According to a report by ESPN.com, probation officials have barred Michael Vick from traveling out of Pennsylvania in the wake of a shooting that occurred last month outside of a club following his 30th birthday party.
Vick, who must have his travel plans approved, missed schedule appearances this weekend at a football camp in Baltimore and a golf tournament in Atlanta as he stayed in Philadelphia, Judy Smith told WCAU-TV, an NBC affiliate.
While the situation is not unusual as a possible probation violation is investigated, it was unclear how it could impact Vick’s travel with the Eagles this season. The team’s training camp is set to start in full July 29 at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., 60 miles north of Philadelphia.
The lead city prosecutor in Virginia Beach, Va., said Wednesday that Vick was involved in a confrontation before the shooting.
That would be interesting if Vick couldn’t travel on the road this season with the Eagles because he has to stay in the state of Pennsylvania. Something tells me it won’t come to that (I would think that Vick would get the ok to go on the road for “work”), but it’s an interesting situation that is worth following over the next couple of months.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News, the Virginia Beach Police have identified who shot Quanis Phillips the night of Michael Vick’s 30th birthday party and also announced that the Eagles’ quarterback is not a suspect.
The police have identified the shooter, but cannot charge the suspect because the victim and various witnesses have been uncooperative. The statement went on to say that there are no other suspects, including Vick.
Here’s the Virginia Beach police statement in its entirety, released by spokesman Adam Bernstein:
“Investigators were able to determine the identity of the shooter. Unfortunately because of the lack of cooperation from the victim, coupled with the reluctance of witnesses, the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, upon reviewing all of the evidence, has determined that no charges will be filed in this case at this time. Because the suspect will not be charged, his identity cannot be released by police. There are no other suspects in this case, including Michael Vick.”
It appears that Vick is in the clear, although don’t forget that at one point during his dog fighting investigation it seemed as if he was going to dodge punishment, too. I doubt the Eagles will release him at this point, but you never know.
My question is, will the league take action against him for associating with Phillips, who was one of the co-defendants from his dog fighting case? If they do, it’s going to be pretty hard for Roger Goodell to determine that Phillips wasn’t just an unwanted guest crashing the party. And in that case, Vick did nothing wrong.
Despite a report by the Associated Press on Saturday morning that stated otherwise, the Eagles are not considering releasing quarterback Michael Vick according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen. Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer also denied the rumor.
Earlier today, the AP reported that a person familiar with the “team’s thinking” said that the Eagles were strongly considering releasing Vick. The report even went as far as to say that Vick would be released, “no matter what police conclude during their investigation of a shooting that followed the quarterback’s birthday celebration in Virginia Beach last week.”
But the only thing the Eagles released was a statement that denied the report.
“Any report or speculation that suggests the Eagles are considering releasing Vick are not true.”
Truth be told, if the Eagles eventually do release Vick (maybe they’re waiting to see what the outcome of this investigation is before deciding anything either way) nobody would blame them. They don’t need this one month before training camp opens, especially when it involves a backup player with a history of off-field issues. That said, it sounds as if the AP released a bogus report thanks to an unreliable source and we’ll just see what happens.
Michael Vick isn’t out of the woods yet. He was a person of “no interest” to police in the shooting of Quanis Phillips, but video surveillance taken the night of the incident has put his involvement in question.
Vick told police that he was “long gone” by the time the shooting took place outside a club in which he was celebrating his 30th birthday late last week. But video shows him leaving the club just three minutes before the shooting took place, which casts some doubt in what the quarterback said in interviews with authorities.
Now police don’t know what to call Vick, according to the Philadelphia Daily News. They’re not ready to deem him a suspect or even an accomplice to the shooting, but as they’re gathering more facts, they’re changing their tune in terms of whether or not he’s a person of interest.
“Right now, we don’t really have a title for him,” police spokesman Adam Bernstein told the Daily News yesterday.
“We didn’t know anything” when they were asked Friday morning about their interest in Vick’s involvement in the shooting, Bernstein said.
“Since then, we have viewed this video. And more people have come forward, giving information,” Bernstein said.
The Daily News is also reporting that Vick’s federal probation officer in Norfolk is also investigating the incident as well to see if the quarterback was in violation of his probation. So even if Vick isn’t charged by the police for having a connection in the shooting, it doesn’t mean that he will escape all punishment.
And wouldn’t that be something. It’s been roughly a year since he was released from prison and he’s already in hot water again with the law.
Michael Vick and his attorney may have some explaining to do about the details surrounding the night Quanis Phillips was shot.
According to Vick’s lawyer, Larry Woodward, Phillips (a co-defendant in Vick’s dog fighting case) was an uninvited guest at the quarterback’s party. Woodward also states that Vick was “long gone” before Phillips was shot in the leg, but surveillance video suggests otherwise.
From the Philadelphia Daily News:
Allen Fabijan, a spokesman for the bar-restaurant, the Guadalajara, told the Daily Press, of the Newport News-Hampton area, that the video was turned over to Virginia Beach police yesterday morning. Fabijan told the newspaper that Vick “and his entourage” were in two cars that left the front of the restaurant at 2:07 a.m. He said shots rang out 3 minutes later.
“I’m not saying that Michael Vick did the shooting. But he did not leave [long] before,” Fabijan said.
Woodward, reached yesterday by the Daily Press, said: “I stand by what I said, that Michael was long gone before the shooting, does not know who did the shooting and had nothing to do with the shooting. Anyone who says any different better be very careful.”
The plot thickens.
Vick (or more specifically, his attorney) isn’t the only one on record saying that he was long gone before the shooting, as Falcons’ receiver Roddy White also supports those claims. Could this be a situation of mistaken identity or is Vick/Woodward lying about when the quarterback left the party?
Either way, it still doesn’t mean that Vick was involved in the shooting or knows who pulled the trigger. But if video surveillance disproves his story, then this could open up an entirely new can of worms.
The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that Michael Vick is not a suspect in an incident that occurred early this morning that resulted in a man named Quanis Phillips being shot outside a nightclub in Virginia. Vick had been celebrating his 30th birthday at the restaurant/club sometime before the shooting occurred.
The police have stated that they have no interest in Vick, but that doesn’t mean he won’t face punishment from the NFL. When commissioner Roger Goodell reinstated Vick last July, part of the deal was that Vick wasn’t supposed to associate with anyone from his days as a dog fighter. And Phillips was just one of the people that Vick had a close “business relationship” with when he owned Bad Newz Kennels. Goodell also announced upon Vick’s reinstatement that the quarterback’s margin for error was “extremely limited.”
Falcons’ receiver Roddy White, who was apparently with Vick earlier in the night, said that the two of them had left the party before the shooting took place. Said White: “I don’t know what’s going to go on with that or whatever, but we didn’t have anything to do with it.”
Not many details are available right now, so we can only speculate about what transpired leading up to the shooting. Maybe Phillips was there without Vick’s knowledge or arrived to the restaurant after the quarterback had left. Who knows?
But the mere fact that Vick’s name is being brought up in relation to another off-field incident is troubling to say the least. It sounds as if he did nothing wrong and wasn’t involved in the shooting. It also isn’t a crime to celebrate your birthday with your friends, although if one of those friends is an old acquaintance that helped you set up an illegal dog-fighting ring, then that’s a problem. And if Phillips was invited to the party, then Vick’s decision-making is yet again up for criticism.
Check back for more details on this developing story.
Michael Vick told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he still has visions of being a starter in the NFL and thinks teams we see that they missed on a golden opportunity to trade for the former No. 1 overall pick in the offseason.
“Actually, I understood because I’d been out of football,” Vick said Monday after a workout at the NovaCare Complex. “I didn’t play behind a center for three years. I know how good I am. The [Eagles] coaches know how good I am. I know I could have landed some place, but it wasn’t meant to be.”
“Being a competitor, you always want to start,” Vick said. “I know in my future that’s there for me. I’ll be a starter in this league again. Right now, I’m just having fun honing my skills.”
“My skills are back,” Vick said. “I’m ready. I’m faster than I’ve ever been before. I’m quicker, light on my feet. So I guess somebody missed out this time around. But I’ll make it work here, and they’ll see.”
“When I get back to [practicing more], I’m going to be dangerous,” Vick said. “That’s all I can say. I’ll be dangerous.”
Vick had a fair amount of success in Atlanta due to his athletic abilities alone, but there were more than a handful of games in which he lost because he couldn’t read a defense. He wasn’t prepared for situations late in the fourth quarter when he needed to make a play against a good team that had the ability to bottle him up. Monte Kiffin used to make him look like a fool twice a year when the Falcons played the Buccaneers because Vick didn’t know how to adjust mentally.
The problem with Vick has never been his athletic ability. It’s always been with him taking that next step as a quarterback and as a student of the game. If he has changed, then maybe there’s still time for him yet. But if he’s still the same QB that relied solely on his athletic talent, then he’ll be nothing more than a gimmick the rest of his career.
Good to see Michael Vick still has his priorities in order. (Fast forward to about the 7:40 mark.)
Let’s review:
“If I could play for any team in the league, it would probably be two teams, but if I had to pick one, it would probably be the Carolina Panthers.”
Why, Mike?
“Well, you know, it’s close to home. I like the uniforms. You get to play against Atlanta twice a year. Ain’t nothing better than playing against your former team, right? So, yeah, that would be a good look, it would be a good look.”
Oh, you mean the same team that was loyal to you and you screwed over by operating an illegal dog-fighting operation in your spare time? The same Falcons team that you admitted to not giving it your all for and overall being lazy? Stay classy, Mike.
And I don’t care if he was joking or only half serious, but him saying that he wants to play for the Panthers because he likes their uniforms is painstakingly stupid. I’m well aware that I might be going overboard with this and I’ll admit that I’m bitter towards this pile, but may he go to Carolina and may Curtis Lofton give him the beating of a lifetime for 120 minutes twice a year.
According to beat writer Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Rams are seriously considering trading for Michael Vick this offseason, although Thomas didn’t provide much detail outside of that.
If Thomas is right, the question now becomes whether or not Vick is a good fit for the Rams. On one hand, he provides an upgrade over Marc Bulger just based on his athletic and playmaking ability. Bulger hasn’t resembled a starting caliber quarterback since 2006 and even though Vick hasn’t taken a meaningful snap since that year, at least he would instill some life into the position.
On the other hand, who knows how Vick would handle a full season under center. Again, he hasn’t played since 2006 and he only attempted 13 passes this season for an average of 6.6 yards per attempt. And quite frankly, he wasn’t that good of a passer even when he was a regularly starter.
That said, the Rams are so devoid of talent that acquiring Vick just from that standpoint would be a good move. And unless they view Jimmy Clausen as a franchise quarterback (which is possible), then whom else are the Rams going to get? Bulger is a has been and Kyle Boller was a never was. At least Vick could run around and make a couple of big plays on the Edward Jones Dome carpet.
Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch speculates that the Rams might make a move to acquire Michael Vick from the Eagles this offseason. Thomas sites the fact that GM Bill Devaney worked for the Falcons when Vick was in Atlanta and even visited the troubled QB in prison.
Devaney worked for the Atlanta Falcons before coming to St. Louis, so he’s very familiar with Vick. In fact, Devaney visited Vick in prison while Vick was serving 18 months for running a dogfighting operation.
In St. Louis, Vick could bring sizzle to an offense that was among the league’s worst in ’09. As one long-time NFL coach told the Post-Dispatch: “That team lacks perimeter players. They can’t play straight up (on offense) and win. They need to create explosiveness where it’s not.”
Vick would be a solid fit for the Rams. He’s lost some burst as a runner and considering he hasn’t been a starter in three years, he’ll be rusty as a passer when he does get under center full time. But he’s worth a shot for a team like the Rams, who are in desperate need of overall speed and talent.
St. Louis isn’t a team that’s on the verge of making a deep run in the playoffs, so taking a chance on a player like Vick is a less risky proposition for them then it would be another team that’s counting on a quarterback to get them over the hump. Vick isn’t magically going to transform into the electrifying player he once was, but he would upgrade the Rams’ quarterback position and would give them a chance to acquire Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh with the No. 1 pick in April.
I know this is just speculation on Thomas’ part, but I like the thinking.
