Posted on 11/27/2006 2:00:56 AM PST by mcg2000
ATLANTA -- Michael Vick apologized for making an obscene gesture toward Atlanta fans as he walked off the field after the Falcons' fourth straight loss Sunday.
Vick used both hands to deliver the gesture and flashed an angry look toward the handful of fans remaining in the Georgia Dome. Those who hung around booed the home team loudly after its dismal 31-13 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
"First and foremost, I would like to apologize for my inappropriate actions with fans today," the quarterback said in a statement released by the Falcons. "I was frustrated and upset at how the game was going for my team, and that frustration came out the wrong way."
Vick was the Falcons' main offensive threat with 166 yards rushing, just 7 off his NFL record for a quarterback. He had another rough day passing, completing nine of 24 for 84 yards, but that wasn't entirely his fault.
The Atlanta receivers dropped at least five passes, and the offensive line didn't provide much protection. Vick was sacked three times and hit a dozen more behind the line of scrimmage after throwing passes.
Leaving the field, he let his frustration get the best of him.
"That's not what I'm about. That's not what the Atlanta Falcons are about," Vick said in his statement. "I simply lost my cool in the heat of the moment. I apologize and look forward to putting this incident behind me."
Vick did not address his actions at a postgame news conference.
Reporters were not aware that he made the obscene gesture until afterward, when replays of him leaving the field began airing on television.
"I can't explain how I'm feeling right now," Vick said during the news conference. "Losing the game says it all. It is not a good feeling when you lose four games in a row, and when you lose a game that you had a shot at winning."
Vick said he did his best to keep the Falcons (5-6) from losing again. This is the first time since 2003 that Atlanta has been below .500, and the team appears headed for another second-half collapse.
Last season, coming off a trip to the NFC championship game, the Falcons won six of their first eight games. But they went 2-6 the rest of the way, missed the playoffs and failed to break the franchise's ignominious streak of never having back-to-back winning seasons.
With the next two games on the road, Atlanta seems headed for another disappointing season.
"I was just out there fighting for this team, for pride and for this organization," Vick said. "We have to keep fighting. We have to show some resolve."
NA George was actually pretty good and people still talk about "going to the well" with him as we speak(backup) he isn't that bad.
I kind of have to chuckle when us conservatives post about our football teams and players. We sound like a bunch of libs. Scoffing off some bad behavior because the players are just human. Truth is, they are blessed to have the opportunity to play for a team. They are paid and it is a job. Imagine if most of us went to a job within view of the customer and made obscene gestures. We would probably say he deserves to be fired.
I just think it is humorous. I have caught myself doing the same thing when it involves my team.
the 1st 1/2 was really bad, the second 1/2 they "tried" to make it look like nothing shady was going on but they still didn't call ANY offensive holding OR late hits... Either blind, paid or ordered to call it that way. I have seen enough of these Pats games and this can't be just one off game, it looked like a new england refs "colts game" all over again.
Yea, tell me about it!
I didn't think it was possible for an NFL team to give up 24 pts in under 10 minutes!
You may be right.
I swear that I have been watching great running backs for over 50 years. I really think Michael Vick could be the greatest runner I have ever seen in my life (sorry Jimmy Brown, Sayers, Dickerson, and Sanders).
The guy has extreme speed, has great moves, and is very durable and POWERFUL, ............. well, that's enough for now.
He's just the best running football player I have ever seen.
I wish he'd just be a back for about five years. He looks like he still has a few really good years left in those great legs.
(jmo)
And, as my Stillers are looking like they're going to have some really lean years in the near future, I'd like to see Vick as a running back.
;-)
WR/RB with a helluva arm like Antwan Randle El.( the Steelers are idiots for letting him go)
Yes. As we say in Pittsburgh ....... no sh*t.
;-)
12 NFL seasons... that right there tells you he isn't the "worst" ever
now look
154 total passing TD's, 27602 total passing yards, 80.4 Career Passer rating.
Jeff George
Just for some perspective Drew Bledsoe has a career passer rating of 77.1
I know a thing or 2 about football go play with the kids or something.
Why would the media treat them differently? Why don't they coddle Eli and make excuses for his youth, the way they do for Michael Vick? I bet Rush knows.
I think he is talented, same as I do Donovan McNabb. They just don't have what it takes to win the BIG one. After a few years the defensive coaches of opposing teams have figured out their weaknesses. Regarding McNabb, he has 'tunnel vision'! Like Vick, McNabb is a great scrambler, but McNabb can only connect with a receiver that he hones in on, and can't pick one from a wide field. Hundreds of times receivers were open while McNabb was trying to thread needles. Frustrating.
LOL! Hell Culpepper was "young" for 7 years in Minnesota!(I know i live up there and the media made excuses for him until the day he left) NOW you talk to a queens fan and they will tell you that he is a BUM! LOL... The Media in MN cracks me up!
Who is Vick and why does anyone care, other than if he broke a misdemeanor law within his local jurisdiction?
I'm not racist and i'm not going to paint a broad brush McNabb
is one of the better black QB's in the game same goes for McNair, maybe if you want a good black QB you need a black Irishman... Wonder how good Shaquille O'Neal can throw. ;)
Back in 1999, the Skins led Dallas by 21 points with 7 and a half minutes to go in the game. They lost the game in O/T, allowing Dallas to score 21 unanswered points to tie it up. Norv Turner was the coach and everytime the Skins would get the ball, he called passing plays. So yeah, points can be scored very quickly in the NFL.
I've been following Boston College football for over 25 years, and the three greatest QBs I saw in college were Flutie, McNabb and Vick. Vick was the most dominant of the three, and the most athletic, by a wide margin. But the NFL doesn't seem to know how to maximize the use of running quarterbacks. I saw that with Flutie, too.
As a first rounder, he was a bust. As a leader, a bust. No playoff success. Career high QB rating of 94, average QB rating of 80.
Ah thats what I love about modern professional athletes. The style, the class, the positive messages.
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