QB or not QB

Is Michael Vick a traditionalist's idea of a quarterback? A better question might be: Why does it matter?

By JOANNE KORTH
Published November 20, 2005

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. - Michael Vick is swiveling hips. He is shaggy hair on the Beatles, the computer that retired your typewriter. He is an MP3 player catching flak for not being compatible with cassette tapes.

He is wild.

He is popular.

He is Elvis.

Widely regarded as the most exciting player in the NFL, Vick has athletic ability never before seen at the quarterback position. Yet, in his fifth season with the Falcons, the former No. 1 overall draft pick frequently fails to measure up to the long-accepted statistical standard for quarterbacks, passer rating.

This deficiency has sparked debate over whether Vick is truly a quarterback or an athlete playing the position. Perhaps it's time to consider whether the standard fails Vick. In a society that can't wait for the next iPod, Vick is expected to squeeze himself into a pre-existing quarterback mold that doesn't seem to fit.

"I can go my whole career and people can say, "He's not a quarterback. He's not a quarterback.' So what?" Vick said. "As long as I continue to make plays and win football games, that's all they're going to remember. So, that's all I care about."

Ben Roethlisberger of 7-2 Pittsburgh leads the league this season with a 112.4 passer rating. Vick, 6-3, ranks 23rd at 76.9, which matches his career rating. Vick's career completion percentage of 54.3 is identical to journeyman Gus Frerotte's.

So, what does that mean?

The NFL's passer-rating formula was devised in 1973, seven years before Vick was born. It assigns values to a player's completion percentage, yards gained per attempt, touchdown passes per attempt and interceptions per attempt. The values are added and the sum is divided by six, then multiplied by 100. In the time it takes to compute his passer rating, Vick can run to Boise, Idaho, and back.

Criticism of Vick grew loud after the Eagles contained his scrambling in last season's NFC Championship Game, forcing him to make plays in the pocket. Vick was 11 of 24 for 136 yards with no touchdowns, one interception and four sacks in the 27-10 loss. His passer rating was 46.5, and Superman's weakness was exposed.

For 2005, Vick worked hard to improve his understanding of the short-pass oriented, West Coast system installed the previous year by coach Jim Mora and offensive coordinator Gregg Knapp.

"The only stat that counts is to win the game but, still, I don't want my stats to look bad or not be up to par," Vick said. "I set a high standard for myself."

Vick's passer rating does not seem to be tied to his team's success. Vick is 29-14-1 as a starter, the statistic he and his coaches and teammates value most. Among active quarterbacks with at least 35 starts, his 65.9 winning percentage ranks third behind the Patriots' Tom Brady (74.6) and the Eagles' Donovan McNabb (68.2).

In an Oct. 24 victory against the Jets, his passer rating was an abysmal 16.3. Two weeks later, Vick's rating soared to 102.6 in a victory at Miami, after which he lashed out at critics.

"People say I can't throw the ball from the pocket. I had to show them," Vick said. "From here on out, I don't want to hear that question - if I can throw from the pocket. If I'm winning games, don't criticize me. That's all I'm saying."

Last weekend, Vick's rating climbed to 108.9 in a loss to the Packers. Funny, no one cared.

"I think Mike Vick and everybody in this organization would take 16.3 and a win over 108.9 and a loss any day," Mora said. "We're just trying to win. We're not too concerned with the stats. Although it is good to see Mike making good decisions and being efficient with the football. You can't discount that."

In other ways quarterbacks are evaluated, Vick excels. Inside the opposing 20-yard line, he has a 97.9 rating this season with seven touchdowns and no interceptions. He also has four rushing touchdowns in the red zone, for which the passer rating does not give him credit.

Vick delivers late-game heroics, a trademark of the Patriots' Brady. Five times in the past two seasons the Falcons won games in which they were tied or trailed in the fourth quarter.

"Some of these people who analyze this have got to be out of their skulls," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said. "He's a rocket ship. He is redefining the position in his own way.

"When the pocket breaks down and they want to move the pocket with the naked bootleg, find somebody on this planet who can do what he can do with his hands on the ball."

Vick, of course, is famous for the track-team speed and video-game moves that earned him the nickname Human Joy Stick. He is trying to be more selective, but still leads all quarterbacks with 364 rushing yards. In nine games he has rushed 64 times, 27 for first downs. That's nearly twice as many attempts and first downs as the next quarterback, the Saints' Aaron Brooks.

"It takes more players who bring his type of traits to the position before people are willing to look at the position differently," Falcons general manager Rich McKay said. "It will change over time because they measure so much by quarterback rating. All these statistics are tied to what they do on every throw.

"Mike is different."

Mora understands the dilemma.

He recalls when quarterback Steve Young led the 49ers to victory in Super Bowl XXIX, finally silencing critics who preferred Joe Montana's pocket presence to Young's scrambling. Mora believes Vick must do the same.

"It will take winning the Super Bowl with Mike as the quarterback to validate it for people," Mora said. "Not for us. We think he's a great player.

"But for everybody else, for the people that don't know him, that want to see him a certain way, I think it does take that. It takes the ultimate prize."

[Last modified November 20, 2005, 00:54:20]