Bad Newport Newz...

I’m sure everyone has been eagerly anticipating my post on the latest Mike Vick indictment news (okay, maybe not). Nonetheless, I’ll give you this Atlanta guys take on the situation in a series of random thoughts:

- Mike Vick has proved himself to be not such a bright guy on and off the field. His inability to mature into even a competent passer during his career here in Atlanta given the fact that the guy’s got a rocket like arm is proof positive that he’s not smart enough to run complex offensive schemes effectively. Let’s face it: Being a QB in the NFL is not for the stupid of mind. Instinct will only carry you so far. He would have been better off at receiver or running back. Arthur Blank made a huge mistake keeping him and dealing fellow Virginia Tech QB Matt Schuab this year BEFORE all this dog fighting mess came up.

- Mike Vick and many other “college” players were never really smart enough to actually go to college in the first place and the cheating that schools are doing to get academically challenged players on the field is coming to bare on both the NCAA and the NFL that is using Div 1A collegiate programs as a minor league. Locally here in Atlanta this summer, there’s been nothing but bad news out in Athens with the UGA players running afoul of the law. The entitlement mentality reigns supreme in big time college football. It’s time to right this situation. These players are getting scholarship money that others would kill to have and if they can’t appreciate the gift that has been given them, get’em the hell out of there.

- Mike Vick has displayed some suspect behavior prior to this latest drama, the most suspicious being the Miami Airport incident with the fake water bottle. I’m not sure if he was hide weed in his bottle or not, but I’m inclined to believe that he was up to no good. I frankly don’t care if people smoke weed or not, but if your employer says refraining is a contingency of your employment and you partake, you have decided not to be employed. Arthur Blank and other league officials like Mike personally (I liked the guy myself) and took him for his word that it was nothing. Arthur seemed to have trusted Mike when he told him that nothing more would ever place him and the Falcons organization in a bad light again.

- Mike Vick had better know what kind of trouble he’s in right now. He better know that he should be taking these charges very seriously.

- Fighting dogs for sport is disgusting and shows deep moral depravity. I don’t think the Atlanta Falcons and the NFL will tolerate any association with it whatsoever.

I have to admit that I’m a little gun shy about condemning Mike Vick too quickly after the Duke lacrosse thing, but there is a correlation with both cases. Yes, the four defendants in the Duke Lacrosse case did NOT rape or sexually assault anyone, but let’s not forget what WAS going on there: Meathead varsity athletes hosting an off campus party, serving minors booze, with strippers invited as entertainment. That’s why the coach rightfully resigned and nobody at Duke was clamoring to get him back. He lost control of his team and the players, while not rapists, clearly showed a penchant for poor decision making and it was a systemic problem with the lacrosse program as a whole.

Mike Vick may somehow avoid being convicted of the crimes he’s been charged with, but he has proven time after time that he is a poor decision maker in his off field life. At a minimum, he knew what was going on and more than likely was an instrumental figure in the whole Bad Newz Kennel racket. The Fed’s are NOT DA Nifong and would never bring these charges in such a high profile case if they didn’t think they had enough to make it stick. I suspect that others have flipped on poor Mike knowing that they don’t have millions to put up an expensive top shelf defense. Mike Vick will need to dedicate himself to his defense if he’s got any chance of being cleared, and for that reason alone he should resign from the team. If I was a betting man, He’ll definitely owe Arthur Blank an apology at a minimum.