Falcons lock up Vick for 10 years, record $130 million

Its impressive... but its no A-Rod numbers. A-Rod's contract is still 10 years, $250 million... and there will NEVER be another contract that is worth that much, for at least the next 15 years.

But, if you look at a per-game basis... the NFL contracts are the most valuable. On the other hand, if you consider the beating and potential injury these guys are up against... the value of the contract is about even with the rest of the sports.

I doubt Vick completes this contract without some sort of major injury... but he is the biggest difference maker on the NFL field today.

 

Yet, his team ranks only 14th in a 32 team league when it comes to points scored. Some difference maker.

 

you play to WIN THE GAME. Falcons last year w/o Vick... Falcons last year with Vick (3-1)... Falcons this year with Vick.

End of story.

 

This is really true - Vick changes the way defenses normally play and this allows the Falcons to win with offensive numbers that really aren't very spectacular.

 

No, not the end of story. Last year the Falcons averaged 18.7 points a game with Vick playing 5 games. This year they are averaging 21.5. That's less than a field goal's worth of difference.

The Falcons were so horrible last year because only two teams allowed more points than they did. Last year they allowed 26.5 points a game, while this year they have allowed 20.2 . That's a touchdown worth of difference. And it becomes more dramatic if you throw out the 56 points they gave up against KC because in the other 13 games they have allowed only 17.5 points a game.

 

May I ask how many games you've seen Atlanta play?

 

May I ask in how many games Vick has played defense?

 

Fine... I'm sure the Falcons would have the same stellar record if David Carr was the QB.

 

I don't know about that. I do know that I never said that.

I do know that the following teams have scored more offensive touchdowns than the Falcons (who have scored 32).

1. Indy
2. KC
3. NE
4. SD
5. Phi
6. GB
7. Min
8. Pit
9. Sea
10. Den
11. Ten
12. Car

The Jets have also scored 32 offensive TDs. The Raiders and the Saints have scored just one fewer while the pathetic Cowboys have only scored two fewer than the Falcons.

 

It was a pretty simple question, and from your answer I can assume you haven't seen many if any at all.

You seem to be a stat geek, and thats fine. But sometimes there are players who come along that there is no stat that measures the effect they have on a game. Vick is one of those players. He has taken an offense with perhaps one above average starter on it and posted a record of 11-3. Are they playing better D this year? Of course they are. They are not the Ravens or Steelers though, yet they keep on winning. We are ranked 13th in the league in total defense, behind such teams as Washington, Buffalo, Denver and and Jacksonville. I would say all those teams have at least as good of an offense as Atlanta, yet they lose and Atlanta wins. Why is that?

 

When a player like Vick is able to keep his defense off the field they will usually be able to play at a higher level when they return to the field. Vick's return this season = better Atlanta defense.

 

Yeah, I've seen the guy play. And your answer suggests an inability to deal with uncomfortable facts.

 

Not true, in 7 of their 14 games the Atlanta defense was on the field longer than the Atlanta offense. So, Vick didn't really help them in that way.

 

What facts? Seriously, I want to know.

 

The facts I have presented.

 

Just so Im clear.

Vick has no bearing on the Atlanta Falcons turnaround this year, all the credit goes to the defense.

 

Atlanta's success this year is not attributable to any one source -- it's a combination of Vick's play AND the success of the defense. Vick is electric and can make many plays other QBs can't, ones that don't show up in the QB rating stats. However, their defense -- the move to the 4-3, the addition of Rod Coleman, the overhaul of the secondary -- has kept them in many games and been very effective, particularly against the run (KC game aside). Coaching plays a role in it as well.

Vick is worth his contract and does do things numbers can't show -- but the defense does the things that the numbers can show and is keeping Atlanta in the thick of things. As Vick grows as a QB and in the system, his impact will only become greater (in a traditional sense) and the Falcons should be a force for the next few years (given good health).

The argument for/against stats in baseball -- with players that are deemed "good clubhouse guys" (Darin Erstad of the Angels comes to mind) -- can somewhat be applied to football with this case, but I don't think it's an apt comparison. Stat analysis is where football is and where it is going. But, you cannot use any one single stat to quantify a player's impact to his squad. Vick may be ranked #26 in QB rating, for instance, but also look at these stats:

NFL Rushing Leaders:
18. Michael Vick, 889
(ahead of players like Brian Westbrook, Marshall Faulk, and Emmitt Smith)

NFL QB Rushing Leaders:
1. Michael Vick, 889
2. Daunte Culpepper, 361
3. David Carr, 244
4. Donovan McNabb, 221
5. Jeff Garcia (IR), 169

It's not even close in rushing yards. If he were to play this week, Vick would be within striking distance of the first ever 1,000yd rushing season by a quarterback in NFL history. Combined with Warrick Dunn -- nearing 1,000yd himself -- and T.J. Duckett (nearly 500yd with 8 TD), that is a very potent offensive attack. To get that out of a quarterback is unheard of and changing the way the position is viewed.

But, to think the success of the Falcons this year is solely on Vick is rather misleading. Their success if one part Vick, one part coaching, and one part defense.

 

Fantasic post, and one I agree completely with.

 

I don't disagree with any of that. The Falcons turn around has been a team effort. Attributing a team's success solely or primarily to a QB is highly misleading, yet we hear it all the time. Even heard CP doing it yesterday, and he ought to know better.