By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com

Michael Vick agreed to plead guilty this afternoon to federal dog fighting charges. The former Virginia Tech All-American and Atlanta Falcons star accepted the deal in exchange for what he hopes will be less jail time. Most expect the former quarterback to get between a year and 18 months in federal prison.

One would expect the Falcons to cut ties with Vick in the coming weeks. It’s all but a certainty that the NFL will suspend him indefinitely. The chances of Vick ever playing again seem slim. What NFL city would make Vick their marquee player and leader of its team?

What a waste. Vick is the most talented athlete I’ve seen since Bo Jackson. He blew an opportunity to revolutionize the way the quarterback position is played. His performance a few years back in the Sugar Bowl against Florida State was the single finest performance I’ve ever seen by a college quarterback. In the end, Vick simply didn’t have the brain to go with the talent.  How many times have we seen that before?

The only positive thing to come out of this is that Atlanta’s scumbag coach, Bobby Petrino will suffer. There’s always a silver lining. Petrino is starting to get what he deserves. You can bet that if he stays in Atlanta long, he’ll get all he deserves and more.