Da_Truth Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Vick struggles on first day of camp By Len Pasquarelli ESPN.com FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Here are five observations on the Atlanta Falcons, based on the July 25 afternoon practice: 1. The good news is that quarterback Michael Vick plays with such passion that every foible, as head coach Jim Mora pointed out, is frustrating to the NFL's most electrifying performer. That means the game means something to him personally. The bad news on Monday afternoon? That Vick, at least in the passing game, had so many legitimate sources of frustration. "He's a perfectionist," Mora said. "He wants everything he does to be perfect." In the first on-field session of camp, Vick didn't even approach mediocre, let alone perfection. Yeah, it was the first practice, the first workout in months in pads, and the transition from throwing a ball in shorts and a T-shirt to being totally padded up is always a dramatic step. It takes time, just from a practical standpoint, to reach a comfort zone in pads. So it's a bit unfair to judge Vick's progress at the outset of Year 2 in the Falcons' ****ization of the West Coast offense, on one 2½-hour session on a sweltering afternoon. But the point of making training camp observations is to allow readers to see practice through ESPN.com's eyes. And these eyes saw a lot of poor throws. Vick was, in a word, brutal at times. And that might not even accurately describe his afternoon. He was too high. He was too low. He was long and he was short. Vick looked anything but ready to ratchet up his completion percentage to the levels that typically accompany a West Coast-style passing design. His body language belied his frustration. At one point, tight end and favorite target Alge Crumpler, following one particularly scattershot effort, returned to the huddle and placed his arm around Vick's shoulders. But even more disappointing than his performance in throwing the ball was Vick's slipshod footwork on too many occasions. Hard to imagine, we agree, for a player so agile and nifty, but the guy looked like he had two left feet at times. Vick still tries, or at least he did Monday, to do too much just with his arm. You generate velocity and even accuracy, from the feet up. But Vick rarely squared up, didn't get his feet set, had too many skewed release points. There is also a kind of "jump" in Vick's drop-and-plant, one that, mechanically, forces him to divert his eyes. Here's hoping that, as Vick strives to move forward as a passer, Monday's first impressions are not lasting ones. 2. They might never admit it publicly, but the Atlanta offensive coaches have all but decided the starting wide receivers will be rookie first-rounder Roddy White and second-year veteran Michael Jenkins, a first-round choice in 2004. What about Peerless Price, you say? Already mentally penciled in by the staff as the No. 3 wideout, probably working from the slot. Assuming, that is, he makes the roster. Which is not yet a given. The Falcons' brain trust never quite knows where to place culpability for the failure of Price to develop into a bona fide "lead" wideout. Sometimes the team suggests that part of the blame should fall on Vick, who has little confidence in Price, and who simply gave up trying to get him the ball in some 2004 outings. Other times, the Falcons allow that Price, who the team praised during the offseason for an improved work ethic, really is the culprit. But the bottom line on Price is a dismal one: The Falcons surrendered a first-round pick to get him in a 2003 trade with Buffalo, paid him a signing bonus of $10 million, and have doled out $12.5 million in two years to a guy who has produced just six touchdowns. At least on the opening day of practice, it didn't appear that Price and Vick made any better connection during the offseason than they did in 2004. Of course, one of the dangers in starting White (who, as of Wednesday morning, had not yet signed his rookie contract) and Jenkins is that the two are so young and inexperienced. If the Falcons follow through with their plans, it would mean having two starting wideouts with a total of seven career regular-season catches. And, maybe it's just us, but Jenkins does not play nearly as fast as his stop-watch speed. The former Ohio State standout is a tough kid, and played well on special teams a year ago, but he struggles to get a good release at times. Mora noted that the receiver spot will be competitive, with veterans Dez White and Brian Finneran in the mix, and it should be. But the Falcons seem to have, for now, five guys capable of playing, but no one who has yet demonstrated that he can make big plays. Two kids to watch: Kendrick Mosley and Romby Bryant, both tall, angular guys with nice inside separation. One of them could play his way onto the roster if he excels on special teams during the preseason. 3. The second position Mora cited as being ultra-competitive is safety. But one has to wonder: Is it competitive because of the overall quality at the position, or because Atlanta just has a collection of very ordinary players there? The guess is that it's the latter. Certainly the safety with the most potential is Bryan Scott, a third-year pro with physical skills and plenty of smarts. The Falcons are getting a break in that Scott, who underwent offseason shoulder surgery and wasn't expected to participate in on-field drills until well into camp, is already on the field, albeit in a limited basis. The team has made a smart move in allowing him to get reps in all the non-contact drills. He might not play, or even hit anyone, until late in the preseason. But the work Scott is doing now will pay off once the season begins. At this point, the other starter figures to be veteran Keion Carpenter, a wily, sage player, who missed all of 2004 with a knee injury. He seems to provide leadership to the unit, and his 12 career interceptions certainly make Carpenter the most proven playmaker in the safety bunch, but he largely relies more on savvy than on physical prowess. And that seems to be the common thread among the assemblage at the position. There are enough veterans who have lined up and played -- Carpenter, Scott, Ronnie Heard, Rich Coady and Kevin McCadam -- but there's not a really special player in the lot. Sure, safety is a position whose importance tends to be diminished. But if you don't have at least one player who can provide some flexibility, who can occasionally go into the slot and cover, that shortcoming is often exposed. The Falcons should be steady enough at the position, particularly if Scott is fully recovered when the season starts, but it's not a position from which they figure to get much more than just steady play. The position produced but one interception in 2004. 4. Looking for the Falcons' strength on defense? It is the overall speed and quickness of the unit, especially at linebacker. In fact, Atlanta added two key veterans in Ed Hartwell (middle) and Ike Reese (strongside) at the linebacker position, and it was obvious even from the first practice that it should really be a standout area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Whats funny is on sportscenter some atlanta reporter said he did great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Adama Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 I love how he says "Here are five observations on the Atlanta Falcons", but then only lists 4, or was that a cut and paste error? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Hog Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 I love how he says "Here are five observations on the Atlanta Falcons", but then only lists 4, or was that a cut and paste error? Lenny ate the fifth one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba9497 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 How'd Ron Mexico look? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dg28daman Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 He's really not a good QB. He's a great athlete, and as explosive as they come, but he's really a nothing QB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Originally posted by dg28daman He's really not a good QB. He's a great athlete, and as explosive as they come, but he's really a nothing QB. :doh: See.... Atlanta's record without Vick 2 years ago -vs- Atlanta's record with Vick last year. I hope we get a 'nothing QB'!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCS Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 I'll be mildly aware, or maybe even dig up some alarm if this is stated after the "last day" of camp. Or better yet last day of preseason. Until then, :yawnee: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
authentic Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Originally posted by bubba9497 How'd Ron Mexico look? ask the girl that he gave herpies to... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadKarma Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 He will end up a Redskin at some point in his career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hokie4redskins Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 BLASPHEMY!! How dare you doubt Vick! First practice, big deal! He struggled. As much as I dig Ramsey, I'd trade him AND Lavar for Vick in about a nanosecond and so would 99.9% of you. Vick is not only out of this world, he's out of the solar system. The schmucks saying he isn't all that have no clue what they're talking about. Watch him play live for 20 games and see him take your beloved school on his shoulders to a National championship while punkin' an entire defense that went pro and you'd sing a different tune. Vick's the man, and that's that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrfriedm Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Michael Vick is the best running back in the league playing quaterback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebowski Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Originally posted by Canadian Hog Lenny ate the fifth one. :laugh: Hope he eats all 5 of his Redskins observations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Die Hard Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Originally posted by Park City Skins I'll be mildly aware, or maybe even dig up some alarm if this is stated after the "last day" of camp. Or better yet last day of preseason. Until then, :yawnee: Then you missed all of last preseason... where he stunk up the joint. And then the Falcons went on to play the Eagles in the NFC Championship game. I care little of what happens in the pre-season any more. Same with free agents saying they'll "never play for team XXX again". I've seen it too many times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Originally posted by hokie4redskins BLASPHEMY!! How dare you doubt Vick! First practice, big deal! He struggled. As much as I dig Ramsey, I'd trade him AND Lavar for Vick in about a nanosecond and so would 99.9% of you. Vick is not only out of this world, he's out of the solar system. The schmucks saying he isn't all that have no clue what they're talking about. Watch him play live for 20 games and see him take your beloved school on his shoulders to a National championship while punkin' an entire defense that went pro and you'd sing a different tune. Vick's the man, and that's that. Amen Hokie, Amen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty Gut Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Originally posted by hokie4redskins BLASPHEMY!! How dare you doubt Vick! First practice, big deal! He struggled. As much as I dig Ramsey, I'd trade him AND Lavar for Vick in about a nanosecond and so would 99.9% of you. Vick is not only out of this world, he's out of the solar system. The schmucks saying he isn't all that have no clue what they're talking about. Watch him play live for 20 games and see him take your beloved school on his shoulders to a National championship while punkin' an entire defense that went pro and you'd sing a different tune. Vick's the man, and that's that. smh @ a hokie homer I even caught someone on Playbook slip and call him what he is, a RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VAsBeachBoy Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Dude its seems weird that I am all over Vick too b/c I'm a Hokie. But anyone here who doubts Vick too be one of the top five yes five valuable players in the entire league is NUTS... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCS Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Yep. You're right D.H. Missed it. Damn preseason. Get ya every time. That's it. Cut him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Originally posted by hokie4redskins BLASPHEMY!! How dare you doubt Vick! First practice, big deal! He struggled. As much as I dig Ramsey, I'd trade him AND Lavar for Vick in about a nanosecond and so would 99.9% of you. Vick is not only out of this world, he's out of the solar system. The schmucks saying he isn't all that have no clue what they're talking about. Watch him play live for 20 games and see him take your beloved school on his shoulders to a National championship while punkin' an entire defense that went pro and you'd sing a different tune. Vick's the man, and that's that. Originally posted by VAsBeachBoy Dude its seems weird that I am all over Vick too b/c I'm a Hokie. But anyone here who doubts Vick too be one of the top five yes five valuable players in the entire league is NUTS... Well that sums up all my feelings right there Basically if you have ever seen LIVE the amazing things he can do it is unreal. My favorite live game of his that I saw was West Virginia 2000. He was running all over the place and threw 2 sweet long balls for TD's, which were right on the money. The man can throw the ball with some amazing accuracy and distance. I have seen nothing like it. Anyone remember the Lions game last year where he threw a 30 yard touchdown pass to a WR tucked away in the corner of the end zone. He never was the smartest QB and that remains his biggest weakness. If he ever figures out how to pick apart a D, grasp an offense, and read coverages, Vick will be simply unstoppable. He is only 24 which is the scary part. As one poster said look at the Falcon's record with Vick and without Vick. That is all that it comes down to kids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnacpa Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 I agree with Die Hard's comments ... he was pitiful against the skins in the preseason last year as well as other teams ... everyone was talking up the backup QB that they drafted, but it was Vick who got them into the playoffs and to the Championship game. Preseason and 1st practice doesn't mean anything. Better telling is how consistent Negative Nanny Pasta Belly is ... always full of good cheer. What an assessment for a playoff caliber team. The only accurate information in there was the piece on Peerless Price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westbrook36 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Eagles are the surest best in week one. Line is 3 and the Birds will win by double digits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e16bball Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Well, you can look at the record and how much better it was "with Vick" as opposed to "without Vick," but that doesn't quite tell the whole story. Accompanying Vick's return was the emergence of a much more aggressive and effective defense. A defense that recorded 12 more sacks and 4 more INTs, allowed almost 60 less yards of offense per game and, most importantly, over 5 points less per game. That is nearly the same improvement defensively as the Redskins. Additionally, they added Alex Gibbs as their O-Line coach/consultant. Gibbs, as I'm sure most of you know, was the man in charge of devising the Broncos' somewhat shady but unquestionably effective blocking techniques. Having Warrick Dunn for the entire season helped as well, as the previous season they missed him for 5 games and parts of a few more. He more than doubled his number of carries from the previous season. Now I'm not downtalking Vick, because I think he's the most breathtaking, exciting athlete in the league. But I think people overestimate the extent of his impact on the team's success. He is assuredly a MASSIVE improvement over Doug Johnson and Kurt Kittner. But to call him one of the top 5 most important players "without any doubt" may be overstating it. At this point, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Originally posted by e16bball Well, you can look at the record and how much better it was "with Vick" as opposed to "without Vick," but that doesn't quite tell the whole story. Accompanying Vick's return was the emergence of a much more aggressive and effective defense. A defense that recorded 12 more sacks and 4 more INTs, allowed almost 60 less yards of offense per game and, most importantly, over 5 points less per game. That is nearly the same improvement defensively as the Redskins. Additionally, they added Alex Gibbs as their O-Line coach/consultant. Gibbs, as I'm sure most of you know, was the man in charge of devising the Broncos' somewhat shady but unquestionably effective blocking techniques. Having Warrick Dunn for the entire season helped as well, as the previous season they missed him for 5 games and parts of a few more. He more than doubled his number of carries from the previous season. Now I'm not downtalking Vick, because I think he's the most breathtaking, exciting athlete in the league. But I think people overestimate the extent of his impact on the team's success. He is assuredly a MASSIVE improvement over Doug Johnson and Kurt Kittner. But to call him one of the top 5 most important players "without any doubt" may be overstating it. At this point, anyway. I dunno Its pretty obvious what he means to the Falcons Under 2 different head coaches he has led his team to victory more times then not The record with and without him is astounding. Compare the Falcons '02 season with Reeves and '03 season with Reeves And then '04 with Mora 2 different coaches, who would have or did have half the wins without Vick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosher Ham Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 The Falcons wont make the playoffs this year. I dont know if any of you guys know this but the Falcons have NEVER made the playoffs in two consecutive years. I think Vick is a great athlete with all of the potential that anyone could ask for. But so were Randall Cunninghamand Kordell Stewart, and for me that is where Vick stands for me at this point. A lot of potential, a lot of hype, a lot of running, but not a lot of QBing skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mooka Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Originally posted by SkinsandTerps The Falcons wont make the playoffs this year. I dont know if any of you guys know this but the Falcons have NEVER made the playoffs in two consecutive years. I think Vick is a great athlete with all of the potential that anyone could ask for. But so were Randall Cunninghamand Kordell Stewart, and for me that is where Vick stands for me at this point. A lot of potential, a lot of hype, a lot of running, but not a lot of QBing skills. thats because they've NEVER had Vick as a healthy starter for 2 consecutive seasons... btw how are you seriously comparing Randal to Kordell Stewart???? :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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