| Authored by Andrew Perna - 5th September, 2007 - 6:57 pm
 The season hasn’t even begun and people are already writing off the Atlanta Falcons and a handful of other NFL doormats. The difference between the Falcons and teams like the Browns and Raiders is that Cleveland and Oakland’s problems are a lack of talent, depth and experience. Even without Michael Vick, the Falcons possess all three of those key characteristics.
What Atlanta has gone through this summer involves one player, not the whole roster. The legal issues surrounding Vick, the team’s best player, haven’t overshadowed like just an entire franchise, but also the entire NFL summer.
My question is – wouldn’t it be crazy if the Atlanta Falcons were actually better off after losing their “franchise” quarterback?
We all know the story. The Falcons are counting on Joey Harrington, who failed miserably in Detroit and didn’t leave much of an impression in Miami. Atlanta is also without Matt Schaub, who was considered to be the league’s top back-up, after trading him to the Texans this offseason.
But how much better is, or was, Vick than Harrington? I know Vick was football’s equivalent of The Human Highlight Reel, but how much success did that bring to Atlanta?
Michael was the first pick in the 2001 NFL Draft out of Virginia Tech. During his career he has posted a career record of 38-28-1. That’s nothing to get excited about, but it’s a winning record nonetheless. Harrington holds a career win-loss record of 23-43, considerably worse than Vick. However, you must consider the supporting cast Joey had to work with in Detroit for all those years and last season in Miami.
No one has been able to command the Dolphins’ offense with great success since the retirement of Dan Marino, and the Lions haven’t been good since, well, I can remember. I know the quarterback is considered one of, if not, the most important position on the field, but I’m not even sure Peyton Manning could have been successful in the Lions’ offense.
I’m not comparing Harrington and Manning, that would be just foolish, and Joey has to accept his fair share of the blame for his miserable win-loss record. However, I do think he’s better than we give him credit for, and a fresh start in Atlanta might be just what the former Oregon standout needs to resurrect his career.
The Falcons supporting cast isn’t light-years ahead of what Harrington enjoyed in Miami and Detroit, but the likes of Alge Crumpler, Warrick Dunn, Jerious Norwood, Joe Horn and DeAngelo Hall could make a substantial difference. His critics must also consider that, unlike Vick, Harrington is not a walking (or running) injury risk.
The change of scenery in itself isn’t the biggest asset for Harrington. The fact that no one, not even Falcons’ fans themselves, expect Atlanta to win very many games this season is what could help Joey excel.
It’s hard to compare Vick and Harrington because they are so different. Harrington has four inches on Vick, but Joey couldn’t outrun Michael to save his life. However, they are both quarterbacks, which makes the comparison relevant.
Having been drafted a season ahead of Harrington, Vick has started one more NFL game in his career. Joey has thrown over four-hundred more passes than Vick, but that’s only because of the crazy genetics that Mike possesses in his legs. Harrington has completed 55.2% of his career passes, slightly better than Vick’s 53.8 percentage. Vick’s career QB rating is 75.7, compared to Harrington’s 68.1. Joey has thrown one more touchdown (72) in his career than Vick, but has also thrown twenty-five (77) more interceptions than the suspended Vick.
Vick does have over 3,000 more rushing yards than Harrington has accumulated in his six-year career, which certainly adds a huge wrinkle a team’s offense. But I don’t think that’s something that we should hold against Harrington. He simply doesn’t have the legs to compete with Vick on the ground.
Harrington is a more traditional pocket passer. That’s something the Falcons haven’t had since they drafted Vick six years ago. The offense is also set up to take some of the load off Harrington, with two capable runners in Dunn and Norwood. Harrington will also have Crumpler and Horn as safety valves should he need to get rid of the ball quickly.
I’ve stated my case that Harrington isn’t a huge drop-off compared to what Atlanta had in Vick, but it’ll still take some superb play in the first few weeks of the season for people to believe that things won’t be all that bad in Atlanta this season.
A few victories to open the season aren’t out of the question with Atlanta taking on Minnesota, Jacksonville and Houston in the first four weeks of the season. The Falcons have one of the NFL’s easiest schedules this season, ranked 27th out of the league’s thirty teams.
Atlanta was 7-9 last season. Imagine if they hovered around that record this season, with the “face” of their franchise behind bars rather than behind center.
Am I crazy to think the Falcons won’t be the worst team in the football? Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com |
