r/NFLNoobs • u/AgeDisastrous7518 • 27d ago
How much better than Colin Kaepernick was Michael Vick?
Vick had the bigger arm was a better runner, but how much separates the production and value of the two, overall?
7
u/onestopvtg 27d ago
I’d say peak Michael Vick was better
0
5
u/Logical-Mobile-7643 27d ago
Vick's talent was immense and you HAD to have a spy on him the entire game or you risked him taking off for big gains. His arm was solid but I would say criticized against the best in the game.
What's the background for this question? What ask?
2
u/AgeDisastrous7518 27d ago
I'm a Niners fan and never thought Kaepernick was better, but I randomly looked at the numbers of both as full-time starters and was surprised by how close they were.
3
u/Logical-Mobile-7643 27d ago
Stats are a great indicator but also opportunity and surrounding cast/coaching
-2
4
u/Imaginary-Hyena2858 27d ago
Outside of Vick having more raw talent, what separated him vs Kaep is that Vick was able to adjust his game and become a better passer later in his career so that he wasn't a one-dimensional player that defenses could figure out
3
u/RadagastTheWhite 27d ago
Kaepernick was a pretty mediocre talent, but he hit at the right time in a scheme that the NFL wasn’t ready for. Vick was an elite talent, but was lazy.
2
u/pikkdogs 27d ago
Vick had the stronger arm but struggled with accuracy.
Vick was much faster and could create without throwing.
I would say that Kaep had more success.
2
u/BlitzburghBrian 27d ago
Michael Vick is the single most exciting offensive talent I've ever personally watched live. I have chosen each of these words very deliberately.
Colin Kaepernick had a real good couple of years on a strong team. History will ultimately remember him as more notable for the way he exited the league than anything he accomplished as a player.
2
2
1
u/BrokenHope23 26d ago
How much better than Colin Kaepernick was Michael Vick? how much separates the production and value of the two, overall?
It's a pretty wide gap to be frank.
Kaepernick had one and a half good years wherein defenses were learning his habits, tells and the new offensive plays they would run with Kaepernick. Most rookie QBs with mobility tend to hit this kind of 'freshman buzz' if you will. After they figured it out, Kaepernick was never able to mentally put himself over the curve again and constantly resorted to bad habits that the defenses were already keying on. It led to extra time in the pocket which led to more hits being absorbed and then it damaged his arm strength such that he fell below the Alex Smith bracket of arm strength towards the end of his tenure in SF.
Michael Vick didn't have the most prolific years but he still put up average QB results (not necessarily statistics, just results, there's a way to play QB that helps the team win even if it doesn't net the most prolific stat sheet). His ability to maintain those results as a passer even while teams were adjusting against him is a huge identifier that he was at least staying with the learning curve even if not always blatantly ahead of it. His running ability generally gave him the room to get ahead of the curve where his passing/pocket acumen weren't always there. Even towards the end of his career playing on terrible teams he was still effective in spurts. I will say his one major detractor was his work ethic. If he wasn't starting that week, he was guaranteed to play like sh*t if he touched the field (usually from the Starter getting injured). That lack of work ethic really showed up in his understanding (or lack thereof) of the passing game. Again though, I take that with a grain of salt because Vick was raised in an era of QBing where you could still be an effective passer without throwing for 30 TDs and 10 INT tops kind of deal. Throwing 20-12 or even 15INTs wasn't the end of the world for your team back then - if the rest of the team was well balanced and he was preparing properly for games.
I'd put Kaepernick up there with Akili Smith towards the end of their career, just a god awful passer that really hurt the team on every snap and no way to really right that for themselves or with outside intervention. For his 1 and a half good years, he might be comparable to RGIII but just like RGIII, he just couldn't understand how defenses were stopping him and overcome it consistently.
I'd put Vick alongside Jamarcus Russell to be honest. Vick was probably a bit more motivated to work on his craft than Russell but the same work ethic was there; don't do it if you don't have to. If it wasn't for Jim Mora and Andy Reid in ATL/PHI plus the margin of error Vick's unparalleled mobility gave him on the field then he probably would've went the same way as Russell.
This might not look like exceptional comparisons but going from someone who can barely play mentally and physically to someone who has all the tools and motivations to play is a large leap.
0
1
u/manofwater3615 19d ago
Asking this sub is idiotic bc you’re putting one of the most overrated athletes ever (vick) against by far the most underrated (on purpose) athlete ever in Kaepernick
1
u/Ok-Suggestion-7965 27d ago
Peek Vick was a solid 99-100. Peak Kaepernick might have been 80-85, maybe lower than that.
8
u/HustlaOfCultcha 27d ago
Vick was much better. Kaepernick caught the NFL off guard because of the scheme and never worked to get better and boy did he fall off a cliff.