Packers won't rule out Vick

[MetroDrugUnit]

I'm no prude and generally am all for giving guys a second chance. In the case of Vick though, after what he did, i want no part in cheering for that dude.

I think that would end as soon as he took one to the house

[ReasonablySober]

Could not disagree more that Vick helps our offense. I would take Rodgers throwing it all four downs over ever using the trick Wildcat offense. Vick is not a threat to throw at all, and I'll take Rodgers arm over Vick's legs any day of the week.

The reason he helps the offense isn't because we need another WR or RB. It's because when he's on the field it gives the defense just one more thing to account for. Why do you think LT throws so many option passes? If you put it in the defense's head that you have to cover the WRs deep on a toss to the left it keeps corners and safeties from coming up in run support.

If Vick is in the backfield with Rodgers you have to worry about end-arounds, the half-back pass, the direct snap...with a wide-open and creative offense Vick would add a monster dimension to this team, even if he only sees the ball a few times a game.

By the way, I'm not talking about taking Rodgers out of the game and letting Vick have snaps under center, and I doubt that's what any NFL team would expect out Vick this year (or possibly ever again).

[Thunder Muscle]

Teach him to punt and we could have a dynamic punt formation.

[blueedwards]

Could not disagree more that Vick helps our offense. I would take Rodgers throwing it all four downs over ever using the trick Wildcat offense. Vick is not a threat to throw at all, and I'll take Rodgers arm over Vick's legs any day of the week.

The reason he helps the offense isn't because we need another WR or RB. It's because when he's on the field it gives the defense just one more thing to account for. Why do you think LT throws so many option passes? If you put it in the defense's head that you have to cover the WRs deep on a toss to the left it keeps corners and safeties from coming up in run support.

If Vick is in the backfield with Rodgers you have to worry about end-arounds, the half-back pass, the direct snap...with a wide-open and creative offense Vick would add a monster dimension to this team, even if he only sees the ball a few times a game.

By the way, I'm not talking about taking Rodgers out of the game and letting Vick have snaps under center, and I doubt that's what any NFL team would expect out Vick this year (or possibly ever again).

I agree Vick would give us alot of decoy plays. Like he could take a snap and either pitch it back to Rodgers or just run up the middle or fake up the middle then pitch it to Rodgers like I said then Rodgers passes it to Vick up the middle. There could be alot of crazy plays.

[Fandom]

Players are talking about it...

Green Bay — Make no mistake about it, the Green Bay Packers have done enough research on controversial quarterback Michael Vick to decide whether he would be a good fit for their team.

But researching him and signing him are two completely different marks on the level-of-interest scale and, as of right now, sources say, the Packers are in a holding pattern, intrigued by the possibility of adding a premier athlete but nowhere near the stage where they feel it necessary to pursue him.

Like a handful of NFL teams, the Packers have dug fairly deep into Vick's background - reportedly even interviewing him - following commissioner Roger Goodell's decision to conditionally reinstate him to the league on July 28. Vick, who served 23 months in a federal prison for conspiracy to run a dogfighting ring and was suspended from the NFL for two years, can participate in any team's training camp and its final two exhibition games if signed.

After that Goodell will decide no later than Week 6 of the regular season whether he should be fully reinstated.

According to league sources familiar with the Packers' interest in Vick, there's no reason to believe they will do anything beyond discussing the pros and cons of bringing in one of the most dynamic offensive players of his time. But if later they think the two quarterbacks behind starter Aaron Rodgers aren't performing up to snuff or they feel they need someone of Vick's explosive ability someplace other than quarterback they will have already studied the risk-reward factor with signing him.

Among the considerations general manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy would have to consider is how much of a distraction it would be to have Vick at training camp. Not only would the national media converge on this football-crazy hamlet, there would be potential for disruptive demonstrations by groups that think Vick shouldn't be in the spotlight after being responsible for the death and injury of so many dogs.

"We're built for distractions with what we went through," cornerback Charles Woodson said after practice Friday, referring to the media circus that took place last year before the Brett Favre trade. "Of course, A-Rod is our quarterback. You don't want that being a competition. But what he has (athletically) can only make you better."

Woodson said he does not condone what Vick did, but he said he has no preconceived notions about what kind of person he is or whether he would be poison in the Packers' locker room. As a player who was outspoken during the offseason about adding free agents, Woodson said he would support adding Vick to the roster.

Though Vick's career completion rate of 53.8% and running style don't fit the West Coast offense McCarthy runs, there are many who think he would be dynamic in the occasionally used "wildcat" scheme, a trendy change-of-pace look in which a runner takes a direct snap from center and has the option of handing off, running or throwing.

The better the athlete, the more options available. In his last season with the Falcons, Vick, now 29 years old and out of the NFL since 2006, threw for 2,474 yards and ran for 1,039. Among the factors the Packers researched is Vick's physical condition.

Under no circumstances would he be given a chance to unseat Rodgers.

"Aaron's our leader," receiver Donald Driver said. "This is his team. There's no debate about that."

Still, Driver said he didn't think there was any danger in bringing in Vick, especially given his potential. He did not see a reason why he wouldn't fit in with the players in the Packers locker room.

"I think guys would open their arms up to him and respect him like a normal man," Driver said. "I don't know if you can worry about all the issues that would happen behind it because you can't predict what will happen. I don't think it's a risk. If he's a great player, you bring him in, and if it works out, it works out. If it doesn't, you move forward. We're going to keep playing football regardless of the situation."

Thompson and McCarthy would have to consider the circus atmosphere that would envelop Ray Nitschke Field. There are scores of Internet sites campaigning for Goodell to ban Vick from playing again in the NFL.

One of the most fervent anti-Vick organizations has been People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which picketed the Falcons' training camp and NFL headquarters in New York after news of Vick's involvement with dogfighting became known. PETA has used provocative tactics to get its message across, and the potential for disruption at training camp is something for which the Packers would have to prepare.

"The question you have to ask is does rewarding this guy with a multimillion dollar contract and the opportunity to serve as a role model for young kids out there really send the best message," said Dan Shannon, director of campaigns for PETA. "Obviously, we have to see what happens. We haven't taken anything off the table."

During his prison sentence, Vick met with the president of the Humane Society of the United States and has said he plans to work with HSUS in a program designed to steer inner-city youth away from dogfighting. He has apologized for his actions, but some wonder if he did it simply to get reinstated in the NFL.

Shannon said PETA recognizes that Vick served his punishment, but it would like the NFL to add animal cruelty to its player conduct policy so that players know if they are caught engaging in the dogfighting business they will either be fined or suspended. It intends to keep pushing Goodell for that change.

How aggressive PETA might get should Vick wind up in a Packers uniform is unclear. It could go to great lengths to disrupt the continuity of training camp to spread its message about the evils of animal cruelty. Would Thompson and president Mark Murphy have the stomach to handle such activity?

"It's going to come down to this," said linebacker Nick Barnett, who is in favor of bringing in Vick. "Are you going to give him a shot regardless of what PETA people are going to be out there? Ted is no (coward). There were a lot of people protesting Brett Favre not being back and he pulled the trigger. He did what he believed in, and we've got A-Rod as our quarterback. A great quarterback.

"He's going to make the right decision. He's not going to shrimp out because of someone else's opinion. If he thinks it's going to help this team, he's going to pull that trigger."

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/52721017.html

[Ryan5UW]

I'm no prude and generally am all for giving guys a second chance. In the case of Vick though, after what he did, i want no part in cheering for that dude.

I think that would end as soon as he took one to the house

Um, interesting. I highly doubt anything he would do on the football field would chance people's minds that feel like this. I know it sure wouldn't change mine.

[ReasonablySober]

Darren Woodson was on SC and echoed my thoughts. He thought GB would be the perfect spot for Vick

- small town
- secure starter in Rodgers
- an organization that could handle the public outcry

He said that Vick is a guy that might only be on the field three or four times a game but will require the opposition to spend hours and hours the week before game planning for his presence. I totally agree.

[Captain Erv]

Darren Woodson was on SC and echoed my thoughts. He thought GB would be the perfect spot for Vick

- small town
- secure starter in Rodgers
- an organization that could handle the public outcry

He said that Vick is a guy that might only be on the field three or four times a game but will require the opposition to spend hours and hours the week before game planning for his presence. I totally agree.

That would be exactly what I want out of him. Yes, our offense IS loaded the way it is, but having another wrinkle in the scheme just to keep it in the back of teams minds would be a great thing in my opinion.

[Fandom]

Having another wrinkle in your offense is never a bad thing.

And I certainly think he's the type of wrinkle that's worth a spot on the 53.