Maybe Vick should have flipped off his receivers

By Darrell Laurant  |   Friday, December 01, 2006  |  Comments( 4 )

Atlanta Falcons
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One of the classic moments on "Monday Night Football" came after a game in which the Houston Oilers were soundly beaten. As the camera honed in on a dejected Houston fan sitting amidst the empty beer cans and popcorn boxes, he suddenly looked up and flashed a one-finger salute.

After a pause, Don Meredith said: "Aw, he's just saying the Oilers are still number one."

That's not what Michael Vick was saying last Sunday when he gave the Falcons' fans a double-barrelled salute as he left the field after a 31-13 loss to New Orleans.

Actually, his frustration was understandable, but his target was misplaced. He should have flipped off his receiving corps.

While he ran for 166 yards -- a startling stat for a quarterback -- Vick was 9 of 24 for 84 yards through the air. In his defense, however, his intended targets dropped five passes, the most egregious a muff by Roddy White when he was 10 yards behind the nearest defender.

"I took my eyes off the ball," White said afterward.

His acceptance of responsibility is commendable, but one has to wonder: What else was there more important to look at?

Collectively, Atlanta's wide receivers have 66 catches for 912 yards and five touchdowns. As a recent Associated Press story pointed out, Houston's Andre Johnson has 84 catches by himself, Cincinnati's Chad Johnson 1,055 yards and Falcon TE Alge Crumpler six touchdown receptions.

Meanwhile, Falcon coach Jim Mora is beginning to sound like George W. Bush on the war in Iraq: No problem, we'll take care of it, everything's going to be OK.

That's not exactly what receivers coach George Stewart said Sunday.

"Hopefully, we've gone as low as we can go," Stewart told reporters, "because it feels like rock bottom."

Nobody has ever questioned the strength of Mike Vick's arm, just his touch. So are some of those drops the result of Vick's throwing 90 miles an hour when 70 would do? Is the problem that he's an inadequate quarterback who makes it hard on the receivers, or is it that the receivers make it hard on Vick?

We know Vick can make the throws he needs to make for the Falcons to win -- he's done it. But now, he needs to get a grip on himself, because quarterbacks are supposed to lead by example.

Never let them see you sweat, and never let them see your middle finger.

Get more Atlanta Falcons coverage at RealFootball365.com
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