What’s the story of the NFL season thus far?

Perhaps the redemption (or people forgetting that he cruelly abused animals because now he throws TDs, so it’s all good) of Michael Vick fits the bill. Regardless of what your personal feelings are for Vick, you have to admit that since he took control of the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense in the third quarter of their first game, the guy has been electric. So what should you do with this one-man offense? Keep reading to find out.

To Trade, or Not to Trade?

If you were one of the lucky ones who grabbed Michael Vick with visions of regularly occurring 20 point games dancing in your head (as I recommended), well then you may find yourself in a delicate position. Should you trade Vick while his value is at an all-time high, or hold onto him?

I think the answer depends largely upon your overall team makeup. If you grabbed Vick sitting at the top of your league’s waiver wire and his impact hasn’t really helped your team eek out any wins, then you should probably look to trade him. Target a position of weakness on your team and try to get as many quality players out of the deal as you can. Use Vick as leverage to grab some more than likely nonessential players to your trade partner’s team; players like the New York Giants’ Ahmad Bradshaw or the Chicago Bears’ Matt Forte. If you’re feeling risky, you could even buy some usually great players while their stock is low, i.e. Larry Fitzgerald, Steve Smith (Carolina Panthers) or DeAngelo Williams.

If you feel like your team has been getting lucky or you’ve been relying upon one player to breakout each week for the majority of your points, then you should probably look to trade Vick as well. You can start out hot and win a few games with a few players having huge games, but inevitably, the law of averages will catch up. In fantasy football, you should strive to collect consistent players with the potential to explode each week. At the very minimum, you should shoot for a 10 point average weekly from all your players. In most leagues, this will get you 80 points a game; this number will more than likely squeak out a few wins (though if you want to be one of the top teams you should average 100 and above). Trade Vick, get more consistent players to go along with your breakout stars and pick up a consistent QB like the Atlanta Falcons’ Matt Ryan.

Then there is, of course, the final situation. You were sitting there at the top of your waiver order after Week 1 looking down upon the rest of the league, and you thought hey, why not, I’ll claim Vick. You weren’t really expecting to get him, but the rest of your inferior league does you a solid. You get Vick and now he’s more than likely the top player on your already stacked team. It’s a great feeling, isn’t it?

Don’t trade Vick and enjoy owning a player that will stay in the Top 5 at his position all season.

Impact in Philly

With Kevin Kolb in the starting lineup, the Eagles barely put up more than 30 yards. That’s in one half of football. With Vick in the lineup, the Eagles average 367 yards per game, the 9th best total in the league. They also average 27.7 points per game, the 3rd best in the league. Vick had thrown 6 TDs to no INTs while also scoring 1 TD rushing. Add in 750 yards passing and 170 yards rushing and you have yourself a fantasy stud.

Many are pointing out that Vick’s wins and huge numbers have come against a Packers team that didn’t prepare for him (though they had to know that he was going to get a few plays in the game and would have prepared for that) and Lions and Jaguars teams that don’t exactly put up a stiff defensive test.

Vick passes the eye test regardless. He’s putting balls in tight windows, looking to pass before he runs and overall just looking like how a QB that was drafted first overall should look.

LeSean McCoy has more open lanes to run through with the threat of Vick (still a No. 2 RB though due to Andy Reid falling in love with the pass for long stretches at a time), DeSean Jackson is back to making HUGE plays and Jeremy Maclin has morphed into a consistent scoring threat with 4 TDs though 3 games.

Brent Celek is the only former fantasy starter that has suffered under Vick, but his numbers have steadily improved from game to game. However, I don’t think he’s going to be the fantasy juggernaut that owners expected when they heard about him and Kevin Kolb being best friends (a la Jason Witten and Tony Romo). Vick loves throwing to his TEs as much as the next QB (remember Alge Crumpler?), but the fact is that the Eagles offensive line is so bad that Celek has been called upon to stay in and block more often than not. That problem is not going to fix itself as the season goes on.

Jackson has put together back-to-back 100 yard games with a TD in each, Maclin has scored at least one TD in every game and McCoy is averaging an impressive 6.1 yards per carry. All of them will go over the 1,000 yard plateau and all are viable fantasy starters, mainly because of Vick.

Sustained Consistency?

I already stated that I believe Vick will end the season as a Top 5 QB, but I didn’t tell you why. Vick has flourished against weak opponents, and if you look at his schedule, you’ll see a lot of those still to come.

First off, he plays in the NFC East and hasn’t played any of his division rivals yet. This Sunday’s upcoming game against the Redskins will be his first taste of this comically weak division. The Redskins were lit up by Houston and the Rams (!!!), the Giants have been routinely picked apart (even Matt Moore wasn’t too terrible against them) and then there’s the Cowboys, a team that the Redskins held in check (parenthesis!). I see a lot of big fantasy days ahead.

Then there’s match ups against San Francisco, Atlanta, Tennessee, Indianapolis, Houston, Chicago and Minnesota. Tennessee may give him some trouble, but I’m not sold on the Bears D or Minnesota’s ability to continue to play great defense with the lack of a consistent offense. Everything is lined up for Vick and his weapons to have a great season.

If I were a bold/rash/re-actionist man, I would say that Vick will end the season as the best QB in fantasy football.

Oh wait, I am. Vick will end up as the highest scoring QB in fantasy. Take it to the bank, and while you’re there, get your loose change exchanged for dollars. It’s just a nice treat.