Live from the Dome: A former prince returns to the city
The midfield reunion we've long awaited: Arthur M. Blank and Michael Vick. (Photo by M. Bradley)
Michael Vick has returned to the Georgia Dome. He jogged on the field at 11:24 a.m. He received a polite round of applause. (There weren’t many folks in the stands yet.) The first person he approached was Jimmy Cribb, the longtime Falcons photographer. The two embraced.
“He told me I always took good pictures of him,” Cribb said, “and if I got anything good today to send them to him.”
Then came the long-awaited meeting with Arthur Blank. (See above photo, shot by someone much less professional than Jimmy Cribb.) And then Reggie Roberts, the Falcons’ VP of communications, walked over to Vick. More hugging ensued.
Roberts: “He told me he missed being here. He misses the city, misses the Dome. He said he was crying on the bus ride over.”
Along those lines, here’s a snippet of an as-told-to article Vick did with David Fleming of ESPN The Magazine. Here’s Vick speaking his mind on, of all things, the Dome:
“I’m looking forward to going back to the Georgia Dome. I may not do much. I may not even play in the game. But just having the opportunity to be there and maybe have a chance to talk to the Falcons owner, Mr. Blank, before the game — that would be a great thing for me. I spent many a Sunday making that crowd go wild, and I appreciate all those fans. They were great. Man, I miss [those] days.”
In all the furor over Michael Vick, one truth kept getting lost: No matter what he did, the guy’s still a human being. And now he’s again a football player. We don’t know much he’ll play today, if at all. And we don’t yet know — it’s only 11:45 — how the crowd will be. My guess: Warm toward Vick, warmer toward the Falcons.
Speaking of whom: The home side is up against it. Here’s the inactive list: Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, Michael Jenkins, Sam Baker and Harvey Dahl. That’s five offensive starters out for what is a game with massive playoff ramifications. (The Falcons and Eagles are tracking the same wild card.) The only consolation, and it’s slim: Philly is missing playmakers DeSean Jackson and Brian Westbrook.
And that’s why a 7-4 road team is a 5-1/2 point favorite over a 6-5 opponent. You never see that in the NFL, but today seems a day where form could take a hike. The Falcons are undermanned, but there’s almost a last-stand element to this one. Meaning: On this given Sunday, the desperate club could just lift itself by its bootstraps.
And I’ll be here to watch and report, as we say in the trade, with one difference: I have permission from AJC.com higher-ups not to make this a live chat, but because the day has started on a bright conciliatory note I’ve decided to open the floor for comments. Should we devolve into our usual volley of back-and-forthing, the live chat will go away and will not re-open. It’s your choice. Thanks in advance.
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1,246 comments Add your comment
The Dogfighter Returns
December 6th, 2009
3:35 pm
some one call the national guard there are folks jumping off the connector.
4thQuarterSurge
December 6th, 2009
3:35 pm
The Falcons will win this game.
ray
December 6th, 2009
3:35 pm
After 41 years I think I will turn in my falcons fan card today.This is pathetic.
trueblueBravesFan
December 6th, 2009
3:35 pm
The sad part is I don’t see anything to build on on this defense
FanofFalcons
December 6th, 2009
3:35 pm
The ATLANTA FALCONS are looking like the BROWNS today!
FalconsHeroZero
December 6th, 2009
3:35 pm
“Falcons can still have winning seasons. Again, you are never as bad, or as good as you think…Look for further than NO and Washington.”
It doesn’t seem to work here..
They needed a D-Lineman to pair with DE John Abraham (like Richard Seymour), until the youngsters “grow-up”. Physically they are too small, and too young to meet fan expectations. The Falcons Marketing seems to be not selling the future returns of a young team, they are selling “We are winners now”.
They are asking big OLBs to cover..
They are asking street free agents to be starters..
The defensive scheme is flawed…again. It cannot be the players only.
They still need a true NT…like Cody. Jerry will need two seasons after his knee surgery to return to form.
I also think that these players are too comfortable in Atlanta and Georgia.. some of these mistakes, and coaching mistakes would not be tolerate for 4 years in NYC, Dallas, or a real winning franchise.
willie
December 6th, 2009
3:35 pm
MikeVickFanAways
December 6th, 2009
3:31 pm
You are drinking kool aide again arent you.
GA Girl
December 6th, 2009
3:35 pm
How sweet it is? I oftern hear that everyone deserves a second chance, but when it comes to Vick, he’s not worthy, right? Karma is a wonderful thing!
Von
December 6th, 2009
3:36 pm
TD MIKE VICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TD MIKE VICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TD MIKE VICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TD MIKE VICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Welcome home MIKE VICK!!!!
Falcons Fan
December 6th, 2009
3:36 pm
Hey Arthur,
You ought to really feel stupid right now!
Sonny Clusters
December 6th, 2009
3:36 pm
Mr Blank is going to need a teflon suit from here out.
Go Vick!
December 6th, 2009
3:36 pm
Exit dog stans enter Mike Vick!
J.J.M.
December 6th, 2009
3:36 pm
Ryan “what must i do…fans love vick again”
Falcon 8211
December 6th, 2009
3:36 pm
i’m tired of losing wonder when the falcons will get tired of it
Scott
December 6th, 2009
3:36 pm
Dawgs OWN any team from Atlanta! And why are people cheering for the criminal who murdered dogs? That is scary, no wonder ATL has worst crime rate in the world, folks living there cheer for it, good grief!
darrell starks
December 6th, 2009
3:36 pm
way 2 go vick we miss you.
GO FALCONS!!!!!!!!
JSS
December 6th, 2009
3:36 pm
I can properly structure the following notation. Atlanta Falcons 6 and 6!
Jimmy
December 6th, 2009
3:37 pm
We need to see JP Wilson.
Not because I think he’s better than Redmon.
We just need our third string to get a little game experience.
With our luck, Redmon will get hurt.
Dawgs2009
December 6th, 2009
3:37 pm
WE ARE RIGHT BACK TO WHERE WE STARTED, BUT WORSE! THERE IS NO HOPE FOR THE FUTURE. I CAN’T BELIEVE WE SUCK THIS BAD.
preston
December 6th, 2009
3:37 pm
Jimmy……….I make you sick? uhhmmmmmm ok.
PreyDawg
December 6th, 2009
3:37 pm
Devout Falcon fans such as myself (35 years and counting) dont deserve this. We did nothing to Vick but support him. He betrayed us. I am happy for Vick the man. But this is so typical for us as fans. Now it is somehow our responsibility to watch his coming out party in our (so called our) stadium. This is rubbing our nose in it and we don’t deserve it.
We got to be the fodder for New Orleans Saints return after Katrina. Now this. Why do we have to be continually in this position. NO franchise has a sadder history than this one. No fans have suffered more. We wont make the playoffs now. We wont get back to back winning seasons. We wont have a winning season next year either. Something will happen then too.
But we get to watch Vick celebrate in our faces. We dont deserve this. But it is our destiny.
43 and counting...
December 6th, 2009
3:37 pm
Why even have a secondary?
Sid
December 6th, 2009
3:37 pm
a city truely deserving the Falcons. LOSERSVILLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Hillbilly Deluxe
December 6th, 2009
3:38 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W91RCYt94wI
J.J.M.
December 6th, 2009
3:38 pm
this game was made for vick
Ted Striker
December 6th, 2009
3:38 pm
None of this should be a big shocker. The Eagles were without Westbrook, Curtis and Jackson but Weaver (FA), Maclin (draft), and McCoy (draft) contributed over 200 yards of offense through 3 quarters.
The Falcons? Not nearly so fortunate replacing key cogs Ryan and Turner, Dahl and Baker. (Not sure how much missing Jenkins mattered). But when one team has the services of their top draft picks and the other doesn’t — in addition to injuries to veterans — the game is subject to getting out of hand.
6-10
December 6th, 2009
3:38 pm
Well, I predicted a 42-13 score. Looks like I’m not too far off.
We’re terrible!
Got our 6 wins though.
Jim
December 6th, 2009
3:38 pm
Yea the Falcons really suck. All they did was pay that bum millions of dollars and he thanked them by smoking a bunch of dope, not working on his game and getting caught for dogfighting. Excuse me if I am not cheering for him right now.
4thQuarterSurge
December 6th, 2009
3:38 pm
Stafford to Falcons next year. Bank on it.
Sonny Clusters
December 6th, 2009
3:38 pm
Redman is getting booed. When we was playing ball we never heard any boos but we was state championship so that’s what you’d expect.
Men vs Boys
December 6th, 2009
3:38 pm
Falcons secondary is slow, short and can’t tackle. Why wouldn’t we think this was a playoff team?
Manny
December 6th, 2009
3:38 pm
When Vick was in Leavenworth, KS., he had this weird dream of coming to Atlanta and scoring a touchdown. And then he would sit on the sideline and hear the crowd chant “We Want Vick!” He would come out to the Dome and make a big pass and then score a passing TD.
And then he woke up because he had to go to the yard.
Today, that dream came true.
O'Brien
December 6th, 2009
3:38 pm
Brent Grimes, Chris Houston etc. Those are who we have in our secondary. Blame TD and Mike Smith for nor doing a better job addressing those issues (I know Moore and Williams are hurt, but still).
IlliniDawg
December 6th, 2009
3:38 pm
I’m not at the game, so I’m only going on what I see on Fox, but it looks like everyone cheering for Vick is black. I’m no racist, so don’t go there. But I wonder how much Vick’s performance today will only open up old wounds. Something the city does not need right now.
Big Ray
December 6th, 2009
3:38 pm
preston ,
This is what I said: “This team was mediocre even in the so-called Vick glory days, at least every other year. Here’s to hoping this changes as we rebuild yet again.”
In other words, even during the “Vick era” we couldn’t win more than one year at a time. Where in my post did I say that this started with Vick? I also said that I was hoping that we could finally break that trend this year. I think you heard what you wanted to hear, NOT what I actually said.
JTH
December 6th, 2009
3:39 pm
2010 Draft/Free Agent wish list-
Strong Safety
Cornerback(s)
D-Linemen
Backup QB
More depth on both lines.
Reality
December 6th, 2009
3:39 pm
@GA Girl No one said Vick doesn’t deserve a second chance, but he was our QB, screwed us and now shoving in our face. When do the fans of Atlanta finally have thier second chance? Ultimately we always lose. Nothing new here…
Falcon 8211
December 6th, 2009
3:39 pm
i hope smitty fires the hell out of BVG he is terrible
J.J.M.
December 6th, 2009
3:39 pm
well we get to see more of vick…i think
JD
December 6th, 2009
3:40 pm
Guys, the problem is that Atlanta did not have a back up plan if Ryan and Turner were to get hurt. Come on, Redman? Please, there are better back ups out there than Redman. He won the last game because he was playing an one win team.
Matt "Choke" Ryan
December 6th, 2009
3:40 pm
mountain_jim
December 6th, 2009
3:40 pm
So Mark – are you going down to the visitors locker-room to interview MV7?
Mark Bradley
December 6th, 2009
3:40 pm
Stafford to the Falcons? And how would that work?
Von
December 6th, 2009
3:40 pm
Scott,
Actually Dallas Texas has the worst crime this year!!!
willie
December 6th, 2009
3:40 pm
Redmon is throwing to receivers who are double coverd. Is this a new strategy for Smith?
81Dawg
December 6th, 2009
3:40 pm
Why not let Wilson play some? He cannot be any worse than Redman.
Jimmy
December 6th, 2009
3:40 pm
We look really bad.
I felt we would lose today
But not this badly.
This is painful.
Redmon is really the answer.
Oh my.
Like the old days.
Mark Bradley
December 6th, 2009
3:41 pm
Andy Reid shows compassion. Puts in Kevin Kolb at quarterback.
Arthur Blank owes Andy Reid a nice gift card from Home Depot.
Sonny Clusters
December 6th, 2009
3:41 pm
If they give Vick a key to the city that will be the last straw.
JSS
December 6th, 2009
3:41 pm
IlliniDawg, watch the highlights when he was signing autographs before the game. There were plenty of young people who were not African-Anerican wearing the Vick jerseys…