You certainly couldn't call Michael Vick's old life "boring." On top of his well-documented transgressions, Vick spent much of his time partying with his friends, assuming that his physical gifts would allow him to overcome such a lifestyle on the field.
Now, despite his renewed fame and hype, he says things are pretty boring, and he's proud of that. Vick talked with WIP Philadelphia on Wednesday about his second chance.
"For me personally, nothing has changed other than me spending more time here at the complex preparing myself for the competition on Sunday. … Nothing has changed for me personally. I’m living a somewhat boring lifestyle right now, but that’s what’s best for me. … I can’t complain.
"I enjoy studying the game, learning as much as I can about the opponent. When I go home though, it’s just me and my wife. It’s not like it was before where I would go home and there would be a bunch of guys at the house, all my friends there. Now I go home to my family, which is not boring. I enjoy it and I love it. I would do it everyday. That’s just a part of it. That’s just what I’ve been doing lately," he said.
Vick has also decided to turn over a new leaf when it comes to preparation. He's giving it his all, refusing to squander his opportunity.
"In the past I knew I could get by off my athletic ability. What knowledge I did have about the game I thought was enough. So I didn’t really feel like I needed to study my opponent each week because nine times out of ten, I felt like when we got into the game, we played a totally different defense than what I studied so I kind of threw that out the window along time ago.
"As time went on, I felt like I was cheating myself because I could be learning… I feel like I short-changed myself and this time, I didn’t want to do that. … I just told myself that, given a second chance, I would do things different.
"Each and every week I was prepared for the opposition and that I would do everything in my power to know the other team in and out. I didn’t want to leave the complex until I knew everything about who we was playing. … I’m enjoying it because, the truth of the matter is, I always knew I could do it. I think I just needed an opportunity to show it. …
"Just having this opportunity to play in this offense like this where we are going to air it out and then I can make plays with my legs just makes it a whole lot easier on me. But we all know that on any given moment I can still have 100 yards rushing. That will never change."
Vick is right. We do all know that he could have 100 yards rushing in a given moment. Now, however, we're starting to believe that he may be a leader and a winner too.
