The age of Michael Vick | The History of the Atlanta Falcons, Part 5 

"Now who's your 22nd favorite quarterback? You're absolutely right it's Derek Carr!"

"This is not a missed tackle, this is not a bad tackle. There is just simply not enough Jay Bellamy." Jon can't miss lol.

26:18 “Being a co-founder of Home Depot, he was surely naturally drawn to a gigantic, drafty building with a tall ceiling and bad lighting that smelled kinda weird.” Jon’s talent at being both a fantastically engaging storyteller and a REALLY funny guy never ceases to amaze me.

33:22 This punt has a Surrender index of 1.20, in case anyone was wondering.

"Who's your 22nd favorite quarterback? That's right it's Derek Carr" already out swinging and that was a home run

21:14 "I mean, this is jiu-jitsu. Somewhere, I hope, Hélio Gracie is smiling." nice Fighting in the Age of Loneliness callback

I know nothing about American football, so I was loving everything about Vick the entire time, and my jaw literally dropped when you said what he had done. It’s so strange how fast I started idolising him, I’ve never even seen an American Football game before

"The terrifying lows, the dizzying highs, the creamy middles!" Homer Simpson describes the Atlanta Falcons

"Body mass index isn't all that useful for a lot of things, but it does help us appreciate how magestically large this man is" - Jon Bois

Alge Crumpler was a monster back in the early/mid 2000’s, it’s a shame he’ll be forgotten by NFL fans as the years go by.

That Jim mora interview killed me, I’ve never seen someone shit the bed that badly before

So you're telling me the Falcons indirectly led to Saban going to Miami, which led to Miami choosing Culpepper over Brees... this shit gets better and better.

This channel is amazing. I am completely deaf. I have bi-later cochlear implants. With that being said, I am able to listen this video, bluetooth wise, and having access to this audio DIRECTLY in my cochlea. The presentation, the editing and even the choice of music you guys use, incredible work.

I bet that whenever someone says the words "Bobby Petrino", Mike Zimmer does that Sideshow Bob grumble

Love that just like the Mariners, for the Falcons there is a perfect pivot point in the year 2001 from the unrealized potential of the late '90s to riding the wave of a genetic freak who defies all attempts at measurement

Idk man. I think calling it dogfighting sorta short sells it. Like I don’t think it makes Vick unforgivable. But this wasn’t just he was having dogs fight a little bit, he was torturing and murdering them in horrific gruesome ways. Vick does seem to genuinely have changed. And was punished for it. And has made amends. But it was horrific shit.

To quote urinatingtree “Only a brick wall can stop you, it’s name is the eagles.”

Just want Jon to know I’m loving this series as a nonNFL fan, and know I’m going to be rewatching over and over again after today, for a LONG time

“Like he was the worlds worst elder scrolls player” Listen Jon I’m a lore whore ok don’t kink shame me

While I accept that Vick has paid his debt and he's clearly a changed man due to it, but it never sat right with me that people tried to justify his actions by claiming it was a product of his upbringing. This wasn't some small pit bull fight in his basement. Dude was running a farm of over 70 dogs all of whom had to fight over and over again until they died. That goes beyond a bad upbringing. The sheer industrial scale of the operation was crazy and showed an indifference to the animals that borders on insane.

“ No one will ever be as dominant on the virtual football field as the red number 7.” Tecmo Bo Jackson “Hold my beer…”

One of my favorite parts of this series has been hearing the names of guys I’d forgotten over the years Brooking, Crumpler, Duckett- it’s been a wonderful trip, thanks guys

"Arthur Blank had come to Atlanta by way of the Daily Bugle..." I rewound the video 3 times in disbelief. How you delivered that deadpan is beyond me 👏

24:45 “Only a brick wall could stop you. Its name is the Eagles.” -UrinatingTree

I've never seen a Superbowl, hell I've never even intentionally sat through a full game, and yet every two days for the last two weeks I've shown up to listen to Jon Bois tell me about a team I've never heard of. This is the unadulterated power of a good sports commentator, he takes the mess of complexity and years of history and makes it accessable, a decidedly human story that any person could follow. I don't know shit about football, but goddamn do I love the Atlanta Falcons

"He chucks a souvenir all the way up into the second deck that is worth more than a second-deck ticket just by virtue of him touching it. ... But these are Saints fans. Get that shit outta here!"

i cant belive that this is something that gets multiple episodes a week every other channel would milk this w/ monthly or bi weekly releases, but you guys are committed to strike the iron while its hot thanks so much for the frequent releases, they have become highlights of my chaotic weekdays

When the Falcons drafted TJ Duckett in 2002 over Ashley Lelie (which turned out to be the right move, as Lelie was not good), the man who helped make the pick was Les Snead. He received a phone call from his wife after the pick was made saying that the pick was terrible, and that the Falcons didn't need a running back. When your own wife is criticizing your pick selection, that's when you know

That 2001 draft class was stacked as hell, which makes what Vick went on to do even more impressive. The Chargers missed Vick, sure, but the pick they got from the Falcons became LaDainian Tomlinson, so no big deal. Other major talents in the Class of 2001 include: Richard Seymour, Santana Moss, Deuce McAllister, Reggie Wayne, Drew Brees, Algae Crumpler, Chad Ochocinco, Travis Henry, Steve Smith (Panthers), and T. J. Houshmandzadeh. That's not even a comprehensive list. Yah. Vick was top of THAT class.

"you're right it's Derek Carr." lmao

I feel like there's a post-script with Michael Vick's story that probably could have been added to this episode, but wasn't because it didn't deal directly with the History of the Atlanta Falcons: After Vick's prison sentence was completed, he looked around for work a fair amount. He had considered both the Arena Football and the Canadian Football Leagues, until an old playoff rival thought that he could be an asset to his team. That rival was the Philadelphia Eagle's Donovan McNabb, who convinced then-head coach Andy Reid to get a deal done. Initially only on a one year deal, Vick not only proved himself still skilled enough to perform in the NFL, but also resilient, since he would be McNabb and Kevin Kolb's backup quarterback through most of 2009. Vick, wanting to make the best of his second chance, was enthused when the Eagles picked up the option for a second year of his contract. It's in 2010, though, that made me personally really remember Vick's time with the Eagles. Sitting at a record of 9-4, the Eagles travelled to New Jersey in a Week 15 divisional matchup with the also 9-4 New York Giants. The Eagles performed in a lackluster manner through most of the game to say the least, and by halfway through the 4th quarter, they trailed the Giants by 21 points. By most accounts, this was a game that was a done deal. Not for Vick though. Vick did the equivalent of swapping out what would have been in 2010 the modern PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and wiping the dust off of his old PlayStation 2 and original Xbox. He then proceeded to do the equivalent of booting up Madden NFL 2004, and play as himself against the real life New York Giants for the final 7 minutes, 28 seconds of play. In what has been dubbed as the "Miracle at the New Meadowlands," Vick led the Eagles to score 28 points in not even half of a quarter, with a scramble ability and athleticism that would later remind me of Carson Wentz during the Eagle's 2017 season, which would culminate in the team's first Super Bowl win. Hanging onto that thread of the 2017 Eagles ever so briefly more, during his later time in Philadelphia, Vick would share the quarterback room in 2012 and 2013 with Nick Foles, the Super Bowl 52 MVP, during his first stint in Philly. The idea that Vick potentially influenced Foles in his early career and his athleticism would be reflected in Wentz, always makes me think positively of Vick as an Eagles fan. I'm glad that the team gave him that second chance after his sentence, and I think that it goes to show just how much a second chance to a repentant man can mean not only to him, but to the community around him.

Chargers' 2001 draft is wild. Traded out of #1 and lost out on Vick, yet still had one of the greatest drafts ever. LT in first round and Drew Brees in second round

"Only a brick wall can stop you. It's name is the Eagles."

not including Mike Zimmers comment on Petrino quitting is criminal.

I hope it doesn't go unnoticed that in Dan Reeves' portrait in this video, he points nearly directly upward in the same direction that the Falcons' W/L record sweeps during their 1998/1999 seasons.

I never would have thought I'd watch like 4 hours of falcons history but here we are

The Vick Experience was like if Linsaniy lasted for years, rather than just 2 months. Then, after 5 years, Jeremy Lin gets arrested for cooking and dealing meth.

I've been waiting all day for this! Holy crap, this is almost an hour. Jon and Alex blessing us once again on a Tuesday

I know what I ask is completely improbable; but I desperately need this kind of in-depth documentary style video for each of the other 31 NFL teams. Your greatest series ever SecretBase. I clamor for more!

I’m a chiefs fan and as soon as I saw the graph of the win/loss margin of 04/05 I said “hey there’s the chiefs game”. My jaw was on the floor the entire game. I thought Vick and Dunn would carve us up.

“They turn around and cancel their subsequent interview with...” *SHOWS NICK SABAN’S NAME Okay that one was actually a smart decision, after 2006 with the Dolphins it was clearly proven his coaching style was NOT for the NFL level!

My wife doesn't care about football, but she loves this series. Really incredible~

I know these take an immense amount of time, but by like 2030 we need one for every NFL team. These are an absolute joy.

42:00 Vick, at 72OVR, was SO EASY to trade for in franchise mode. You didn't need to change his ratings. His OVR was held artificially low by his low awareness rating, which doesn't matter when you user control him. As a 49ers fan, it was easy to trade away Jeff Garcia and some draft pick(s) for Vick, pair him up with Owens, and rip the NFL apart.

How did you know that Derek Carr was my 22nd favorite active qb??? Absolute psychic.

Jon Bois is the GOAT of sports content as a whole.

I’d literally sit and down and watch an entire series of these episodes on every NFL team

When you talked about the Falcons getting a coach who wouldn't be looking for another job, I face palmed and said, "Oh, god no." I've been through a lot a heartbreak and disappointment as a Bills fan; but seeing what the Falcons fans have been through; if you've been a Falcons fan for as long as I've been a Bills fan, I salute you.

I was born on Langley Air Force Base in 2000, both my mom and my uncle went to Virginia Tech, and my dad was raised in Atlanta where he saw Hank hit 756 and had Bartkowski as a backup when Theismann's injury made him never want to root for the WFT ever again. Michael Vick's mom's house was on my dad's route to work at the Norfolk Naval Base every day. He worked night shifts, so in the lead up to the draft, whenever he got off he wanted so desperately to go say something to her about Mike joining the Falcons. Obviously he never did, but on his way home from work the morning of the first day of the draft he saw her packing. She was a public school bus driver, so everyone knew that meant Mike had made it. My dad was super pumped and lo and behold, Michael Vick went from our college team to our pro team. He was by far our favorite player, and I think I still have my tiny Vick jersey made for 5 year old me somewhere. needless to say I didn't wear it after a while, but we've always supported him. even when he made his comeback, he was helped by Tony Dungy, one of my all time favorite coaches for finally helping Peyton get over the hump and one of the best people ever in the NFL, in my opinion, both before and after he was released. he became a better person and a better football players, and I think opinions on him show a person's true views on rehabilitation and forgiveness.

As someone who doesn't keep up with sports too often, let ALONE the history of football, the reveal that Aaron Brooks was the QB for the Saints was so fucking cool

Man, Vick let himself down, and in turn Atlanta. In interviews later in life he admitted to "not really trying" during his time here (ATL). Not studyng film, or taking practice seriously. Just imagine if he had more self love. (EDIT: I see you hit on that. I was at a lot of those games in the 03 04 05 seasons.) Oh, I also remember a commercial that was " The Michael Vick Experience" ride.

This is the most cathartic video series I have ever seen. Never thought I'd shed a tear hearing Alge Crumpler's name.

The Video: "it was clearly time for a fresh start in 2007 to make ancient history of this notion of the head coach bailing for a college job in the middle of the season" Me, who has watched that episode of The Worst: "Oh no"

I'm only six minutes in, but I want to put this out there: I've been watching college football for over 35 years and there was no one even close to Michael Vick. It was indescribable what he did on the field. The highlights are one thing, but he would chain together four or five plays in a row that only the best position players you've ever seen could ever could one of. Dodge and juke for 12 yards, fire a frozen rope across field hitting a slot receiver in the hands just outside the linebacker bubble, turn a broken pass play into a 25 yard gain. It was absurd. If that national championship game is available to watch start to finish, take an evening and just soak it in.

A short anecdote about Mike Vick, when I was like 6 or 7 he was my absolute favorite athlete, he's where my love of football really started and I thought he was the dopest dude on the earth. The other thing I really loved was animals, I was already telling my mom I wanted to be a vet and save animals. When the news of the dog fighting broke I was literally in tears I felt so betrayed that my idol would be cruel to dogs. Of course as an adult now I can look back and still appreciate Vick as an athlete but I'll never forget hearing that news as a little kid.

Why did some folks think Michael Vick a monster? That's what happens when someone does something monstrous. The fact others have gotten away with worse doesn't make what Vick did less awful.

Thank you for covering one of the most broken characters in gaming history, Madden Mike Vick.

This episode brought me so much nostalgia. I became a falcons fan in 2002 as a little 3 year old because of Vick, genuinely found myself cheering at some points haha. Great episode

About Petrino the Clown, three thoughts: 1)Why didn't you put Zimmer's comments on the topic? 2)Lamar Jackson wasn't an "unbelievable failure of karma doing its job", but rather karma getting Petrino higher and higher, so his downfall would be all the more disgracingly hurtful and exquisitely hilarious. After all, we got to have that image of his firing during his TV show! 3)I absolutely believe he wouldn't get the Grimaldi/Pagliacci joke, and actually say "Let's go and see him!!"

As someone who was a Fayetteville transplant and lived there for 10 years, I had the popcorn ready for the Bobby Petrino section of this episode. Never seen a more weaselly coach in my life.

THIS is the episode we have all been been waiting for…. Ladies and gentlemen, secret base presents to you: *The Michael Vick Era.*

Kind of interesting that episode 5 of the Mariners series was on Ichiro and episode 5 of the falcons is on Vick

That pic of Mcnabb Vick and Hurts just came out and it makes me so happy and i just hope hurts can continue to mean as much to us and especially kids as they did

“but these are saints fans, get that shit outta here” LOL

I love this series but as I die hard Falcons fan, I am damn near in tears. This team just can't get right!

“You go 4-12 on the field, but that’s just like finding out you lost your remote after the goddamn house burned down.”

No matter how many times I go through this series, I get tears in my eyes at the Mike Vick intro. Love you guys, thank you for making this.

Warrick Dunn, Patrick Kerney, Shawn Jefferson and Alge Crumpler, with Ray Buchanon on top of Michael Vick and Madden 2004.....What a Millenial throwback they are. I'm not complaining. I loved every moment of it and if anything this vid makes that one thing more clear than anything...

Never thought I’d see “Huge moral problems with being a billionaire” and “dog fighting isn’t that bad” in the same video

Imagine if someone had just introduced Mike Vick to Pokémon instead.

Wow the defense of the dog fighting charges are wild didn’t expect that one. Dude from ATL really lost me on that. This man tortured innocent animals and we get “Hey he went to jail for a bit, it’s okay”

Another solid episode. I have been a Falcons fan since the Bartkowski years so this has been a great trip through memory lane as well as reminding me of people and things that I completely forgotten about. This has been so good, that I'd would probably watch a similar series about any other team in the league.

25:40 you guys did blank greasy on this one. I laughed again after pausing to look up J Jonah Jameson

29:55 That would be a second time an exceptionally physically gifted athlete from Virginia would spoil a unanimous MVP vote.

KOFIE SURPRISE APPEARANCE LETS GO

As a falcons fan, watching this is dredging up old memories I haven't thought of in years. Kudos!

Those two Minnesota players colliding at 17:10 is brutal yet strangely elegant. Vick was ridiculous!

51:35 Goddamn this part hits, because in not naming people it leaves me with several people in mind who all fit that description.

I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of time and effort you guys have poured into this series Thank you for doing all this

Absolutely loved the video. Now on the subject of Vick, I have forgiven him because I truly believe people can change and I believe he has. That being said the punishment he received was 100% deserved. He tortured creatures that were helpless to defend themselves against him creatures who have been bred to trust and be loyal to humans for thousands of years. To take advantage of those creatures and brutalize them for entertainment or personal gain is one of the most despicable things I can think of. He deserved what he got, he changed his life and the fact that he’s done what he has to try to make up for it is very meaningful. I hated him for years but I’ve changed too, he’s not a monster, he’s a man who made some bad mistakes, he’s just a human like the rest of us.

The two Vikings hitting each other at 17:11 are like something out of a cartoon.

These series and this kind of content has single handedly reignited my interest in the NFL as a sport

The "juuuust a bit outside" is one of my favorite references.

You forgot to mention that time in 2006 that Vick flipped the "dirty bird" to Falcons fans who were booing him. Everybody in Atlanta loved him? That's some world class revisionist history there, guys.

This is the episode I have been waiting for! These are the Falcons I knew growing up. Not my team, but Vick was truly something special to watch on the field

24:07 - I can hear Jon booting up the surrender index in the background

Unreal. Probably a bit soft on Vick in a sense, he wasn't just caught trying to get an old fashioned off a prostitute, man was running a full brothel.

It's absolutely unreal that Allen Iverson, Aaron Brooks, and Michael Vick ALL grew up that close together in ONE small area like that. Just amazing.

I giggle when I get the notifications about this series, and I'm not even a Falcons fan.

28:10 made me think Mora and Hebert had adopted a weird child together

I had to revisit the Bobby Petrino part of this video after today's news. In 2022, Petrino was hired to become the offensive coordinator at UNLV on December 15. A few weeks later on January 4th, 2023 he leaves UNLV to become the offensive coordinator at Texas A&M. Bobby Petrino is hilarious and his section of the video has me laughing every time.

Never knew that story about Warrick Dunn. Just became a bigger fan. Always used him and the bucs on the OG NFL blitz lmao.

I felt real down about the Vick part at the end but only Jon can turn it around and make me laugh about Bobby Petrino.

Just finished making lunch and didn’t know what to watch before work, I love you guys so much for this

What I wouldn't give for a series like this on my futile Vikings. Love these History of a Team pieces. Outstanding work!

Man I member lurking on the Falcons forums in those Redman days, which admittedly was a weird place to hangout for a patriots fan in 07, but here in Denmark, those Mort memes were huge :) Poor Booey Harrington...

The first player to literally be a cheat code in a video game. Mike Vick will always be my favorite QB to eva lace em up💯

These are the only videos I audibly say "oh shit!" and immediately open now. Jon and Alex are treasures of sports media.

I always called Vick's run against the Vikings the "Wile E Coyote" run. Those last two defenders just remind of Wile E Coyote crashing into a wall trying to catch the road runner.

The Fumble Dimension needs to cover video game Vick vs video game Bo Jackson