Morten Anderson and Michael Vick are two of the biggest names in the history of the Atlanta Falcons. Vick sat down with Anderson recently on the Great Dane Nation podcast and the two discussed the ups and downs of his career along with the current state of the Falcons.
Anderson, who is currently second on the team’s all-time scoring list (806 points, 6.5 PPG), is remembered for his overtime field goal against Minnesota in the 1999 NFC Championship game that sent Atlanta to the Super Bowl. As for Vick, he is remembered for a number of reasons. His electrifying play style on the field was high-quality entertainment for fans around the league and transcended the quarterback position. Vick inspired a whole new breed of mobile quarterbacks.
However, what most people remember about Vick is how his time with the Falcons ended with a dog-fighting scandal that ultimately landed him in prison for nearly two years. The former No. 1 overall pick returned to the NFL in 2009 with the Philadelphia Eagles and had somewhat of a career resurgence under Andy Reid. One noticeable difference upon Vick’s return was his dedication to the finer points of the quarterback position. Watching film in Philadelphia became more prominent in Vick’s development than it had been while in Atlanta.
“Here’s a guy who is phenomenally talented, but he’s not putting the work in,” said Anderson regarding Vick’s early days in the NFL. “When I saw you go out of Leavenworth and go to Philadelphia, I saw a different Michael Vick. I saw a guy who was highly motivated and gonna go a different route and learn to play the game at its highest level with talent and with hard work. As opposed to 2006 when I was thinking this dude’s so talented, but he’s kind of phoning it in.”
Vick talked about how his mindset changed with the Eagles and how it taught him to rely less on his physical abilities.
“In Philadelphia, I started to understand how much film-work meant,” said Vick. “When I was in Atlanta, it’s like, I got the skill set, I see what’s going on on the defense, I know they’re not going to change it. But what I used to hang my hat on in Atlanta is that at some point, these teams are going to play me different. So why would I watch all this film when I feel like they’re going to try to ‘mike-will’ me or ‘sam, strong safety blitz’ or try to zero blitz me more this game. But the team can only change up so much, you can’t confuse the players. So I didn’t understand that concept. I learned from Andy Reid how to put in that hard work.”
Anderson also asked Vick about the most difficult aspect of being in prison and the challenges it brought.
“Just being away from family, and I’m a family oriented person and I spend a lot of time with my mom and sisters, my brother,” said Vick. “My family I created, my wife and kids. That’s the toughest part. Then knowing that for a long time, you take the word freedom for granted and you don’t know what it’s like to have freedom until it is taken away and the small things become important.”
Additionally, Vick gave his thoughts on the current state of the Falcons, giving praise to head coach Arthur Smith.
“I think Arthur [Smith] is doing a great job. The culture that he’s brought from Tennessee I think is translating. I think being able to have that relationship with Matt Ryan after Matt has been through maybe three or four head coaches, three or four different systems. There’s a lot of information that can be shared. I think they’re playing tough, good football. Now, there’s a situation where we got to get better each and every week. I think what we’ve done best up to this point is learning from our mistakes.”
Vick then turned his attention to the Falcons No. 4 overall draft choice, Kyle Pitts, and the dynamic he brings to the team.
“I think Kyle Pitts has been a big addition. His presence itself, opening things up due to double teams and that’s Matt and his the experience, knowing how to exploit that. Arthur being in Tennessee having one of the most dominant offenses over the last couple of years. Defense is playing well. And we’ve always been tough. We always play with pride and play tough but I think it’s another level. This is the perfect time to hit that stride for our team. In regards to Matt, I think Matt is playing consistent, amazing, and right now it looks like he has three, four years left in him.”
Over the years, the relationship between Vick and the Falcons has been somewhat repaired. When Atlanta held a celebration for Roddy White’s jersey retirement, the team included Vick.
Click here for the entire podcast episode featuring Michael Vick
[lawrence-related id=84814,84799,84780,84667]
[vertical-gallery id=54479]