01-18-2007, 04:01 PM
Wednesday's incident at the Miami International Airport, in which Falcons running back Michael Vick's discarded water bottle was found to have a secret compartment that smelled of marijuana and contained a substance that the local police are now testing, could be precisely what new Falcons coach Bobby Petrino needs to declare, in time, an open competition for the starting quarterback position in the team's new offense.
If Vick loses such a battle with backup Matt Schaub, 2007 most definitely will be Vick's last season with the team.
Before Petrino was hired, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported that the new coach in Atlanta would be empowered by ownership to make a long-term decision regarding Vick. With Vick now having made arguably the stoopidest in a line of stoopid mistakes, the time might be right for Vick to be nudged out of the spotlight.
And Vick's blunder clearly was stoopid. As several readers astutely have observed, new air travel rules resulting from concerns that secret compartments in bottles would be used for something more sinister than carrying drugs prevented him from having any hope of getting that thing onto the plane. To the extent that Vick thought his celebrity might help him get a pass in this regard, he was wrong. (Kudos to the TSA employee for sticking to his/her guns.)
Vick then raised suspicions by initially refusing to give up his 20-ounce bottle of Aquafina water. If he'd simply pitched the thing casually in a recycle bin, no one likely would have been curious as to its contents.
Also, don't underestimate the potential impact of this news in Atlanta, the worldwide headquarters of Coca-Cola, given the fact that Vick was toting a bottle of the water product sold by Coke's hated rival, Pepsi. Though we've been unable to confirm whether Vick currently has an endorsement deal with Coke, he had such a contract as recently as 2005.
On one had, Coke might be glad that its Dasani trademark wasn't tied to the apparent drug-smuggling device. On the other hand, Vick was carrying a bottle with the Aquafina logo, which in the eyes of Coca-Cola management is likely far worse than the implication that Vick smokes pot.
So what happens? The team, we believe, will officially do nothing. But we believe that, as the offseason continues to unfold, the Falcons will send out signals suggesting that Vick and Schaub will have an equal chance to be the quarterback in 2007, and that their respective progress during the offseason and in training camp will ultimately decide who gets the job.
Though any close calls might well go to Vick, we think that, if given a fair shot, Schaub could win the competition by a wide margin.
For starters, look for the Falcons to tender Schaub, a restricted free agent, at the highest possible level, which would force any team that signs him to a poison-pill offer sheet that, as a practical matter, couldn't be matched to fork over a first-round pick and a third-round pick as compensation.
****I'd love to see schaub get the job.
If Vick loses such a battle with backup Matt Schaub, 2007 most definitely will be Vick's last season with the team.
Before Petrino was hired, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported that the new coach in Atlanta would be empowered by ownership to make a long-term decision regarding Vick. With Vick now having made arguably the stoopidest in a line of stoopid mistakes, the time might be right for Vick to be nudged out of the spotlight.
And Vick's blunder clearly was stoopid. As several readers astutely have observed, new air travel rules resulting from concerns that secret compartments in bottles would be used for something more sinister than carrying drugs prevented him from having any hope of getting that thing onto the plane. To the extent that Vick thought his celebrity might help him get a pass in this regard, he was wrong. (Kudos to the TSA employee for sticking to his/her guns.)
Vick then raised suspicions by initially refusing to give up his 20-ounce bottle of Aquafina water. If he'd simply pitched the thing casually in a recycle bin, no one likely would have been curious as to its contents.
Also, don't underestimate the potential impact of this news in Atlanta, the worldwide headquarters of Coca-Cola, given the fact that Vick was toting a bottle of the water product sold by Coke's hated rival, Pepsi. Though we've been unable to confirm whether Vick currently has an endorsement deal with Coke, he had such a contract as recently as 2005.
On one had, Coke might be glad that its Dasani trademark wasn't tied to the apparent drug-smuggling device. On the other hand, Vick was carrying a bottle with the Aquafina logo, which in the eyes of Coca-Cola management is likely far worse than the implication that Vick smokes pot.
So what happens? The team, we believe, will officially do nothing. But we believe that, as the offseason continues to unfold, the Falcons will send out signals suggesting that Vick and Schaub will have an equal chance to be the quarterback in 2007, and that their respective progress during the offseason and in training camp will ultimately decide who gets the job.
Though any close calls might well go to Vick, we think that, if given a fair shot, Schaub could win the competition by a wide margin.
For starters, look for the Falcons to tender Schaub, a restricted free agent, at the highest possible level, which would force any team that signs him to a poison-pill offer sheet that, as a practical matter, couldn't be matched to fork over a first-round pick and a third-round pick as compensation.
****I'd love to see schaub get the job.
