Vick would be intriguing quarterback option for San Francisco

By Jeff Dickinson  |   Sunday, February 22, 2009  |  Comments( 9 )

 San Francisco 49ers
Everyone by now knows the sad story of Michael Vick, the former star quarterback for Atlanta who fell from grace because of dog-fighting and gambling and ended up in prison. Vick, who used to be one of the most marketable players in the NFL, is now living in a halfway house under close supervision. Suspended from the league since August of 2007, ...
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CommentsComments: 9
 No.1
jerichoman		 09:33 AM
02/23/2009
Being a potential spark plug for your offense is no reason to sign a player like Michael Vick. An excellent case in point is Terrell Owens. He is an excellent play maker, and he can take an offense to a higher level. But at what price? Both the 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles felt that his production was not worth the hassle of having him in their locker rooms.

However, Vick has never been a locker room disruptor. Quite the contrary. From all reports, he has always been a great team mate and very pleasant, positive locker room influence,and he was very well liked.

So why not add Michael Vick to our team?

Because the cost of having him and his baggage would be too much.

History has not been kind to players who have spent time away from the game to do time in prison. None have ever returned to perform at the same level as before. While the Michael Vick of the past has been a positive force in the locker room, how will he be now? After all the time that he has had to think about how he can prove that he has learned from his mistakes, he continues to be arrogant, non-repentant and not at all contrite about what he did and what he was involved in.

How will that lack of remorse and perceived arrogance be received in the locker room? NFL players are famous for being the forgiving types. That is, if the person they are forgiving helps them win games and doesn't mess with the chemistry of the team. Sadly, such a player becomes unwelcome only after the damage has been done.

Let's suspend logic and reason for a moment and say that the 49ers do sign him, and he is a positive influence in the locker room, and he does help them win games. This is San Francisco that we are talking about. Michael Vick would be a public relations nightmare of Hurricane Katrina proportions. Protests would become a daily occurrence, demonstrators would try to try to block the entrances and would disrupt the pregame festivities as well as the game itself.

In short, there would be hell to pay, and the Yorks could not afford the bill. No one can.

Plus, do you for even one millisecond, think that Mike Singletary would even permit someone like Michael Vick into his locker room? If so, than you have been spending way too much time in Haight Ashbury smoking some serious stuff!

There would be no upside to bringing in Michael Vick. If history is any indication, there is no reason to believe he could even perform well enough to mitigate the damage he would cause, or justify possibly ruining team chemistry.

Yes, Michael Vick has paid his debt to society. He has done his time and, by all accounts, was a model citizen while doing it.

But playing in the NFL is a privilege, not a right. Roger Goddell is going to have to decide whether or not Michael Vick will be an asset or a liability to the league. Vick has already lied to the Commish on several occasions when he was asked to be honest and truthful about his involvement in the dog fighting operation. He was forthcoming only when he was confronted by concrete and conclusive evidence.

He does not belong in San Francisco. He does not belong on the 49ers. Any and all thoughts and rumors to the contrary run counter to the facts, and are products of wishful thinkers and journalists who like to see their words being repeated. Remember, journalists make money from every news outlet that carries their story, regardless of their veracity or accuracy.

So leave your fantasy world behind, and join us in the real world where reason and good judgment prevail. And do yourself, and all of us a favor, and please stop supporting the rumor pimps in their pathological quest for attention.
 No.2
sMOKESCREEn		 10:43 AM
02/23/2009
jerichoman... Its people who think like you, that is the real baggage. Hating on somebody for the sake of your own rambling. All these counter points tell me, perhaps, if Vick spilled all the beans to the commish (... and WHO THE HELL WOULD???) you would THEN be in support of such a move? The baggage will get tucked away into the cargo-hold as soon as Vick is cleared for take off, bro.
 No.3
longtime49erfan		 11:05 AM
02/23/2009
I am getting real tired of these bogus rumors being raised by journalists looking for something to sell their stories to the fans.

THE 49ERS HAVE OFFICIALLY SAID THAT THEY ARE NOT INTERESTED IN MICHAEL VICK!

There. That should resolve it for you. Reading something into vague statements made by Mike Singletary doesn't change the fact that THE TEAM IS NOT INTERESTED IN VICK!

Regardless of what Vick might do as a player, his presence would create division among both players and fans. There would be no team unity, which means Vick would hurt more than help the team.

VICK IS NOT GOING TO THE 49ERS!

Now PLEASE drop the stories about Vick as a possibility for the 49ers. Publishing them only hurts your credibility as a sports reporter or commentator.
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