Being doggone

When it comes to bad judgment, Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Vick has been able to evade it like a poor tackler on the football field. That is to say, until now.

At the center of an illegal dogfighting ring, which took place on property that he owned, you can't help but wonder: will he explain away his involvement in dogfighting like, "Well, I had nothing to do with it so cut me a break?" Will he keep smiling & telling us that he doesn't want to disappoint his coaches & teammates in light of all these charges? Atlanta Falcons VIP Arthur Blank & NFL commissioner Roger Goodell both told Vick to fess up, tell them what they needed to know, you know, be straight up honest with them...& of course Vick with the mindset of an elusive quarterback that he is would put the spin moves on both men, among countless others.

That is to say, until now.

He's facing serious charges on the federal level; not only that, but his career with the Falcons is in major jeopardy. Unlike the football field, he won't have any of his offensive linemen to protect him & provide the best defense possible against his adversary (that being the court system). And he won't be able to use his trademark burst of speed to bail out of these charges either.

He could have avoided this predicament earlier if he regarded all the risks & taking these risks
into account, turn himself into law enforcement & explain to the authorities what went down in this dogfighting ring. But since he brushed off all of the above, the possibility of jail time is looming over Vick's head like a black cloud along with the likelihood of Goodell suspending Vick indefinitely.

Even if he doesn't get suspended right off the bat Vick still is in trouble & must face the music; if
he doesn't know that he is by now Blank certainly does. That's the thing: if Goodell takes action, he won't be taking it lightly & Blank, as Vick's boss & owner of the Falcons, knows full well that Goodell is going to be no-BS with anyone charged with criminal conduct - his own star QB included.

The suspensions won't be the same for Vick as they were for Pacman Jones (all season) or for Tank Johnson & Chris Henry (each sitting out 8 games). Things this time around are a lot worse; & in regards to NFL business affairs, Jones, Johnson & Henry don't get any respect. (And I thought the NFL wasn't supposed to be the "faceless league" it has become, to quote Washington Post writer Michael Wilbon.)

But why? You might ask. Vick is one of the few faces in the NFL which actually register with anyone: among the others out there who do, Peyton Manning & T.O. are two faces whom we can think of. Donovan McNabb is yet another as well as Tom Brady. How many people actually know who Pacman Jones is? Or Tank Johnson? That's the problem. Everyone knows Vick; nobody knows who Pacman & Tank are in terms of significance. As a quarterback, Vick is a significant player of monumental importance for not only his team but also the rest of the league. With this avalanche of charges, in a football sense, the Falcons are in a state of 911.

This isn't to say that Vick will automatically get hit with a guilty verdict; the whole premise of the criminal justice system is that one is innocent until proven otherwise. Or the evidence will come across as too flimsy for the grand jury, leaving them unconvinced that Vick was involved in illegal dogfighting at all...& that's only a best-case scenario. If there is anything we could learn from the case of the Duke lacrosse players, it's this: not to jump to conclusions based on charges which cannot yet be proved.

Guilty or no, Vick's life will not be the same. The Falcons won't be the same, this much is for certain. Bottom line is this: Michael Vick is in a world of trouble which even his skills as a quarterback won't save him from.