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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, August 16, 2009

NFL: Passing on Vick will come back to bite Cowboys


By Jean-Jacques Taylor
The Dallas Morning News

SAN ANTONIO — Randy Moss would’ve looked good in a Cowboys’ uniform, but Jerry Jones didn’t draft the controversial receiver years ago because the team had experienced a plethora of embarrassing off-the-field issues.

Michael Vick would’ve looked good in a Cowboys’ uniform, but Jerry never seriously contemplated signing the controversial quarterback after an off-season of ridding the locker room of T.O., Pacman and Tank Johnson.
There’s simply no way Jerry could justify getting rid of those guys and then signing the notorious Vick.
Now the Cowboys must deal with the fallout from Vick joining the Eagles, because his presence makes it more difficult for the Cowboys to win the NFC East.
We all know Jerry would’ve loved adding Vick had the circumstances been different.
He built this team around a trio of stars — Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin — who helped him win three Super Bowls.
Deion Sanders. Raghib Ismail. Joey Galloway. Terrell Owens. They were all high-profile players acquired to help win games and sell tickets.
Vick fits that profile.
Jon Kitna will be a solid backup quarterback; Vick would be better. That’s not debatable.
And who would you rather have running the Wildcat? Patrick Crayton or Vick? That’s not debatable, either.
Vick is an electric athlete who will force defensive coordinators to spend a portion of each week preparing their unit to stop him. That’s time not spent on other aspects of the offense.
Philadelphia, which has played in five of the last eight NFC Championship Games, could take a chance on signing Vick, just like it took a chance on adding T.O. a few years ago, because it has a strong head coach, a strong president and a strong owner.
Everyone knows Andy Reid runs the team, Joe Banner handles the contracts and owner Jeff Lurie supports both of them. It doesn’t do any good for players to go whining to Lurie because they don’t like something Reid or Banner has done.
No one is bigger than the team in Philadelphia.
It’s the reason they suspended T.O. for the final nine games of the 2005 season. And it’s the reason Reid benched McNabb for a half against Baltimore, a week after a raggedy performance in a tie against Cincinnati.
Romo could throw five interceptions in three consecutive games, and I’ll bet my paycheck against yours that he’ll be in the starting lineup the next week.
While the Eagles talked about the importance of giving Vick a second chance in life, let’s keep it real: This was a football move.
Even though Vick hasn’t played in two seasons, having spent 23 months in federal prison for his role in a dogfighting ring, he remains an electric athlete. Say what you will about his mechanics and accuracy, he’s easily among the league’s top 15 quarterbacks.
Look at some of the teams — Minnesota and San Francisco come to mind — starting busters, and it’s pretty obvious that Vick is capable of starting once he acclimates himself to playing in the league again.
He makes Philadelphia better because he’s significantly better than Kevin Kolb or A.J. Feeley, who were battling for the backup job, and he’s a true threat running the Wildcat.
Receiver DeSean Jackson played quarterback when the Eagles used the Wildcat last season, but he threw one pass in 12 plays — and that was an interception. Vick will be a much more dangerous threat, especially with a creative offensive mind like Reid handling the offense.
Imagine the stress it’ll put on the Cowboys’ defense with Vick quarterbacking the Wildcat with Brian Westbrook at running back and Jackson and first-round pick Jeremy Maclin at receiver.
It’s too bad circumstances kept Jerry from getting involved in the Vick sweepstakes. Eventually, Jerry will experience the same regret he felt after passing on Moss.