Michael Vick - The Comeback

Michael Vick, born and raised in Virginia, learned the game of football from his cousin growing up. As a freshman in high school he gained attention by throwing for over 400 yards in a single game. After moving to a different high school because of his town's reconstruction plan, he threw for 43 touchdowns throughout three years as a starter, with a single-game performance of six rushing touchdowns and three passing touchdowns.

Vick chose to stay close and attend Virginia Tech, and thus the new era of quarterbacks was born. He led the Hokies to an 11–0 season and to the Bowl Championship Series national title game. His numbers and amazing performance in his freshman season at Virginia Tech won him an ESPY award, the first-ever Archie Griffin Award as college football's most valuable player, and finished third for the Heisman trophy. After two seasons in maroon and orange, he elected to go for the draft in 2001 and was selected as the first overall pick by the Atlanta Falcons.

In seasons 2003-2006 is where Vick, when he was healthy, did the most damage for the falcons. He became a quarterback unlike anyone in the league had ever seen before as he had a great arm as well as incredible speed and agility so he had the ability to drop back in the pocket and pass the ball or he could rush through an opening for a 15 to 20 yard gain. His quickness and versatility could penetrate and turn any defense on itself opening up the field for him to turn the engines on. His rushing definitely exceeded his passing as his physique was unlike any other quarterback in the NFL and therefore was one of the most prominent rushing quarterbacks the sport has ever seen. He was a hero for Atlanta...until 2007.

Following Vick pleading guilty to federal charges in a dog fighting investigation in August of 2007, the NFL suspended him indefinitely without pay. Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the NFL, in a letter to Vick, told him of his punishment and the fact that it was harsher because of Vick telling them that he provided most of the funding for the gambling system. His attorneys then had to file bankruptcy on his account because the debt he amounted from his luxury homes, and vehicles, and his reorganization plan was based on the fact that after prison, he could play another 10 years of professional football, he told the court.

In 2009, Vick was ready, and after being mentored by former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy, in early August of 2009, he signed a one-year contract with Andy Reid and the Philadelphia Eagles. Reid knew the talent he still possessed and believed that a man that had gone through what he did could learn from his mistakes and make his mark once again. However, through the 2009 season, Vick didn't get much playing time at all, a third-string behind Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb, and was mainly only put in play as a "wild-cat" type quarterback to run QB options.

January 2010, Reid named Donovan McNabb the Eagles' 2010 starter but McNabb was then traded to the Washington Redskins and Kevin Kolb took the starting job, Michael Vick again a second-string on the sideline.

The beginning of 2010 was looking to be similar to that of 2009 for Vick, the second-string quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles behind Kolb. The first game of the season against the Green Bay Packers, Kevin Kolb took a heavy hit and was sidelined for the rest of the game giving Vick the chance to step up. He lead the Eagles on an impressive late game surge showing his capabilities but ended up losing 27-20. He made even more noise getting the start against the Lions in the next week. On September 21, 2010, Reid named Vick the Eagles' starting quarterback.In his second game as a starter versus the Jacksonville Jaguars, Vick led the Eagles to a 28–3 win, throwing for 291 yards and three touchdowns as well as rushing for a touchdown. Vick then suffered a rib injury and was out for four weeks.

In week 10 against the Washington Redskins on the Monday Night Football special, Vick threw an 88-yard pass to Desean Jackson the first play from scrimmage for a touchdown. He threw for 333 yards and four touchdowns, and rushed for 80 yards and scored another two touchdowns, leading the Eagles to a 59-28 victory against the Redskins. On Decemeber 19th, in the week 15 match-up against the New York Giants, Vick stormed the Eagles to erase a 21-point defecit to tie the game with under two to play and the lightning-fast DeSean Jackson returned a punt in the final seconds to score a touchdown and win the game.

Vick finished the season passing for 3,018 yards, 21 touchdowns and six interceptions with a passer rating of 100.2. He had 100 carries for 676 yards and nine touchdowns. He was in contention for the MVP and captured the country as one of the greatest comebacks in sports history. Vick had become one of the most powerful players in the NFL once again, with his quickness and his highly-improved passing, a great complement to the fiery Eagles offense. All of this possible because of Andy Reid believing in him coming out of prison, when not many other coaches in the NFL felt the same way.

The Eagles lost to the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers in the first round of the playoffs in the 2010 season, and with the franchise tag on Michael Vick, him and the talented Eagles have two words to say for the upcoming season: "Bring It."

Michael Vick is now in the final four of the voting for the 2012 cover for Madden Football along with Superbowl MVP Aaron Rodgers, Cleveland Browns' Peyton Hillis, and Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings. The finalists are soon to be announced.