Columnist Sal DeFilippo: Don’t worry about the injuries, just enjoy Vick

Sal DeFilippo

Friday, Dec. 6, 2002 | 10:02 a.m.

Sal DeFilippo's pro football picks column appears Friday. Reach him at sal@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4076.

I'm growing weary of hearing all the television commentators say that an injury to Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is simply a matter of time.

Every time Vick scrambles around the corner and races for 30 or 40 yards before getting knocked out of bounds, the talk begins.

"He's a great runner, but in the NFL, he can't keep up that style of play or his career will certainly be shortened by injury."

It's being treated as a foregone conclusion. Not if, but when. It's almost as if they want to see him get bruised a little, just to say "I told you so."

That's shameful. Vick is more than just a marvelously gifted athlete. Anyone who has followed his career closely can see a marked difference in his play this year compared to last, and not just because the Falcons are winning.

Vick's formula for success has quieted his doubters and he is doing things no quarterback in the game has ever done -- including last week, when he ran for 173 yards, the most by an NFL quarterback since the AFL-NFL merger more than 30 years ago, and the game-winning 46-yard dash that led Atlanta past Minnesota in overtime.

But the talk of the supposed inevitable injury continues on the post-game shows.

Here's something for the armchair chatterboxes to chew on: Maybe, just maybe, his style of play helps him avoid injury just as much as it makes him susceptible to getting hurt.

Consider his predecessor in Atlanta, Chris Chandler, who's now hogging up IR space with the Bears. That guy could get injured standing in the huddle. Instead of wearing number 12, he should have a bull's-eye on his back.

Whenever he drops back, if the pocket collapses, so does he. The same can be same for many pocket passers. Charities have raffle drawings where you try to guess the number of times Houston's David Carr has been sacked, and you hardly ever hear about concern for his continued health.

Therein is my point. Who is more likely to sustain an injury, a quarterback taking a blind-side hit from a 300-pound defensive end, or a quarterback hitting a 220-pound safety head-on 25 yards downfield?

The biggest difference, obviously, is Vick's speed. Ever notice that when he breaks containment in the backfield and commits to running with the ball, he always seems to reach the sideline and turn upfield? Even fairly agile quarterbacks are forced to throw the ball away in such situations, taking hits as they do. Vick outruns everyone to the sideline, and sometimes doesn't get hit at all.

Call it calculated recklessness if you must -- and maybe down the road, the hits will take their toll and slow Vick down a bit.

The same way it has Emmitt Smith, Mark Brunell, Rodney Peete and everyone else who ever has played professional football. Until then, people should just enjoy watching the most exciting player in the game do what only he can.02

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