Running Game May Carry Vick if He Continues to Struggle

Another season brings another round of debate about Michael Vick and whether he can develop into a productive pocket passer. But after years of debating Vick's problems with staying in the pocket, the situation finally should resolve itself.

Vick and Coach Jim Mora will be under intense pressure to win, and that will happen only if the quarterback can grasp the West Coast offense and resist the urge to flee the pocket at the first sign of danger, or the coaches realize Vick is never going to be a pocket passer and finally accept the trade-off for his explosiveness is a high injury risk.

If neither happens, get ready for the most public breakup since the demise of Bennifer.

With all this talk about the quarterback, running back Warrick Dunn has been overlooked even though he has thrived in the Falcons' zone-blocking system, rushing for a career-high 1,416 yards last season. Dunn may be in store for more touchdowns given the departure of goal-line specialist T.J. Duckett, who was traded to the Redskins for a third-round pick in 2007.

Rookie Jerious Norwood has been impressive as Dunn's backup during the preseason and likely will get some carries for an offense that led the league in rushing last season.

Safety Lawyer Milloy and defensive end John Abraham should help improve a defense that is poised to make a big jump.

But as usual, everything revolves around Vick, simply because he's the only player on this roster capable of changing a game with one play.