Atlanta Falcon QB Joey Harrington
He's No Michael Vick But Is That Such a Bad Thing?
Amid the reams of verbiage that’s flowing about Michael Vick these days, precious little has addressed what his lack of availability means to the Atlanta Falcons. But here’s an interesting question: Could the Dirty Birds actually end up being better off without him?
It’s hard to believe that could even be possible when, after all, the weight of any expectations Falcons’ fans may hold rests squarely on the shoulders of one Joey Harrington.
Yes, that Joey Harrington - The Joey Harrington who was run out of Detroit a couple of years ago. The same one the Miami Dolphins didn't want either.
Once you’ve stopped laughing you might think: How can you even compare Vick and Harrington? On the surface, you can’t. From jersey sales to fantasy football to which one to pick when you sit down for a round of Madden on the old X-Box, it’s a no-brainer – Vick all the way.
But the real world 2007 Atlanta Falcons might be just as happy to have Pal Joey at the helm, as shaky as his tiller hand may be.
Let’s crunch some numbers. From the high water mark of 2004’s 11-5 record, the Falcons have been in steady decline: 8-8 in 2005 and 7-9 last season. Of more interest, though, is this. The Falcons led the NFL in rushing for 3 straight years. In those same years, however, they’ve gone from 30th in passing to 27th to dead last. Smells like a quarterback problem.
As exciting as Vick could be scrambling, the fact remains that he could never harness his cannon arm. Without an adequate passing game, it became easy for opponents to defend the Falcons. But Vick was the wagon to which they were hitched and, had his little brush with the law not intervened, they’d have been stuck with him. Now, the Falcons are out from under that yoke.
Although he hasn’t said so, that could be music to the ears of new head coach Bobby Petrino. He put the University of Louisville’s football program on the map and brings a reputation as one of college football’s best offensive minds to his first NFL gig. Not having Vick around might just be the opportunity - and excuse - he needs to wipe the slate clean and start over.
In the Falcons’ first 2 pre-season games, they hoisted 34 and 33 passes, totals they only managed to put up two times all of last season. Sure, it’s a small sample size. But whether by design or necessity, that signals a new direction toward a more balanced Atlanta attack.
Which brings us back to Harrington.Laugh all you want, but he’s not without his attributes. The 6-4, 220-pounder was the 3rd overall pick in 2002. He’s got size and a decent arm. Plus, his career completion rate of 55.2%, while not great, is still better than Vick’s 52.6.
And, let’s be fair, the guy deserves a mulligan for having had to play for the Lions. Harrington was the lightening rod for all that went wrong in the Motor City. But pinning that debacle on one guy is like blaming the weatherman for Hurricane Katrina.
Now, for the first time in his career, Harrington will have some talent to work with. There’s game-breaking deep threat in veteran Joe Horn and one of the game’s best tight ends in Alge Crumpler. And let’s not forget the Falcons have been the league’s top rushing team for 3 years running. Yes, some of that was Vick, but they’ve still got 1,000 yard rusher Warrick Dunn and a decent O-line.
So, Harrington will be in a better position to thrive than ever before. Whether he will or not is an open question (he IS Joey Harrington, after all). Falcons’ fans sure hope he’s a late bloomer, though, because this is the beginning of their brave new post-Michael Vick world and, for the moment, Joey Harrington is all they’ve got.
