Falcons fans and Eagles fans continue to praise Michael Vick for years of devastating dual-threat abilities. He remains the all-time leader in quarterback rushing yards, though Lamar Jackson may have something to say about that over the next decade. He led the league in yards per rushing attempt five times — four with Atlanta, one with Philly — and was elected to four Pro Bowl rosters. He is the NFL's all-time leader in yards per rushing attempt at 7.0 yards for the average tote.
And though his dominance on the real gridiron was apparent, it was taken to a whole different level on the virtual field, and that's another area of Vick's game where fans continue to laud him. We're talking about the Madden NFL video game series, of course, where Vick was practically a cheat code, outrunning defenses to his heart's content and leading to offensive annihilation for even the least skilled players.
"...I'm constantly reminded of (it). Just random people are like, 'I've made so much money off you in Madden, like you [were] the sickest Madden character ever to be created,' and I'm like at least I was able to do something for you indirectly," Vick said on the latest episode of Trey Wingo's "Half-Forgotten History" podcast. "It's just another part of the mystique, the history of the ultimate dual-threat that was created at the time and I give a lot of people credit for being a part of that."
How good was he? When Lamar Jackson had an unstoppable performance against the Cleveland Browns en route to an unbelievable Week 14 win on Monday night, it was not the real Michael Vick but the virtual one that the NFL YouTube account paid homage to in the highlight video title.
So, yes... he was pretty good, on Xbox, GameCube, PS2 or wherever you played your Madden games, though he still wasn't No. 1 on our list of the Top 10 most dominant non-fictional video game athletes of all time.
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Vick went on to emphasize the role of Greg Knapp, the current Falcons quarterback coach who acted as their offensive coordinator from 2004-2006, who didn't shy away from maximizing Vick's unique play style.
"Greg Knapp... went out and scouted and found a way to make what I was doing, what I was capable of doing even more effective, so he went out and then we came back with the zone read," Vick explained. "And that's the year I ran for 1,000 yards, so he can take the credit for originating that."
Vick also thanked Arthur Blank for never putting pressure on him to change who he was or how he played, as well as Andy Reid for being "one of the greatest offensive minds the game has ever seen."
Speaking of Reid, Vick seems to think that he could have been another dominant quarterback.
"If that man decided to play quarterback, he would have been a damn good one," Vick said. "Because he understands the passing game... I always wanted to see Andy take a snap. I'd just love to see Coach drop back one time and just read the defense to see where he goes with the ball, because he's got all the answers in terms of offense. He loves offense. That's his thing."
Hear that, Madden developers? Let's get Andy Reid as a playable quarterback option in the next game, eh?
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