Dog fighting is a crime I take seriously.
I am handicapped and my dog is one of my best care givers. There is more to judging a man than his ability to through a ball. He dose not rate in my book as a man, as a human being. No stars for this thing.

He should never play pro football again. His dog killing is a mentality that can't be extinguished by spending time in prison. He was most likely revered in prison by other inmates because of his celebrity status. Show me where he has been rehabilitated. I don't believe it for a second. He shouldn't be allowed to go out and make millions unless he gives half his earnings to animal rescue groups that rescue and rehabilitate abused dogs.

He was good prior to going in the joint. However after two years in prison he's probably a little rusty. Well unless they had a prison yard league.

Agreed, he paid his dues and still is. He was also raised around dog fighting, society just kinda de-programmed him. I do think he is sorry, even if it's sorry he got caught. He's being rehabilitated, hopefully he has much more to offer us. I'm anxious to see what's next for the second half of Michael Vick's life, on and off the field.

I don't follow the NFL to any great degree and wasn't aware of Vick's C.V. prior to his arrest. That said, I think that his future as a football player should be based on his ability to get the job done on the field and to put asses in the seats. His criminal past represents no grounds for denial of his right to earn a living at a trade he is demonstrably qualified to undertake.

A 3 season lay-off will be a hard thing to overcome at the elite level of the sport, but he should be encouraged to try. Whether he can make the turnstiles click can only be determined once his number is back in the program. He'll have a hard time clearing both of those hurdles I suspect.

But everyone, sports fans especially, LOVE watching an underdog (unfortunately apt term ain't it) make a comeback.

It will be interesting to see what happens withg him once he is out of home confinement.

As far as Im concerned, if the guy can still play, and a team thinks he can help them, he should be given a shot. He did the time for the crime, he is doing some work with the SPCA, and there are a lot of players in many sports who have done worse and been reinstated.

I know our modern sensibilities places a crime against dogs ahead of a crime against humans, but I have never bought into that. When you have players who have committed vehicular homicide driving drunk, who are reinstated to their sport after serving their sentence, you cannot reasonably argue against Vick.

And frankly, if the NFL is priggish enough to ban him, I for one would welcome him to try the CFL. The team in my town could use him.

If he can go out there and make it on a team, more power to him. Even scum deserve to work.

This will likely be an unpopular opinion.

The man went to Leavenworth for 19 months. His reputation is shot. He's paid his dues. He's now doing work for the SPCA.

He deserves another shot at pro football.

Give this guy less than 1 star. I really hoped that they would crucify his ass (not literally though, since i am anti-death penalthy ;^) ) Dog fighting is a crime I take seriously.
I figured I could argue all day as to why humans should treat animals ethically. But it probably counts more coming from people who are far better than I am. Enjoy!

Compassion is most important for happiness. We must treat fellow human beings as equal, that is very important, but also all beings who have capacity for feeling. So the innate desire for happiness that is the basis of human rights extends to all sentient beings, including animals and insects. There are now some individuals and organizations who care about animal rights and are showing concern about the suffering or torture of animals. I have noticed among ordinary people, out of their love and compassion, growing efforts for promotion of vegetarianism. These are the right kinds of expression of compassion, very positive and encouraging signs. -- His holiness the Dalia Lama. Not Buddhist? Fair enough, I have more:
Christian?
“Whatever you do unto the least of my brothers, you do it unto me.”—Matthew 25:40 (Jesus said this )
“If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.”—Francis of Assisi
Jewish?
“I will make a covenant on behalf of Israel with the wild beasts, the birds of the air, and the things that creep on the hearths that all living creatures may lie down without living in fear.” —Hosea 2:18
“And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the Earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.”—Genesis 1:29-30
Hindu?
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated…I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by [people] from the cruelty of [human kind]”—Mahatma Gandhi
Muslim?
“A good deed done to an animal is as meritorious as a good deed done to a human being, while an act of cruelty to an animal is a bad as an act of cruelty to a human being.”—Prophet Mohammed
“There is not an animal on the earth, nor a flying creature on two wings, but they are people like unto you.”—Islam. Qur’an
“Non-injury to living beings is the highest religion.”—Jainism
Atheist or Agnostic?
I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being.”—Abraham Lincoln
Vegetarian food leaves a deep impression on our nature. If the whole world adopts vegetarianism, it can change the destiny of mankind.”—Albert Einstein

I am a huge Falcons fan and three years ago I was a big Micheal Vick fan too. I had high hopes that he would turn the team around. He was very Agile, Quick and Very Athletic. For a QB, he couldn't Aim that well, but whatever. I had high Hopes that he would grow and Mature as a player and maybe, through him the Falcons might actually make it to the Superbowl, let alone Win.
Sadly, these hopes were dashed two years ago, with the malicious and willfull Slaughter of Pitbulls for sport. Now some of you have argued that animals are not people, and that is fair. I personally do not know if it is Right to have the Heirarchy of animals that we have, and as a person who really enjoys a good Steak now and then, maybe I have no say here. But the fact is this, Michael Vick tortured and killed animals for fun and Profit. Michael Vick committed a Felony offense when he engaged in this Heinous Activity and now, Michael Vick is out on House Arrest, living in a much nicer home than I ever will. It is incredibly Likely that he will play ball again, and soon. He already has deals in place for work in a construction firm and will be making a documentary for $600,000. I had hoped that they would make an example out of Vick so that maybe some good would come out of all of this. And they did, unfortunately that example was this: Torture animals and you too can enjoy a lucrative carreer in the NFL.
I have read some of you complaining about a lack of support for Vick, you obviously do not live in Atlanta. There are mountains of support for this criminal, May 21st I saw lots of fans wearing Vick Jerseys, News reports show people holding signs of Support and have read sports articles looking forward to his comeback. Well, Vick, you have one less person supporting you. You gave that up when you chose to engage in Dog-Fighting. I have also read comments from people saying that other Athletes have commited worse crimes. I fail to see your point. Does that make this crime okay? I do not condone ANY athlete who acts violently.
Thunder Collins, Jimmy Wilson, Eric Napowski, Alonzo Maurice Jones Jr. and others should ALL pay for their Crimes, I just ask that Michael Vick be added to that list as well. Athletes should not get a free pass on violence, no matter how talented they may be. We live in a Civilized world and thus we should act civilized. To quote Albert Scheitzer: "Compassion, in which all Ethics must take root, can only Attain its full breadth and depth if it embraces all Living creatures and does not limit itself to mankind. Ethics is nothing else than Reverence for Life."
Apparently we need to start reminding our Pro-ballers of this fact and start holding them accountable for their actions.

Talented player, but I say the only way Vick gets back in the NFL is if he donates half his future paychecks to PETA or something. What owner wants to take on the paparazzi that's going to surround his return?

I still believe in Mike Vick as a great Quarterback. I feel sorry that Atlanta did not want to keep him as their Quarterback. The teams would have still had much to gain from him as a man. He is still one of the most explosive Quarterback's to surface in the NFL in a long time. Atlanta's loss will be another teams gain. Keep growing as a man and I look forward to you lighting up the football fields in the coming years.

Hmm... it says "current." Since he's about to go to jail and he lost his job due to his suspension, should we take him off of this list?

UPDATE: He could try to do a remake of "The Longest Yard" now, I guess...

The best in the leage, and highest paid athlete in the NFL. The guy can throw, i mean if he couldnt then i would be starting for the eagles or something. you dont become the highest paid without talent.

I am completely worn out with all this sanctimonious and blatantly self righteous outrage with regards Michael Vick.  These were DOGS people!  Not humans, but DOGS!  Where to start?  I agree that the treatment of these animals is somewhat unpleasant and surely don’t condone such behavior but lets be objective and honest in our analysis.  We live in a country where child molesters routinely serve sentences less than three years.  Some murderers are let out of jail in less than ten.  Many rapists serve less than six years.  This is simply a reality of our judicial system.  The peculiar thing here is how no one is running to Vick’s defense. 

Where are all the liberal apologists for Vick’s behavior?  Hasn’t his environment impacted his egregious choices? Hasn’t our oppressive society had a negative impact on poor Michael Vick?  Shouldn’t he be rehabilitated instead of imprisoned in our racially biased penal system?   Or are dogs the only animal on the planet we treat sacrosanct?

We rightfully slaughter animals for dinner (the food chain is a part of the natural order of things).  Are all these outraged citizens vegetarians? We rightfully hunt animals for sport.  Do we really believe that every deer, buck, bear or whatever gets a perfect kill shot?  Or do you think it’s possible some get hit with an arrow and then painfully starve to death after escaping?   We fish.  Do you think it’s pleasurable for the fish while they fight for their lives with a hook in their mouth?   We race horses around tracks and bet on them, then put them down if they get injured.  We even bet on two grown men beating the hell out of each other, sometimes until accidental death, and almost always to some form of brain damage.  But oh my, Vick bet on dogs killing each other and treated the losers horribly.  For this, we needed the full weight of the federal government and possible RICO violations that could have gotten him 20 years.  I sure sleep better at night knowing the federal government and Americans have their priorities straight. 

Here in Atlanta, we have been waiting for Mike to develop into the all-round QB. I would have really liked to see him in Bobby Petrino's offense. It is too bad that we will never get to see him develop into his fullest potential. We Falcon fans feel we have been cheated, and now are left holding the bag literally. No QB, and a huge Cap hit.

This whole thing makes me quite ill.  I'd say his career is over.  He pled guilty to all the horrible things he did to those animals and it will be hard to forget for everyone.  Maybe this will shake the Falcons up and they can actually win a SuperBowl some day.

I wonder what kind of a real man would feed a kitten to a slavering pit bull? This witless wonder should be diced and fed to the very dogs he raised as killers. This is just another example of the dubious behavior of our so called "sports heros". I know he'll cop a plea and get an eay ride but as one can only hope his career is dead. On second thought, he'll probably show up on Oprah in a year or so crying and asking for a collective hug from the american public. Ahhh! Poor boy... let's forgive and forget since that's what we do here in this country. I hope this piece of crap's mommy is real proud.

Vick is a POS, I amoung with thousands of other people hate his dog killing ass. EAT S**T VIC. MAY HIS MOTHER BURN IN HELL WITH HIM.

Vick is worthless. Hope he burns in hell.

Vick is the most over-rated player in the history of sport. He's never been more than a slot receiver. His athletic ability is amazing, but not nearly as amazing as his ability to fumble, get injured, and throw interceptions like a pee-wee league QB. Not to mention, next to Pacman Jones and Tank Johnson he's one of the worst human beings in professional sports. I can't wait for the day Arthur Blank wakes up and realizes he made one of the dumbest personnel decisions in NFL history. . . and refused to let it go.

all you ungrateful sap sucker idiot's!!!!! Vick is the only reason that the Falcons even look like a team that could win period..... for too many years i have watched the falcons look like trash with a white throwing qb.. now when we get an athletic blac running qb, you people get mad.... i really dont get it.. when he is winning you all are on his side but when we lose you all bash him... i think you should all jump off a cliff with a rock tied to your ankle. and this fag said throw the ball more????? well i bet he would if they caught the ball more.. those recievers couldnt catch a cold but naked in the middle of a snow storm in alaska!!!!! i just think yall dont like him cause he black... cause when chandler and jeff george sucked, yall still rooted for them sorry mofo's!!!!!! go get a life vick haters cause he did sign a ten year contract, and i will enjoy all of those years!!!!!

Doesn't Impress me. He should throw the ball more,... a lot more. Its a shame when the QB had more rushing yards than the running back

This dude is one of the best runningbacks in the league. Too bad they got him playing quarterback.

I have to say that he's definitely overrated. He is an amazing athlete, but he couldn't hit a target to save his life! Sometimes it seems like he hikes the ball, looks downfield for 1sec, then he takes off running. That's why always hurt. He's not as bad as some people rank him, but he's not as great as others make him out to be. He's somewhere in the middle.

Most overrated QB in the game. Yeah he is the most athletic QB in the game (until Vince Young arrives), but look at the comparison. No other QB in the league can run like Vick, but no other QB has to. No accuracy whatsoever, has a serious cannon but consistently overthrows wide recievers. I have to give him ups on his speed and agility, he is probably more athletic than a lot of WR's in the game. That, however, is not enough to warrant any more that 3 stars, especially at QB.

mike vick is an NFL poster boy.

michael vick sucks bad he is the worst qb ever and wtf he makes the probowl and not eli manning hes fast and atletic wow but he throws like sh1t.

The guys is so soft it's pathetic. He is constantly getting hurt and then won't play when he's hurt. His "big" rib injury that had him on his knees on the sideline acting like a little pussy turned out to be nothing! Did you see him before the Chicago game all bundled up like a little schoolgirl because it was too cold?!? Puhlease...this guy is the most overated player in the NFL. Matt Schaub is a better QB than he is.

I'm not sure how good of a halfback or fullback he'd make, since I've noticed an alarming tendency for Vick to lose the handle. As for quarterback, he can't read a defense to make accurate throws, when he tries, he fails (incomplete or picked off), and his only other option is to run or eat the sack.

Michael Vick is the most overrated person in the world. He is horrible. He is all about Michael Vick and if he can ever understand that football is a TEAM sport then he might be an OK quarterback.Ship him out of Atlanta and give us a real arm.

Michael Vick is a fantastic athlete who plays the wrong position. Exciting, athletic, fast, and entertaining are all adjectives that accurately describe Michael Vick; regrettably, the term Quarterback should not be used.

I was gonna give him 1 star because he is the most overrated QB in the history of the NFL. He can scramble though, SO... put any running back in the QB position and that is Michael Vick... probably with better accuracy though. lol

Michael "Media Creation" Vick is not as good a quarterback as Kyle Boller right now. Look at the numbers, people. And for all of you who are waiting for Vick to mature, compare his first five years (okay, 4 full years) to Culpepper's, Cunningham's, Elway's, Young's, Garcia's, or ANY other mobile quarterback's and you'll see that Vick sucks. They all matured by there 3rd or 4th year. Vick is ending his 5th and you're still saying he'll be great when he matures. Come on, sheeple! Stop drinking the kool-aid that ESPN is handing you.

Mike vick can put the ball in the air or on the ground,everyone saw how he played in the miami game from the pocket and had an outstanding day.But when he runs he wins so he can do anything.He has stayed in the pocket alot and they have lost even with him being accurate.So all the criticizime he has been given i don't think he should pass more maybe Peyton Manning and Brette Farve should run more, but they don't have the talent.Even if Vick's passing rate isn't high, HE CAN WIN GAMES.He needs better wide recievers and he would be set.As far as his decision making goes he has gotten alot better and the fact that the wide outs SUCK could be a factor in his decisions(duh).Half of the mistakes aren't his falt.He is either throwing into the wind or the wide outs do not fight for the ball.He throws the ball where it needs to be thrown regardless of what you think.(you know who you are)The fact is they can get to it, instead of expecting to magically to go around the DB and fall into their hands. Watch the Miami game and he can pass from the pocket.The weather is always a huge factor since their a dome team,the cold doesn't suit them.Even if other dome teams do good in snow all human needs sre different.The fact is he MAKES PLAYS straight up and can bring the NFC to a win by dodging defenders.Talk about worse players like FARVE or Alex smith, Mcnabb maybe.

Injury-prone, he has already missed nearly two entire season's worth of games after just four years playing. Was the second most sacked quarterback in the NFL in the '04-'05 season by eating dirt in the backfield a whopping 46 times. He basically knows the flavor of every NFL field he's stepped on. Had his best season as a passer last year with a measily 56.4% completion rate, which would make 4 starting QBs have a landslide 10% higher completion percentage: Trent Green (66.4%), Ben Reothlisberger (66.4%), Peyton Manning (67.6%), and Daunte Culpepper (69.2%) [assuming you don't include Brian Greise (69.3%) since he only played a little over half of the season]. He also had 2,313 passing yards, which would be about half of what people like Daunte Culpepper (4,717), Trent Green (4,591), and Peyton Manning (4,557) throw. Even adding Vick's 902 rushing yards leaves him 3,215 combined yards. Daunte Culpepper had 406 rushing yards, making a grand total of 5,123 combined yards (nearly 2,000 more). And to add further insult to injury, Vick would still have over 1,000 yards less than Trent Green and Peyton Manning had in strictly passing yards. In his defense, he did manage to throw more TDs than INTs in 2004 (14-12 respectively), but that's not a lot of TDs to begin with since 23 QBs threw more TDs, including Titans backup Billy Volek who played in only 10 games, yet still managed 18 TDs. Joey Harrington is in danger of losing his job in Detroit, and he threw 19 TDs and the same 12 INTs that Vick did. Even adding Vick's 3 rushing touchdowns would still leave him short of being as much of a scoring machine as even generally unknown players like Harrington and Volek. Plus, then you'd have to include Vick's 16 fumbles (which, since he didn't even play one game, would be an average of more than one a game) which would mean he put up a monster 28 turnovers while accomplishing a mere 17 TDs. He lacks decision making skills. He scrambles too early too often. He has no pocket presence. He's not the best on the field leader. He takes up a huge portion of the salary cap. He was a great college player in an option offense, but this is the NFL. Talent is one thing. Using it is another. Trent Green was considered so talentless he nearly went undrafted, yet he threw the second most yards in the NFL last season. Vick, however, might be the single most overrated player in NFL history. UPDATE: Vick earned a ProBowl selection... despite his 71.8 passer rating... despite only completing 54.3% of his passes... despite throwing nearly as many interceptions as TDs (13 TDs, 12 INTs) and giving up the ball another 4 times on his 10 fumbles... despite rushing for nearly 400 less yards than last year... Let's face it, the media is in love with Vick and glorify him... even as he puts up so-so performances.

Great Talent but for the position, he's simply another slash (kordell steward) only with more arm strentgh and speed. Over the years, it's proven that what makes a good QB has nothing to do with running the ball. A QB has to have other entangibles like accuracy, anticipation, poise, toughness (mental and physical)..etc, and Vick doesn't have any of that. He's way too fragile (get's nicked up and bruise with the slightest contact), He can't play well hurt, He cannot read the defense to save his life and He doesn't do the little things that a great QB needs to do as far as Leading a team from the QB position. Take away vicks running and the falcons never see what the playoffs feel like ever. Age will catch up to him just like it did with randall cunningham and every other running QB. In my opinion, a QB that can't put a pass where it needs to be is about as effective as a gymnist who does a perfect routine and can't stick the landing. That kind of performance will get you talked about, but it won't win the gold or any medal. Vick needs to step up and show us something as a QB, not a runner. Sure he sells tickets, but that ain't enough to consider him a great QB.

yeah....he can run and throw it where he wants once in a while but he is no quarterback. great athlete, terrible QB

mike vick needs 2 work on the accuracy of his passes, he'll the be better than randell cunningham then i'll give him a 5star rating(peyton manning who)

i heard he was highest paid in the nfl i think he sucks i could get more passing yards in a season then he has in his career :P

vick runs to much, maybe if he stayed in the pocket like mccnabb he would be awsome,but QBs have to pass more not run more so vick should of tried out for RB,or worst passer

Vick is like darth maul on star wars he does great and then dies down and does horrible this wasn't the best year for vick hes had better i think he would be a better player with recivers they have add.

Ron Mexico has taken a few steps backwards. . .would you take him over Brady, McNabb, or Manning?

I woulg give him 5 stars if he improved his passing game and also if he could see and read the field better!!!Vick looks across the field for 2 seconds and after thoses 2 seconds, if there is no one open, he starts running!!This makes me think, that he isn't much of a qb!Yes he does have speed but what has he done other than get over 100 yards rushing and UNDER 100 yards passing!!He'd prolly be be a better running back than he is as a Quarterback.

Here is agruement back at you Killa11. You are on the fact that he is a weapon, but you never mention the fact of how injury prone he is. he missed an intire season cause he scrambled in a preseason game. He is a good player, but won't last long in this league. Injury will take him out, and he'll never get a ring. I feel I am being generous by giving a 3, but he is just OK. If this was college players all time I would give him a 4. But please, be reasonable

Listen, this guy is the greatest weapon in NFL History hands down, bar none best ever at what he does. Comon now, a QB that runs a 4.3 40? no way and his gun for an arm. Just imagine what this team would be or what he would be if he had a legit reciever to throw to i.e. Torry Holt or say for instance Joe Horn.

Sick

He's a good player...but...$39 million over the next 10 years?!?!

michael vick is a good player and all but he's a ball hog he'd have price open in the end zone, but then he'd run the ball and get sacked and cost them the game because of that play,im not a fan of him and i hate him