Start D.J. Shockley Now

There are two positives that can come out of the Michael Vick case. One, no one anywhere in this country will be able to claim that they didn’t know that dogfighting was illegal. And two, D.J. Shockley might make it onto the field.

Thanks to Michael Vick shooting himself in the foot, then reloading and shooting all of the Falcons in their feet, he (along with the Matt Schaub trade) has cleared the way for the team to one day be able to announce that their starting quarterback is D.J. Shockley. If the reports are true that the Falcons will cut Vick, then Shockley is the next best hope that we have here. I refuse to put my hopes in the hands of “The Detroit Loser” Joey Harrington.

That nickname doesn’t work for you? How about Joey “Butterfingers” Harrington? “Snapperhead?”

Having seen Harrington play in regular season games and fail miserably, and having seen D.J. Shockley excel in preseason games, I’d say at this point that Shockley has more of a chance at getting this team where it wants to be than Harrington. Plus, he’s a local hero, having played at Georgia. I’m sure the Falcons fans would rather have Shockley in there, too. He’s a capable quarterback who can run like Michael Vick. He’s like a shorter Vince Young.

So instead of giving Harrington the chance to lead this team straight into the crapper, and possibly playing Shockley anyway, after the team has been eliminated from playoff contention, why not just start Shockley at the outset and give us something to cheer for? At the very least, the positive story of a local star leading his hometown Falcons might offset some of the negativity that the Vick story has brought on.

Personally, I hope that Vick beats his charges and is allowed to come back and play for the Falcons. When he’s on his game, he is the most exciting player I have ever seen, hands down. To compare the excitement that Vick could bring to a game, you have to go to other sports. He can be that good. But in the event that he can’t ever come back, why not start the next best thing?

The D.J. Shockley campaign starts here. Everyone else, get in line.