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Vick and Roethlisberger, while both elusive in their own ways, play with very different styles -- the fact that Vick tosses with the opposite hand (left) even throws a wrinkle into Todd Haley's system. Those differences, combined with Vick's age and time spent looking for work (rather than working) this offseason, suggest that the Steelers won't play up to -- or at least, as close to -- their potential with Vick at the helm.
"However," Bergman added, "if there's one difference between the Vick of old -- unbeatable-in-Madden-'04, ankle-breaking Super Vick -- and the Vick leading the Steelers on Thursday, it's the strength of his supporting cast."
And that supporting case is of primary interest to fantasy owners.
Following practice on Tuesday, Vick understood this, telling NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala, "It's not on me try to go out and win this game by myself."
On Tuesday, Vick said that he and Haley met and “had to eliminate the plays that I am not comfortable with” as they started putting together the game plan for this week.
Vick said he thinks it will “help tremendously” to focus on what’s left in the mix and Haley complimented the work Vick’s done to get a handle on the stripped-down scheme for this week.
“What we take pride in is playing to each player’s strengths,” Haley told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “When you are talking about the quarterback, you are talking about the same thing. He is not stepping in and doing what Ben did. He is going to do what gives Michael Vick the best chance to help us succeed. Us coaches love security blankets — more is better. It is a short week, and you have to keep things pretty simple, so maybe in the long run it is probably a blessing.”
As Bergman pointed out, Vick has always played best when he's had skill players around him. His best year came in 2010 with the Eagles when he was surrounded by a young trio of DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy and Jeremy Maclin. Vick finished the year with a 100.2 passer rating and set career highs with his touchdown-to-interception ratio (21:6), completion percentage (62.6) and rushing touchdowns (9).
The season included a record-breaking performance in a 59-28 Monday night win in Washington where Vick scored six total touchdowns, totaled 413 total yards and finished with a 150.7 passer rating.
However, in years where Vick has been surrounded by duds and no-names, the quarterback hasn't fared so well. Take last year with the New York Jets as a short example. Though he played five meaningful games -- only one of which was a win -- alongside Chris Ivory, Jeremy Kerley and Jace Amaro, Vick failed to impress with a 52.9 completion percentage and a passer rating of 68.2.
Vick also averaged around 30 rushing yards per meaningful start, a far cry from his career best.
It's not unreasonable to conclude that Vick plays up to the talent surrounding him.
Lucky for Vick, the Steelers and fantasy owners, Pittsburgh boasts its most impressive offensive roster in years with league leaders in Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell, speedy upstarts in Markus Wheaton and Martavis Bryant and a reliable veteran pass catcher in Heath Miller.
All Vick needs to do, in theory, is get them the ball in space and watch them work their magic, just like he used to do.