Falcons Will Let Vick Fly
Anyone concerned that new Falcons coach Jim Mora is taking the ball out of quarterback Michael Vick's hands by installing the West Coast offense can rest easy. "People ask how we're going to make Mike fit into the West Coast offense, but my thinking is that we're trying to make our offense fit Mike," Mora says. "We're not going to ask him to do things he can't do. Mike has to run. He has to be on the edge. We'd be idiots to change his game."
Mora, the former San Francisco defensive coordinator, says Atlanta's offense will include aspects of the 49ers' passing game and the Broncos' running attack. Starting in early March, Vick spent three hours a day studying his new system with offensive coordinator Greg Knapp and quarterbacks coach Mike Johnson. And if Vick had any reservations about the change, those disappeared after he received an encouraging word from former 49ers quarterback Steve Young last January. "He's Mike's guy," Mora says. "When Steve Young called to say this offense would be great for him, that really got Mike going."