Steelers signing Michael Vick came with much debate
The Steelers have signed Mike Vick to be the backup to Ben Roethlisberger. Vick claims that, a year after he failed to accept that role behind Geno Smith with the Jets, Vick is ready to embrace his new football reality.
“I admit that I didn’t do it as well as I wanted to, because in my mind the position I was in was supposed to be different,” Vick said Wednesday, via Will Graves of the Associated Press. “But I think you’ve got to accept it first. I think I’ve been able to do that and come to grips with it, and my role is clear.”
Last year, when Vick apparently believed he should have been playing instead of Smith, Vick didn’t commit himself to preparing for the possibility that he’d be playing in any given week. And it showed when he played against the Chargers.
“Maybe I didn’t prepare or I wasn’t prepared, but I’ll tell you what, it won’t happen again,” Vick said after replacing Smith in a 31-0 loss to the Chargers. “I learned a lesson last week: always stay ready, always be prepared. That left a bitter taste in my mouth that I wasn’t able to go out and put points on the board or even help this team in any fashion. So this week has been a different work week from me [and] throughout the rest of the year, it’s going to be totally different for me as far as my preparation.”
Many would be more inclined to accept that Vick has changed his ways if his ways didn’t exist prior to 2014. But Vick has admitted that he had a poor work ethic while he was the starter in Atlanta. While he apparently snapped out of it during his time in Philly as the starter, the Steelers by signing Vick and installing him as the understudy to Ben Roethlisberger are accepting the possibility that Vick won’t be ready to go if/when they need him.
It may not matter. On Wednesday night’s Pro Football Talk on NBCSN, Rodney Harrison made an excellent point: Given the nature of Pittsburgh’s offense, Vick perhaps doesn’t need to be prepared to execute the offense as designed. Roethlisberger routinely makes things happen by extending plays with his legs and improvising; Vick does the same thing.
While Vick, 35, may not be able to run like he used to, his arm remains strong.
“He can still throw. He can still wow you with that arm,” offensive coordinator Todd Haley said, via Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Receiver Antonio Brown agreed: “Man, he calmly flicked his wrist, and the ball was on you.”
Throw in the fact that running back Le’Veon Bell was “starstruck” by Vick, and it’s more clear why he wasn’t signed to be the backup on a team with a quarterback not firmly entrenched as the starter. With players in the locker room who grew up idolizing Vick, it takes a $20 million-per-year quarterback to avoid a possible schismarising from guys wanting to play with a boyhood hero.
Vick’s task moving forward will be to play like that boyhood hero, if/when his new number is called.
- Pro Football Talk, NBC Sports
