Gar Becury
Disclaimer: My comments related to Michael Vick’s qualifications to be a Pittsburgh Steeler will deal solely with Vick the football player, not the man. If you are looking for more comments related to his well publicized crimes or for me to use that is a reason not to sign Vick, i’ll respectfully tell you it’s not happening here.
With that cleared that up, the reason that I have my doubts that Michael Vick is the right choice to be the Steelers backup has nothing to do with past sins or what my opinions are related to them. It has everything to do with generally speaking, not being a player i’m comfortable being “one play away” from being the Steelers starting quarterback.
Yes, I get it. Bruce Gradkowski was not exactly making anyone feel particularly confident in a pinch.
Landry Jones? Um, not so much.
Tajh Boyd? Considering he could not even get on the field with only Jones stopping him you can figure it out.
So then how the heck can you argue against Vick you ask?
To me, it’s all about separating fact from fiction.
Vick was a street free agent until two days ago for a number of important reasons. Reasons that should give anyone pause if they expect Vick to make an impact for the Steelers this season.
The first of these reasons is that Vick, always known for relying as much on his legs has his arm, is 35 with a long history of injury.
During his post-Falcons career Vick has missed nine games and been relegated to the sidelines in a number of others with a laundry list of injuries that include pulled quadriceps and hamstrings, broken ribs, multiple concussions and a hand injury.
Vick’s propensity to use his legs when plays break down, along with his relatively diminutive frame increased his risk of getting hurt. Now at this advanced age and with such an injury history, it is reasonable to think he can stay healthy if he is asked to play for the Steelers? Or for that matter even if he does, that those legs will get him out of a pinch when he calls on them?
Paint me more than a little skeptical.
Another false premise related to Vick is that he is a reliable passer who can make “all the throws.” Yet, when you look at the numbers, Vick has a career completion percentage of 56.1% along with a career passer rating of 80.6. It’s also worth noting the numbers have been steadily dipping for four consecutive seasons after his Pro Bowl campaign in 2010 in Philadelphia.
In fact, Vick’s completion percentage for the Jets last season was 53 percent—Not good, not good at all.
Let’s be clear, if you can’t complete 60 percent of your passes at a bare minimum in today’s pass-happy NFL, you are not getting the job done.
Whether or not the turnover prone Vick can learn to make smart decisions with the football at this advanced point in his career is highly debatable. What can’t be debated is few quarterbacks have more fumbles in NFL history, and his 96 fumbles in 136 games played is remarkably bad.
I think the Steelers will get over the “distractions” related to Vick, and I can certainly see where one could make the argument that signing Vick was the best option in the bare cupboard that was the free agent market for QB’s.
I’ll concede that, just don’t expect Vick to be a miracle worker or the player he was in his 20’s now that he is the Steelers new backup QB.
Alan Saunders
When the Pittsburgh Steelers headed to Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa. for training camp this year, they had four quarterbacks on their roster: Pro-bowler Ben Roethlisberger, veteran backup Bruce Gradkowski, third-year project Landry Jones and undrafted Clemson star Tajh Boyd.
Behind Roethlisberger, there wasn’t exactly a lot to like for the Steelers at the position. In two years as the No. 2 and No. 3 respectively, Gradkowski and Jones had done little to show that they were capable of taking the reigns for an extended period of time.
Fast-forward to this week, and the situation has changed drastically.
Gradkowski missed the first two preseason games with a shoulder injury and then re-injured that shoulder – and a finger on his left hand – against Green Bay on Sunday.
In his absence, Jones played the majority of the snaps for the Steelers through the first three games, and his performance has been “below the line” as Mike Tomlin would put it. He’s completed just 50.5% of his passes and has an abysmal passer rating of 67.4.
Boyd was apparently so bad in the team’s practices that he never even got to take a snap before being released last week.
So clearly, the Steelers couldn’t go in to the 2015 season with just Jones backing up Roethlisberger.
When Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert went searching for one earlier this week, the cupboard was somewhat bare. Of every quarterback that threw a single pass in the NFL in 2014, there was one that was unsigned: Michael Vick.
As a passer, Vick has never really been anything special. His career completion percentage is 56.1 and his passer rating is 80.4. But what has always made Vick special is his ability to scramble and make plays with his legs.
Even at age 34 last season, he averaged 5.9 yards per carry and was the New York Jets fourth-leading rusher, despite starting only three games.
Not only can Vick’s mobility help him move the chains offensively, it also helps him from taking a big hit that would knock him out of the game.
Longtime time Steelers backup Charlie Batch told NFL Network on Thursday a story of when he was thrust into the starting lineup in 2010 after starting the offseason fourth on the depth chart.
“All I remember is a conversation with Coach Tomlin,” Batch said. “He said, ‘Charlie, I don’t have any quarterbacks left. You cannot take a hit. You can’t afford to get hurt.’ ”
Vick’s mobility will keep him upright and keep him in the game, and while Vick isn’t perfect, that will be a much better result than seeing Jones out there with the season on the line.
Photo credit: AP Photo
