NFL 2011 Week 2 - Vick Ready to Return a Changed Man

Vick Ready to Return a Changed Man
Charles Roberts

Michael Vick

Philadelphia, PA

Michael Vick is going to play a big football game in the Georgia Dome Sunday night and that's nothing new. He will still be No. 7, still the most electrifying player on the field, again nothing new.

But everyone knows, this is a new Michael Vick.

Vick brings the Philadelphia Eagles to Atlanta Sunday night for a nationally televised game between two teams considered Super Bowl contenders in the NFC. He'll return to the place where he blossomed into the top dual-threat quarterback in the league but where he fell short of expectations.

Everyone knows the stories, the dog fighting, bankruptcy, jail time. Vick has and continues to bounce back from that. But what is left for Atlanta is a sense of what could have been.

"People have to understand I was young when I was in Atlanta. The structure is just a little different. I think I've matured a lot," Vick said. I'm older now and I've been through a lot. I always work hard and dedicate myself, just as I did in Atlanta. I made progress and I had some good years there but the situation is different now and there is no need to talk about the past. I just have to move forward."

It's taken Atlanta a while but it has moved forward too. The Falcons suffered through some rough seasons but have righted the ship and returned to the playoffs last season, thanks in large part to young quarterback Matt Ryan.

So in the end it has worked out for both sides. Vick is in a good spot with the Eagles and a main reason why they are the favorites to win the NFC East and contend for a Super Bowl berth. Atlanta has joined Philadelphia as an NFC contender and looks like it will be one for the forseeable future.

It sounds like Vick wouldn't have it any other way.

"I'm just so thankful to be here in Philly right now. I know things happen for a reason and maybe it was meant for me to be here," Vick said. "I couldn't have landed in a better city and a better place right now. This is my home and this is where I want to be. I'm just thankful for that."

Philly is his home now but Sunday he'll return to what will likely be friendly cofines, but just not as friendly as it used to be.

"That's not my house. That's Matt Ryan's house. I'm just a visitor," Vick said.