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Let’s guess the other two “most amazing players” are:

1. Lawrence Taylor, OLB, NY Giants;

2. Barry Sanders, RB, Det Lions.

No?

You got half of it, Jim. But, LT, well, he was probably the best linebacker to ever put on cleats (oops, what about Ray Nitschke?), but he’s not one of the top two ever to play the game.

It’s another running back.

Hmm … I figured Taylor because not only was he inspiring to watch, he changed the game. But now we’re lookign for another running back. I don’t think you’re old enough to “see” and appreciate Gayle Sayers or Jim Brown, so I won’t pick them.

Payton is my all-time favorite RB, but he was just plain great. Maybe not “amazing.”

Do you know what? I’m going to stretch here and pick Earl Campbell because out of all the RBs I’ve seen, he may have been the second most “amazing” (behind Sanders).

And what about the brief, blinding spark that was Bo Jackson? Nah. I’m sticking with Campbell.

I’d say sweetness. Vick even looks a little like him running, with that maddening tendency to hold the ball in one hand and flail it around as if he’s using it to balance himself.

But the larger point, Vick wins games. Why? Because he’s worth three or four practically free first downs every game, no matter the situation. Give any NFL team three more first downs, and they’re alot more likely to win. Statistically, I think it’s similar to an opposing baseball team that commits five errors in a game.

Walter Peyton, “just plain great”?!? Walter Peyton, “Maybe not ‘amazing.’”?!?

Jim, your playoff watching privileges are at risk if you keep talking like that.

I’m probably biased to runners, but Sanders and Peyton were poetry in motion. Gale Sayers was similar, and he wasn’t quite “before my time,” but I was too young to appreciate what I was seeing.

In fact, once you get to thinking about it, how can you really narrow it to three? In addition to LT and Jim Brown, what about Joe Montana? And as far as the defensive secondary, no one could touch Deion Sanders. I’ve been lucky to see some incredible athletes watching the NFL.

But I’ll take Sanders, Peyton, and Vick on my fantasy team any day. We’ll be running the wishbone offense … a QB, a fullback (I’ll take Ironhead Heyward), and two tailbacks, any one of whom could run on any play.

Re: Peyton – I’m going to argue with me, not with you. Again, he is my favorite RB (perhaps my favorite player) ever. Saying “just plain great” was my way of giving an ultimate compliment. He was great – running, blocking, catching – week after week, year after year. I couldn’t pay a better compliment.

But I was seeking that electrifying player; that amazing player that in any given game or any given run could excite and inspire. Like Sanders. Like Campbell (who I swear I once saw drag twelve guys 25 yards into an end zone). Peyton was just Peyton. Always. Again, I can pay no higher compliment.

All that said, I’m not willing to put Vick in their company. Yet.

OK, your playoff watching privileges are restored.

As for “I’m not willing to put Vick in their company. Yet” ... that’s reasonable. I don’t think he’s had enough nationwide exposure yet (though it’s hard to judge from here in Atlanta) to make the impression he has on me.

He hasn’t yet shown the consistency of a Walter Peyton, but he has shown flashes of a brilliance I’ve never seen in the NFL (I wish I’d collected quotes from opposing players after games this year, but the best one was simply “He’s an alien”, because the guy couldn’t believe a human did those things). Like I said, I think he’s perhaps 70% of the player he will become. He’s 24, in the first year of a new offense, with a new coach.

Yet still, the Falcons have locked a first round bye in the playoffs this year, after going 5-11 last year. And this isn’t a completely retooled team filled with free agent bandaids. There was one, Ron Coleman. But of the 22 starters this year, 17 of them were on the team last year. However, one of them didn’t play most of it.

Michael Vick.

i think that vick will be one of the best in the nfl just wate and see.

VICK IZ DA BEST QB ON DIS WORLD HE DESERVES A BETTER TEAM DUNN IZ GOOD AN PIERCE THERE GOOD 4 VICK BUT HE NEEDS A BETTA LINE….I LOVE VICK!!!! HES MA IDOLE I WORSHIP HIM I WANNA B JUST LIK HIM!!!!!!!!! ONLY I AINT BLACK I NO EVERY THIN BOUT HIM WERE HE WAS BORN AN EVERY THIN 1 DAY I WILL B LIK HIM !!!

Michael Vick is the the best thing to hit football since padding was introduced. I’m going to marry him one day!!!!!

Enough to make you want to stop posting about football, eh?

Certainly enough to make me glad I’m not Michael Vick, $130 million contract notwithstanding.

you say michel vick was superman in the air but how fast is he.

Well, Admir, he’s been too busy to answer my challenge for a race, so I can’t personally tell you how fast he is. Four years ago he was timed in the 40 yard dash at 4.25 seconds. But the best people to ask are those who have to play against him. Here’s What opponents are saying about Michael Vick

“I still don’t understand how this man can be about two centimeters away from the ground for about four yards and not come down and have his knee hit the ground. I mean, that right there is just unbelievable.” — Panthers safety Mike Minter [see photo linked above]

“He’s a phenomenal specimen. No one’s nearly as fast as him or as quick as him. Then you throw in that arm. You have that combination, that’s why he’s the man.” — Seattle defensive end Chike Okeafor

“He’s the best athlete in the game. He’s going to have his hands on the ball every play. You have to watch him every snap because you never know what he’s going to do. He’s making two or three guys miss on every play.” — Oakland cornerback Charles Woodson

Finally a board with rational folks, and less profanity(a lil bit’s OK. Like:”*#$#$&>%@! Vick’s at it again!”)My top three would be Vick, Deion, and Barry. My criteria is the level of desperation with which I run to the bathroom when they’re playing. All three are easliy in the “Just buy a box of depends” category. Payton, Jerry Rice and even Montana are all easily first team ALL Univers, but it’s different when you’ve got a chance to see something that by all rights should be in a circus, or at the very least an underground hangar at Area 51.

“Finally a board with rational folks, and less profanity”

Hi, Marc, and thanks for stopping by. But this is not a “board,” as the Comments Policy states, “This is not a public forum, this is One Man’s Site.” That would be me.

And currently, you, and a lot of others, are showing up here because this page is a disturbingly positioned search return at Google for “Michael Vick” (top return on page 2).

But this “board” could come to a quick end Saturday night. Keep in mind, I’ve been following the Falcons for decades, and therefore the “cold feet” are deeply ingrained. But this is a team with (effectively, due to injury) a third year quarterback with barely two years of starting experience, with a young rookie head coach, running a portion of an entirely new offense (call it the West Coast offense, with training wheels), switched from the 3-4 defense to the 4-3, and is doing all this when 17 of the 22 starters played on last year’s 5-11 team (and only one notable free agent addition, Ron Coleman).

Yes, Michael Vick is the most explosive player in the league, and when all is clicking, the Falcons can beat any team in the league. It can be a truly joyful thing to watch, trust me. But they also are a very young and fragile creation, with many stress points that could easily fracture.

And I can’t predict which team we’ll see Saturday night.

“And I can’t predict which team we’ll see Saturday night.”

Well, I know which team I’d like to see, but it might make you a trifle bit unhappy, Reid.

Given that those of us who live in the shadow of the Arch have been going through essentially the same thing all season, I do feel your pain, though.

See you on Saturday.

Go, Rams!

Well, crud…..

At least one of us got our wish, Reid. Congratulations to Vick and the Atlanta Falcons.