Did Not!

New York Jets quarterback Michael Vick seems to think that the NFL saw it's first days in 2001.

"I was the guy who started it all."

"I revolutionized the game."

"I changed the way it was played in the NFL"

Those are some bold statements. All come from his belief that he was the quarterback that started all the running. Robert Griffin III, Colin Kaepernick, Cam Newton, even the fast-as-I-need-to-be Russell Wilson. All of the dual threat quarterbacks of today are, according to Vick, impersonators of the original, Michael Vick. It's hardly surprising that he feels this way but he's clearly forgetting about the eighty years of NFL history that came before him. Fran Tarkenton stressed defenses with his running before Vick was even born. John Elway did the same while Vick was still wobbling around in diapers. Randall Cunningham? Steve Young? Steve McNair? Each was doing in the 1990s what Michael Vick claimed to revolutionize a decade later. Bobby Douglass. He couldn't hit an open receiver but he sure could run. An NFL record 968 yards in 1972. It was the record that Vick broke in 2006 with 1,039 yards. Spec Sanders? Sanders ran for over 1400 yards AND passed for over 1400 yards in 1947. There were a bunch of running quarterbacks before Michael Vick supposedly revolutionized the game.

In his early days with the Atlanta Falcons, Michael Vick was a scary football player. More so with his feet than with his cannon for an arm. Russell Wilson never looks fast on the football field but he's always a step ahead of his pursuer. He's a lot like Fran Tarkenton in that regard. Vick? Now, Vick was a lot faster than anyone that might attempt to pursue him. So quick. So fast. He could change direction in a blink. He was a scary football player. He may have been the best running quarterback in the history of the NFL. He has the career rushing record as evidence of that. Just because he was the best doesn't mean that he was the first. He didn't start the trend toward the fleet-of-feet quarterback. That happened as soon as a football player was given the option to throw. Michael Vick may think that NFL started when he entered it but he'd be wrong.