Far from a frenzy

For much of the past 2 1/2 years, Michael Vick has been pure talk radio gold in Atlanta. Just throw out the fallen quarterback's name, stand back and watch the phones melt and the control board needles dance. Vick was such a radio-active topic that the jocks became wary of relying on it too often. "The joke around the room was that it was too cheap, too easy," said Chris Dimino, morning co-host at 790 The Zone. Yet, the week leading up to The Return of Vick today passed in relative quiet. "Thank you, Tiger Woods," joked Falcons back Michael Turner. The talk on talk radio was quite the stew last week, rendering Vick's return to the Georgia Dome with Philadelphia just another carrot in the pot. There was the impending SEC Championship showdown at the Dome, as well as an ACC Championship game featuring Georgia Tech. There were the heavy playoff implications of this Falcons -Eagles game. And, yes, there was considerable discussion about Tiger shanking his wedding vows. Dimino, for one, just didn't see the need to Vick-up the broadcast to any extreme. "Florida-Alabama is bigger. The fight for survival for the Atlanta Falcons in the postseason is bigger," he said. Fox plans to be fairly reserved in its Vick coverage. "We've got to talk about it and acknowledge that Mike is coming back to Atlanta," said the crew's color analyst, former Cowboys fullback Darryl Johnston. "Pay it off as that and then wait and see what his impact on the game will be." Outside of studio and press box, those on both sides of the Vick divide were taking up familiar positions. One local group, the Marietta-based New Order National Human Rights Organization, had a welcome back rally Friday night (about 30 showed up) for Vick outside the Georgia Dome. A California-based animal rights group, In Defense of Animals, planned to protest Vick's appearance today outside the Dome. The scale of the demonstrations was minor compared to the furor in 2007 when Vick went on trial on federal dogfighting charges. The Falcons brass couldn't have asked for a better scenario this week. It reaped the benefit of increased ticket sales --- single-game tickets for the Eagles game sold out quickly after Vick signed with the team, others were bundled into a partial season-ticket package. And, yet, management was able to keep a safe distance from the player and the controversy that sparked those sales. Vick did one local interview this week --- with 680 The Fan --- which was one interview more than Falcons owner Arthur Blank granted. Blank let it be known that, basically, he'd rather talk about a holiday sale at Lowe's than the quarterback who alternately gilded and gutted his franchise. In Vick's six-year stint here, he produced more highlights than any Atlanta athlete this side of Dominique Wilkins. He had to his credit a pair of playoff victories --- one on Green Bay's mythic Arctic plain. At his peak, he was the most exciting player in the country's biggest league, the breath-taking quality of his talent likened to a carnival ride in Nike's "Michael Vick Experience" ads. His fall was a modern Greek tragedy. He polarized this city like no other athlete. Barely used by Eagles And yet, as he returns to the Georgia Dome today, there is every reason to question in practical terms just how significant this moment is. "[The Eagles are] not doing much with him, so [Vick's return] is not a big subject at all, I don't think," said Dan Reeves, the man who first coached Vick with the Falcons . Through 11 games with the Eagles, Vick has carried the ball only 15 times, for 65 yards, no touchdowns. He is 3-for-9 passing for 6 yards. He is a bit actor in this offense, a diversion, having made little more statistical impact than a long snapper. "He's excited to get a touchdown, I think. Everybody has been giving him a bad time about [not] scoring a touchdown here," Eagles coach Andy Reid said this week. If, as has been the case all year, he only gets a handful of snaps, this likely won't be the day for Vick loyalists to rekindle memories of the league's one-time most dynamic player. Nor will it be an occasion to compare their man with the Falcons current quarterback. Matt Ryan is out today with a bum toe. Vick, who said all the right things last week, did his part to defuse the whole him-vs.-Ryan topic when he told the Philadelphia media, "My future was very uncertain. Nobody actually knew when I was going to get out of prison. You have to move on. [The Falcons ] did a great job of drafting Matty Ice. He's been huge for their organization." And, certainly, Falcons players can't get caught up in this sub-plot. Their personal involvement is slight. The vast majority of them, 79 percent (42 of 53), arrived after Vick took his last snap for the Falcons in 2006. "I wasn't here when he was, but my guess is that it's over and done with. It has been talked about so much. Vick has moved on, and we have moved on," said linebacker Curtis Lofton. There always is the possibility that one week Reid will devise something new for Vick and increase his workload. But for now, the Falcons have to plan for the gimmick, not the player. "We don't really game-plan for specific people," said Falcons coach Mike Smith. "We game-plan for the scheme. And the scheme that they're running is a scheme that we've seen. It's something we prepared for all offseason because we knew we'd see it our opening game [with Pat White and Miami]." No one can be sure exactly what Vick is bringing to the game these days. Because of his limited role, it has been impossible to judge accurately what he has left, at the age of 29, after two seasons away from the game. Mostly what he has managed in Philadelphia is to rehab his image, to work on showing himself a changed person. That part, seemingly, has gone well. "I think this year has been a great opportunity for him. It was really smart of him to go into a situation like that," said Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez. Still, one who knows him best insists that the Vick who now faces the Falcons can't be very effective based on how Philadelphia deploys him. "I have not been impressed with what [the Eagles] are trying to do with him," Reeves said. "He is a quarterback. I said that all along. We tried to do some of those other things with him and saw very quickly that Mike is better when he is playing the quarterback position. "He's not a running back. He's not going to take those licks. He's not used to looking at holes and trying to see daylight. He gets people spread out, that's when he's effective." Said Johnston, "He is not the same guy we remember seeing the last time with the Falcons ." "As a fan of the game," said Falcons safety Erik Coleman, "I hope he gets his chance to really play again. But in this game, preparing for Donovan McNabb is enough." Divided loyalty? There is one real intrigue to this day: How will the customers greet Vick? How many of his detractors will be there to boo, how many of his staunch supporters will be there to greet him as a leader back from exile? And what about all the folks in between? It's not like Vick will be a part of the pre-game introductions. But what about the reaction to him within the context of the game? "If he gets stuffed, what's the crowd reaction?" wondered Dimino. "If he does have a big play, what's the crowd reaction?" The home field has been an immense advantage for the Falcons , especially in the post-Vick era. Since the beginning of the '08 season, they are 12-1 inside the Dome. They have come to count on the energy of their crowd, but now loyalties might be divided between the franchise and the one-time franchise quarterback. For his part, Vick said in Philly, "The last thing I want to do is get caught up is the crowd's [reaction]." After this time away, what remains to be seen on Vick's return is just how much he still moves the needle in Atlanta and whether his mere presence still can shape the course of a game inside the Georgia Dome. "I don't know if it's the Falcons or if it's Mike Vick --- which one do [the fans] love more? I don't know about that situation. We'll find out Sunday," Turner said. Comparing the QBs Ryan's first 27 games with Falcons : Record: 17-10 Passing: 471-of-781 (60.3 percent), 5,731 yards, 32 TDs, 23 INTs. Rushing: 152 yards, 2 TDs. Sacks: 32 Vick's last 27 games with Falcons : Record: 12-15 Passing: 374-of-698 (53.6 percent), 4,203 yards, 29 TDs, 23 INTs. Rushing: 1,396 yards, 8 TDs. Sacks: 70. Vick is complimentary of Ryan, saying, "He's been huge for their organization."