Lions: Just Say No to Vick

Last Friday the Falcons announced that they were going to attempt to trade the rights to there troubled quarterback Michael Vick. That Friday the 13th would

Last Friday the Falcons announced that they were going to attempt to trade the rights to there troubled quarterback Michael Vick. That Friday the 13th would have really been a horror if the Lions had decided to make a move to acquire Vick.

 

Lions fans: don’t even think about it. It seems tempting, but Vick is not the answer in Detroit. Not only does Vick come with a plethora of off the field issues, but he hasn’t won anything of meaning in his 6 years as an NFL signal caller.

 

To change the culture of losing the Lions need to bring in winners, which Vick is not. He was only 38-28 in 6 seasons as the Falcons starting QB. Franchise changing quarterbacks average more than 6.3 wins in a season. While 6 wins a season is better than none, its not enough to get a playoff berth, and it definitely won’t outweigh Vick’s off the field problems.  

 

If the Lions are going to take a chance on a quarterback with Vick’s off the field issues he should at least be a proven winner. Vick has yet to prove himself as a winner, on the field or off. In his 6 year career Vick has only led his team to two playoff wins and has only thrown 19 more touchdowns then interceptions.

 

“But the team was 0-16! It can’t get any worst.” Oh, but it can. While the Lions have had their share of problems on the field, Vick’s presence could easily exacerbate the problems they have off the field.

 

Most are already aware of Vick’s dog fighting trial in which he was accused of beating, torturing, electrocuting and killing dogs. A team with a winless record could certainly benefit from the type of P.R. Vick would bring with him. Sarcasm aside, this would be an awful move for the Lions. I’m sure you can imagine the fun that late night talk show hosts would have with this signing, as if the Lions haven’t been the butts of the late night jokes long enough.

 

That’s not the only off the field problem the former star has had during his NFL tenure. In March of 2005 a woman claimed that Vick had given her genital herpes and failed to let her know that he had the disease. The woman went on to claim that Vick knew that he had the ailment because he had been receiving treatment at a clinic under the alias “Ron Mexico.”

 

Vick didn’t just disappoint women, he also let down children. Vick was scheduled to appear on Capitol Hill and lobby for funding for after school programs in April of 2007, but he never showed. Vick’s publicist claimed he missed his flight.

 

Speaking of flights, in January of 2007, Vick handed a water bottle of his to airport security. The security staff said that the bottle had "a small amount of dark particulate and a pungent aroma closely associated with marijuana." Ricky Williams syndrome is hardly a good quality for the Lions next QB.

With all this in mind, I bet Michael Vick isn’t still the world class athlete that fathers want to take their sons to watch on Sunday aftrenoons.

 

A lot of people make the argument that Vick is just another misunderstood athlete from the “hood.” Those same people must not know that Mike Tomlin is from the same “hood” of Newport News, Virginia that Michael Vick hails from, and finds himself as the anti-Vick as far as class and character, and winning super bowls go.

 

If you’re a team that just went 0-16, the last thing you need is a polarizing player like Michael Vick. In an effort to regain fans, improve your franchises image, and most of all win games, why would you add a player who does none of the above? Adding Vick to the Lions is like adding gasoline to a fire; it’s just going to blow up in the faces of anyone that makes it happen. A bad team plus a bad person doesn’t equal a good result; two wrongs don’t make a right as the old saying goes. Lions fans, do you want to read about your quarterback winning or getting in trouble with the law? If you chose winning, then you didn’t choose Michael Vick.