Falcons Coach Petrino Quits; Signs with Arkansas

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

I was watching the game last night and they put up a very interesting stat. And I'm not a stat geek but this really stood out and shows you Vick's value to Atl. Since 2002 in games Vick started Atl's record is 37-27. The games in which he didn't start they were 6-20. That really tells you how important he is to that team. He is not the most gifted passer. But his ability to break defenses down opened up the running game for Duckett and Dunn. Plus he never ever had top quality wr's. But now it's all a mute point. His career is most likely down the tubes.

In this situation, a lot of those wins has to do with the guys who played in relief of Vick.

Doug Johnson(10), Kurt Kittner (2), Matt Schaub (2), Joey Harrington (9), Byron Leftwich (3), and Chris Redman (1) started those 27 games.

Now the team has gotten some good QB play from Schaub, periodically Harrington, and Leftwich, all of whom are good QB prospects. However, you can see that Johnson and Harrington dominate those starts, and it's safe to say that neither really brings total value to that team of the equivalent of Vick.

Additionally, there's two other sides of the ball when talking wins and losses besides offense, and in both 2003 and 2007, the Falcons have played awful defense. That team is really, really missing Patrick Kerney, who of course is having a hell of a year in Seattle.

As more and more elite QBs enter the draft every year, the value of Vick's diminishing rushing skills would have continued to decrease over time. In 2002, when you considered Vick's athleticism, you could say that the Falcons were getting a bigger contribution out of their QB position than were about half the NFL teams despite his passing deficiences. His division at the time included Aaron Brooks, Chris Weinke/Rodney Peete, and one of the better QBs in the league at the time...the incomparable Brad Johnson. Vick wasn't such a bad option then, at all.

Last year, he wasn't even the best QB option on his own team. This year, his division has Drew Brees, Jeff Garcia, and prior to injury, Jake Delhomme. All of whom far better than Vick.

So yeah, that's why that winning percentage number is a bit misleading.