Happy Thursday Gabbers!

There's not much going on in the world of sports this week, but I did want to touch on something that may have went unnoticed.

Michael Vick wants to return to the NFC South, only this time he wants to play for the Carolina Panthers. (It took me a while to get over the nausea when I heard about this, but unfortunately it's true. Of all the fucking teams in the league, he has to pick my favorite team? Thanks, douchebag.)

In a recent radio interview on Atlanta's 107.9 "Gangsta Grillz Radio", Vick specifically mentioned the Panthers when asked which team he would like to play for next season.

As a Panthers fan, I don’t know how to say this other than to be blunt: HELL NO – we do not want you or need you on our team, Vick! Also, check out the name of the radio show – Gangsta Grillz Radio. If that doesn’t that just scream “I’m reformed, please take a chance on me and let me prove myself”, then I don’t know what does.

Seriously though, the Panthers don’t need Michael Vick. They already have a “who is going to be our QB in 2010″ situation, and that doesn’t need to be further compounded with Vick. Also, they don’t run the wildcat formation, which would be the only reason I could even fathom the team bringing him in. He’s not a drop-back passer, and he never was. He’s a gimmick quarterback at best, and his gimmick just doesn’t fit this team.

Also, his reason for wanting to join the team is just asinine. According to an article by Charlotte Observer blogger Charles Chandler, when asked why he wanted to join the team, Vick said: “Well, you know, it’s close to  home. I like the uniforms. You get to play against Atlanta twice a year. Ain’t nothing better than playing against your former team, right? So, yeah, that would be a good look, it would be a good look.”

You like the uniforms? You can’t be serious. That’s part of your reason? Hell, if you want I’ll gladly purchase you a Panthers jersey and send it to you (if you want I’ll make it a Peppers #90, I hear they’re half-price).

I can understand wanting to get back at the Falcons because they are the team that released you, except when you consider that they released you because YOU WENT TO PRISON FOR RUNNING A DOG FIGHTING RING. They don't owe you a fucking thing - in fact, you should be grateful that you are even allowed back into the league after the shit you pulled, so wanting to get back at your former team should be the last thing on your list buddy.

(The picture isn't really relevant to this post, but I just think it's funny as hell.)

(Okay, this one's funny as hell too - but I'll stop now.)

And before I get blasted for saying he doesn't deserve to play because of his dogfighting arrest - it's really not even about that.  (Seriously - it's not. I think it's fucking dispicable what he did, but he's paid his dues for the crime. I didn't agree with his sentence, but he did what was required of him by the legal system, and that's all that we can really ask of him.) I don't want him on the Panthers because I firmly believe he is a sub-par quarterback. He is a wildcat/gimmick player at this stage in his career, and he's not the standard "game manager" type quarterback the Panthers normally use in their offense. Also, he recently admitted that he was half-assing it while he played in Atlanta. If he's only going to give 50% effort and not be that great at his position, then why the hell would any team want to sign him and give him the starting job?

I understand that there is need for improvement over Jake Delhomme (Assuming he is the starter over Matt Moore. It's not as cut and dry as some may think it is - Moore will have to win the job in training camp before Delhomme is taken out of the starting spot for good). But, Vick is not an improvement in the passing game (as strange as that may seem - but statistically Delhomme is a better quarterback than Vick is), and his mobility is not as great as it was before he went to prison, so that advantage can be thrown out the window. Either way, unless the Panthers lose both Delhomme and Moore in the offseason, Vick does not improve the quarterback position for the 2010 Carolina Panthers.

Aside from the football aspect of it, Vick would be too much of a distraction. The Panthers aren't the type of team that feeds off of publicity at any cost (they're not the Cowboys), so I can't see any reason why they would consider bringing in Vick because they know it would cause too much of a distraction, and Jerry Richardson is not going to allow any negative publicity to infiltrate his team. (Hell, he told his own two sons to hit the road because they coudln't get along - what makes anyone thing he would bring in a player like Vick?)

When you combine the football and non-football related problems with this deal, there are too many reasons why this doesn’t make sense, and there aren’t enough pros to make it worth the risk. So please, Jerry Richardson, for the sake of everything that is good in this world – just say no to Vick.

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Until next Thursday...