushing yards and one touchdown, one rushing touchdown. Led by Vick, Philadelphia finished the 2011 season with an eight and eight record. The team began with a four and eight record before winning four in a row to finish the season. Vick came in to week one of the 2012 season as a starter. Despite a solid showing from rookie Nick Foles in the preseason, Vick led the Eagles to a 17 to 16 victory in week one against the Cleveland Browns despite throwing four interceptions. We all have somewhere we're trying to get to as the largest energy producer in Colorado. Chevron is working to responsibly meet rising energy demand. So everyone can get to where they want to be. You've arrived. That's energy and progress. Visit chevron.com/tankless. An official message from Medicare. A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. Maybe you can save too. With Medicare's extra help program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov/extrahelp. Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. What's next? At Moss Adams, that question inspires us to help people and their businesses strategically define and claim their future. As one of America's leading accounting, consulting, and wealth management firms, our collaborative approach creates solutions for your unique business needs. We leverage industry-focused insights with the collective technical resources of our firm to elevate your performance. Uncover opportunity and move upward at MossAtoms.com. The Eagles won the following game against the Baltimore Ravens but lost 27 to 6 in the third week of the season to the Arizona Cardinals. Facing former teammate Kevin Cobb, Vick completed only 17-37 passes and no touchdowns and lost two fumbles. The Eagles went on to beat the New York Giants but lost three straight games. After the third loss against the Atlanta Falcons on October 28th, calls for coach Andy Reed to replace Vick with Foles intensified. Reed refused to make the move. See, see what happens when the Falcons beat you? Your fans start calling for a change. Oh man, the Falcons beat us. We gotta make a fucking change. There has to be something that was going on here with the team. But anyways, the Eagles lost another game against the New Orleans. Are you kidding me, dude? Oh my gosh, that's the only thing worse. It's losing to the Saints back-to-back. Oh man, but yeah, the Eagles lost another game to the New Orleans Saints and Vick remained the starting quarterback for a week 10 game against the Dallas Cowboys. Vick was injured in the game which the Eagles lost and he was replaced by Nick Foles. On December 3rd after Vick had already been sidelined for three weeks, Reed officially named Nick Foles the starter for the remainder of the season. After a Foles injury in week 16, Vick was named the starter for the season finale against the Giants in New York. Vick went 19-35 for 197, a touchdown and a pick. He also ran 5-25. The Eagles, however, lost the game 42-7 to end the season with a 1-5 division record and a 4-12 overall record. On February 11th, 2013, the Eagles and Vick agreed on a one-year restructured contract worth up to 10 million. New head coach Chip Kelly announced that Vick Foles and Ricky Matt Barkley would compete for the starting job. After a stellar preseason, Vick was able to reclaim a starting job from Foles who was named Vick's backup. Vick started out well winning his first game against Washington and throwing his first career 400-yard game in a close loss to the San Diego Chargers with four passing touchdowns, two rushing touchdowns, no interceptions in the two game stretch. After that, Vick suffered losses against the Chiefs and Broncos, where he threw for one touchdown and three interceptions. In that stretch, all three were thrown to Kansas City, by the way, so they were all thrown in one game. But in the game against the Giants, Vick was 6-14 for 1-0-5 and then he suffered a hamstring injury. Nick Foles played stellar in his place, going 8-2 as a starter while throwing 27 touchdowns and only two interceptions with a 1-19 pass rating. Vick saw his only playing time in a 15-7 loss to the Giants, where he was 6th of 9 for 30 yards and an interception, but he again suffered an injury. This time to his quad and he was replaced by Ricky Matt Barkley, who played even worse. Foles returned the following week and Vick spent the rest of the season as a backup, making only one more appearance and a blowout win over the Chicago Bears. Vick signed a one-year $5 million contract with the New York Jets on March 21st, 2014, the same day that the Jets released Mark Sanchez. The Eagles signed Mark Sanchez just one week later, so they pretty much just made a little bit of a switch there. Vick chose to wear number eight as a tribute to Steve Young, although several days later he decided to change number one as number seven was already taken by Geno Smith. Vick became the first quarterback in franchise history to wear the number. During week five against the San Diego Chargers, Vick came in relief of a struggling Geno Smith following halftime and finished the game with 47 passing yards. As the Jets were shut out by the Chargers, 31 is zero. After seven consecutive losses, Rex Ryan named Michael Vick the starter over Geno Smith for the week nine game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Vick became the first quarterback to reach 6,000 rushing yards during week 10 and a 20 of 13 win over the Steelers, which was one of three games that Vick started for the season. And then on August 25th, 2015, Vick signed a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, birth up to 970,000. His signing by the Steelers caused a social media backlash by many Steelers fans, with some saying that they would never support the team again. Fans who supported or were indifferent about the signing called such fans, fair weather fans, and also cited that the Steelers have had several players with questionable past. Most notably, Rothersburgher, James Harrison, you know, there's a lot of others to go down the list. But pretty much like if you're a good enough football player and you're legitimately like it's behind you, all that says behind you, the Steelers are going to bring you in. They're going to see if they could fix you. And most of the time it works. Like the Steelers have a pretty good track record with bringing in guys. It might not always work, but it's not like they hold on for too long. They look at him to the curb once they feel like the screws are starting to come loose. Just looking at Antonio Brown, how productive he was. The Steelers are willing to move on from him. And, you know, ultimately, it seems like that was a good decision because I think that the train was going to go off the tracks no matter what, no matter where he was. It wasn't because he just left the Steelers. I think that Antonio Brown was, you know, on his way down a dark path. But anyway, the animal rescue league of Western Pennsylvania made a subtle jab at the team on Twitter by saying that they were now more proud to support the Pittsburgh Penguins and subsequently moved an upcoming fundraiser event from Heinz Phil to console energy center. Steelers president Art Rooney II defended the Vic signing on national television saying that they felt Vic has proven himself since being released from prison. The Steelers had considered signing Vic in 2009. Both Vic and Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin are from the same part of Virginia and they know each other well personally, but decided against it due to personal backlash since Vic at the time hadn't proven himself following his release from prison. In week three, Vic was brought into action against the St. Louis Rams after Rothlessberger sustained a knee injury and sidelined him for four to six weeks. In five weeks, Vic went 40 for 66 with two touchdowns and one interception also running for 99 yards on 20 attempts. Vic suffered a hamstring injury and a win against the Arizona Cardinals and was replaced by Landry Jones. Vic would miss six games and Rothlessberger would eventually return for a starting role. Vic would be inactive for the remainder of the season, leading some sports commentators to speculate that Vic's playing career may be over. In 2016, Vic announced he would play one more season in the NFL. However, after not signing with the team all season, he officially announced his retirement from professional football on February 3rd, 2017. On June 12th, 2017, Vic retired as an Atlanta Falcons. Now, let me pause that really quickly. I'm not going to get too far into this, but I just kind of want you guys to know from like behind the curtain. Just look at those dates. February 3rd, 2017, Vic retired that Friday, right? So the Sunday was February 5th, 2017. The Falcons lost Super Bowl 51 on that day. That was the day the Falcons and the Patriots played. So to think about what could have happened, right? Michael Vic kind of retiring. It felt like almost like, man, this is kind of working out with the universe. Like Michael Vic, our legend is retiring. And two days later, we get to watch our team win a Super Bowl. Like it just seemed like it was all about to work out and play into our favor. And then February 12th, he retires a member of the Falcons. That should have been the best two weeks of Falcons history. And it sucks that we were robbed of that. But his post NFL career, I mean, he's been an offensive coordinator for the Atlanta legends in the AFL or the AAF, whatever the hell it was. It was like a league in 2018, 2017. He joined Eagles coach Andy Reed for like a just a training camp role, kind of just contributing. He also in 2017 became an analyst for Fox and I felt kickoff on FS1. But I mean, other than that, Michael Vic's been kind of laying low. He's on TV. He's doing things. He's going around. He's very involved in, you know, Atlanta based things from what I can see. So yeah, this is a guy that I'll say it right now. Yes, he messed up, right? Like those people that are never going to forgive Michael Vic for the things that he did. And it affected me as a Falcons fan in real time 2006. I was in the sixth grade, seventh grade whenever that happened. So, you know, junior high, that's usually whenever, you know, junior high boys aren't necessarily the most friendly, you could say. So, they have to say that I was hearing about it all the time because I mean, I wore my Michael Vic jersey loud and proud. You know, I would wear that bad boy and it just happens that, you know, he ended up doing something that was pretty bad and made it to where you can't really wear it like you used to. And then, you know, your love for the game, you love for the Falcons, kind of fades a little bit because it's just so different. It's not the team that you fell in love with. And then eventually the loves come, you know, the love comes back. It gets resurrected and that's kind of what happened for me. But I feel like Michael Vic did his time. He's proven that he learned his lesson in my personal opinion. Not everybody's going to agree with that. I totally understand, but I had to get my two cents in here, give my thoughts. I'm one of the most special players in my fandom that, you know, I've ever seen step on a football field. And I'm sure a lot of people feel the same way with just the electricity that he brought. What he made a lot of young kids do, like people that have never seen a player to look like Michael Vic do things like Michael Vic. It was just crazy to flick of the wrist. It could make a ball launch 80, 90 yards. One of a kind, we have not seen something like Michael Vic, the closest thing is Lamar Jackson. But even then, it's just a little bit different, you know, just the way that Vic did it, man, something about it. But yeah, I give credit to Lamar because he is definitely the closest thing that we've seen. But Michael Vic, in my personal opinion, the best there is when it comes to the mobile quarterbacks. But guys, thank you so much for joining me here on this episode. We're coming up on 51 Minutes. So I know it's a lengthy one, but hey, I had to get it off. And this is days kind of overdue. So yeah, I'm excited. I finally got a chance to do it. Go ahead and get at me with suggestions, comments, anything like that. You guys know the social media, you know where to get a hold of us. Subscribe on Patreon if you feel like supporting the show. That is the best way to support the show. We definitely appreciate that. It goes a long way to helping us. And, you know, obviously, helps you become a certified funky, which is something that's, you know, if you have a letter jacket, we'd have a nice certified funky patch go right on that bad boy for every year that you're a certified funky. So you can end up being a 14 year vet by the time this is all said and done. But thank you guys so much. We got episodes coming. Don't you worry. We got more episodes coming, whether it's Team of Destiny, Grim Reaper dropping another rivalry episode. You know, the list goes on. Obviously, CM is about to be dropping some more college football function episodes. He's actually laid out his plan. He has his whole July and August kind of mapped out. Has to, you know, what's coming for him. So shout out to him. Also, college football 25. I mean, need I say more guys? Let's fucking go. It's out. By the time we listen to this, that game is out. So let's rock. I mean, if you guys got PS5, bad acid 5 is my gamer tag, anything like that, if you guys want to play, I'll probably be more active once Madden comes out just because that's kind of, you know, I know boring. That's just kind of what I do forever. But I'm definitely going to play the absolute hell out of college football 25. Don't you worry. Shout out to you, Jacobi Jones. Obviously, RIP. One more time. Wanted to mention him at the end here. Shout out to all of you certified funkeys. Any of you regular funky that are just listening on whatever podcasting platform you prefer. Continue to do that. Leave us a five star rating. If you haven't already, that also helps us. I mean, that helps us out a lot. The algorithm is real guys. You guys can be part of this team. Listening is amazing. Listening is something that we appreciate every single time. Don't please don't get me wrong. But man, there's that, there's that next step that you guys can do to really help us out here. And all that is, just spread the word. It's free. This show will always be free and available. Now, obviously, the $1 subscription for Patreon, that's different. Some people pay more because they are, you know, just, I mean, it is what it is. You're supporting the show. So, every dollar you give goes a long way to helping us. You know, and, you know, that's the way that shows us that, man, we are getting somewhere with this in terms of, you know, building a community that people are actually invested as well. And it does make it easier to hop on here and drop a 55 minute episode. But, guys, one more time. Thank you so much. Have a damn good week. Walk passionately in the direction of your dreams. And I'll talk to you soon. A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. Maybe you can save too. With Medicare's extra help program, my premium is zero. And my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov/extrahelp. Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. How dangerous is it to unwrap a burger at 40 miles per hour? More so than you think. In a little over two seconds, your car can travel slightly more than 117 feet, which is the same late as 20 bicycles. Anything that distracts you while driving is dangerous. That's why driving while texting can be deadly too. So put it down. It can wait. Don't drive distracted. Shift into safe. A message from the Colorado Department of Transportation.