For the last three weeks, the story that has gripped the NFL hasn’t been Brett Favre’s bitching or Pacman’s suspension, but rather the imbroglio involving Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and dogs.

The jist of this story for those who tuned Vick out after he flicked off the home crowd, or after the bizarre weed-in-the-water-bottle incident at an airport: Vick owns a mansion in Smithfield, Virginia. It’s near the area he grew up. He was not living there, but rather his nephew was. The cops busted his nephew for operating an illegal dog fighting ring, and the feds found 60 pit-bulls, many of which were unhealthy. Vick said he doesn’t live there and was taken advantage of by relatives; teammates and local storeowners say otherwise. They claim he was well aware of what was going on. Yahoo claims there may be video of Vick at dog fighting matches.

Let’s see: he’ll be 27 this year, and by our count, Vick has as many playoff appearances (four) as he does controversies (Ron Mexico, middle finger, water bottle, and dog fight). Not a favorable ratio. We all know what will happen in the dog case - Vick will skate. Just like all athletes do, he’ll walk away with his reputation - what’s left of it - slightly tarnished.

For seemingly the longest time, we’ve been engaging in semantic jujitsu with friends about Vick: the losses weren’t his fault, it was the defense! He wasn’t a bad quarterback … he didn’t have receivers! What a joke.

Weren’t the possibilities endless just a few years ago when he led the Falcons to the NFC championship? Things spiraled downhill after that - he started giving women herpes, the team plummeted to 8-8, and then last season was another unmitigated disaster that ended without a playoff berth.

Steve Young and Michael Vick were different kind of runners, so the guess here is that Vick has three more quality seasons left in his nimble and stringy frame. The arm is a cannon with the accuracy of Ryan Leaf. A poor season in 2007 will probably spell doom to his career, or, worse yet, a future in Detroit. Does he have any chance to win a title? We’ll say yes, simply because the NFC remains tremendously weak: the Bears had a shakeup, the Cowboys lost Parcells, the Saints may have been one-year wonders, the Eagles are bickering, and Seattle seems to have had its chance.

And to think - this downfall all started with herpes.

Newport News Native Michael Vick Investigated for Alleged Dog Fighting (Newschannel 3)
Possible Vick ban a concern to Blank (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Website links Vick to dog-selling business (USA Today)
Dogs (Vicks K9 Kennels)
Michael Vick’s In The Doghouse (Sports Observatory)
Dog Fighting is Cruel, and Vick has Questions to Answer (NFL Fanhouse)