The feds search of Falcons quarterback Mike Vick’s Newport Newz property on Friday didn’t turn up much – except that they were able to definitively say that his house was ground zero for a massive dogfighting ring that stretched into seven states. Didn’t we already kind of know this?

But before you think the Feds are about to lock up Vick and throw away the key, crippling the Falcons playoff hopes before the preseason even begins (Joey Harrington, nooooooo!), it’s unlikely Vick will get indicted. So sayeth ESPN. Or did they call this race too early?

Profootball talk has been all over the Vick investigation in the same way that Woody Paige is all over makeup artists. After the jump, PFT chronicles an interesting connection between ESPN’s Len Pasquarelli and the Vick case:

Also, the presence of Len Pasquarelli’s name in the report makes it automatically suspect, in our opinion. Pasquarelli has been the most ardent Vick apologist since news of the apparent dog-fighting operation first broke, due in large part (we believe) to Pasquarelli’s friendship with Vick’s agent, Joel Segal.

For the past two months, Pasquarelli has been urging folks not to jump to conclusions prematurely. So why should anyone conclude at this point that the guy who owned the property that hosted the dog fights won’t be held legally responsible?

ESPN reports that at least three people are expected to be indicted. But that could merely be the first wave of the indictments. Doesn’t anyone think that the folks who are charged will receive offers of leniency or immunity in exchange for giving up others who might have been involved?

And why would the feds tell the Falcons, the league, or anyone else that Vick likely won’t be indicted? If that aspect of the report is true, maybe the feds are hoping that Vick will let his guard down a bit, perhaps by not focusing his efforts on ensuring that the guys who get indicted won’t snitch.

While this is news, we’re still can’t get too excited about this case. We’re bottom line kind of guys, and the febrile speculation about Vick’s future with the Falcons simply bores us. It’s fun to imagine Joey Harrington screwing up any offense … but if we had to guess, athletes skate 90% of the time in these type of cases, and we’re going to guess somebody takes the fall for Vick.

Mike Vick will not be indicted. Shhhhhhhhh! (Starting Five)
Is Mike Vick Friendly to a Fault? (Pilot)
Vick Investigation (ProFootball Talk)