Vick says he didn’t want to play for the Eagles 
Posted by Mike Florio on August 18, 2011, 7:02 AM EDT

Eagles quarterbacks Vick and Young watch a replay while playing against the Baltimore Ravens in a NFL preseason football game in Philadelphia Pennsylvania Reuters

In an interview with GQ that was published at the magazine’s website moments ago, Eagles quarterback Mike Vick tells Will Leitch that Vick, the 2010 Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year, didn’t want to play for the Eagles.

“I think I can say this now, because it’s not going to hurt anybody’s feelings, and it’s the truth. . . . I didn’t want to come to Philadelphia,” Vick said. “Being the third-team quarterback is nothing to smile about. Cincinnati and Buffalo were better options.”

Vick ultimately was persuaded — by Commissioner Roger Goodell and other NFL officials — to pick the Eagles. Bills and Bengals fans surely will be thrilled to know that the league office is participating in personnel decisions; they also would probably want to know why Vick was steered away from their teams. (Leitch writes that both the Bills and Bengals would have “allowed Vick to start”; it’s hard to imagine that the Bengals would have benched the guy they currently refuse to trade.)

The old Mike Vick would have ignored Goodell and anyone else who told him anything other than that which Vick wanted to do; the new Mike Vick heeds such advice. But the old Mike Vick still made a cameo appearance during the interview, when he took the position that only the media cares about his history of dogfighting, gambling, and . . . what else was there? Oh yeah, killing in cold blood dogs that were deemed unfit to fight other dogs.

“They are writing as if everyone feels that way and has the same opinions they do,” Vick said. “But when I go out in public, it’s all positive, so that’s obviously not true.”

We’re not sure we buy that logic. When it’s time to sniff jocks, lots of people become more than a little phony. Then there’s the fact that we all love a good redemption story, so we all root for Vick on his ride back to the top.

The media, frankly, is part of that. Plenty of reporters have moved on completely from Vick’s dogfighting days, and it will be a major issue again only if the Eagles make it to the Super Bowl and Vick is subjected to the intense scrutiny that goes along with it.

Or if Vick starts fighting dogs again.

We doubt that the latter will ever come to fruition, but from time to time we see periodic flashes of the old Mike Vick, like when he bailed on his interview with Oprah Winfrey. And even if the new Mike Vick is smart enough to never fight dogs again, there are other ways in which the old Mike Vick can make trouble for the new Mike Vick.

The new Mike Vick realizes that it’s important to demonstrate contrition for his crimes. But the old Mike Vick inches closer to the surface at times, indignant over the fact that he went to jail for something that he’d probably still be doing if he hadn’t been caught.

NFL says Vick wasn’t steered to Philadelphia 
Posted by Mike Florio on August 18, 2011, 1:06 PM EDT
Baltimore Ravens v Philadelphia Eagles Getty Images

In a new interview with GQ, Eagles quarterback Mike Vick says he wanted to play for the Bills or the Bengals, and that he was steered to Philadelphia.

The league denies that Vick was steered anywhere.

“Michael Vick’s decision on where to play to put himself in the best position to succeed was entirely his own,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello tells PFT via e-mail. “Commissioner Goodell obviously met and spoke to Michael and his representatives as part of his decision on whether to reinstate Michael and on what terms. But the Commissioner would never steer players to or away from particular teams and did not do so in this case.”

NBC’s Tony Dungy, who served as a league-appointed advisor for Vick, expressed doubt earlier today on The Dan Patrick Show that Goodell would have advised Vick to play for the Eagles. Dungy added, however, that Vick received a lot of advice (including from Dungy) that Philadelphia was the best place to go.

It remains to be seen whether Aiello’s remarks will be enough for the folks in Buffalo, many of whom are up in arms about the perceived slight. Former Bills running back Thurman Thomas made an unscheduled call to WGR radio on Thursday, and Thomas wasn’t happy about Vick’s allegation.

“It goes all against what the Commissioner has been trying to do,” Thomas said. “It’s like another slap in the face to the Buffalo Bills. I’m upset about it. I want to know what the whole idea was about wanting him to go to Philadelphia and not Buffalo or Cincinnati. I think Mr. Wilson needs to give the Commissioner a call and see what happened.

“It was wrong, I think there needs to be an investigation.”

Thomas may be right; we wouldn’t expect the NFL to admit that Vick was steered to Philly, even if his recollection is accurate. But who would conduct an investigation? We’re aware of no “internal affairs” department within the league office, which would have the ability to investigate the conduct of the Commissioner. If anything were to happen, the owners would have to decide to do it on their own, and we doubt that such an effort would be good for the league’s overall best interests.

Goodell's concern, as commissioner, is the public image of the NFL, and this is a case where that was affected by where a player chose to play. A tricky situation, no doubt, and Goodell's handling of it deserves some scrutiny. But unless some more damning information comes out, I don't have a problem with it.

Originally Posted by: Greg C.