A few years ago, I decided to watch most of the 1999 season on YouTube (before they killed Hokie Tapes' channel). One of the things that really stood out to me were some of the pre- and post-game interviews with Michael Vick. As you note, Vick was certainly less articulate at that point in his life, but what really struck me was his innocent demeanor. It really seemed clear to me that he's always had a good heart, but that he simply went down a dark path for a while after leaving VT. I was as disappointed as anyone in him when the dogfighting story broke, but I also stand and cheer for him for fighting so hard to right his wrongs and turn his life around. He's owned his mistakes and has not denied his inexcusable actions, and he is "walking the walk" now and I couldn't be happier for him. I'm a huge fan of Tony Dungy and give him tremendous credit for pouring himself into Michael Vick - he may have literally saved Vick's life. But at the same time, I also give tremendous credit to Michael Vick for recognizing that he needed to change and for being able to swallow his pride and actually make the changes necessary. That takes a ton of humility.

I've often wondered just how good Vick could have been in the NFL had he not gotten wrapped up in the wrong lifestyle and had really applied himself as much then as he since has while trying to rectify his wrongdoings. But then I wonder if his journey would have ended with such a good trajectory. Sometimes being humbled makes you re-evaluate everything and start anew. I'd much rather see a happy, healthy Michael Vick whose career was derailed than one who achieves great NFL success but still lived a misguided life.