Our society is an interesting one. It’s one that likes to forgive people despite atrocities that they may or may not have committed. Ray Lewis might have killed someone at the Cobalt Lounge years back. Now, we see Ray Lewis as an inspirational leader and an incredible football player. Rams defensive end Leonard Little killed someone when he got into a car accident and blew a 0.19 BAC at the scene. Yet, after serving his time and doing his community service, Little is seen as more of a problem for offensive coordinators to contain than as a reckless individual in society.

This brings us to Mike Vick. We all know what Vick did, I’m not going to retread the story over and over. Yesterday, Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison, a hefty sentence that will clearly give him some time to think.

Fast forward two years. Mike Vick has just been released from prison and is applying for reinstatement into the NFL. Obviously there will be mixed feelings about this process and surely there will be a bunch of people who call for him never to see the field again. That’s our opinion and we are entitled to it.

While I’m not asking for everyone to suddenly forgive Vick (that’s something that will simply not happen), I ask that you take into account our judicial system and the way it works. Vick will serve his time. The purpose of that time is to rehabilitate him as a functioning member of society and it should be understood that after he serves his 23 months he should be given the same opportunity to redeem and prove himself once again. I’m not saying we should be enamored with the guy once he comes out, but I think we should give him a shot. He committed a horrific crime and now he’ll serve a good amount of time for it. It’s as important for us to set aside our personal vendettas and give him a shot as it is for him to bring himself back to respectability and repair his image.

I caught this video over at Deadspin earlier today and it just goes to show you the true dominance of Tom Brady these days. After throwing another five touchdowns in another easy victory, Brady had the opportunity to bag yet another female. But instead of your random A+ supermodel, it was none other than NBC’s Andrea Kremer. It’s like Kremer is a 12 year old girl with her first crush.

In other news, Andrea Kremer is pregnant.*

*Lie

Robert Byrd, a senator from West Virginia, has very strong opinions about Mike Vick and his involvement in dogfighting. Lets just say that Byrd’s tear jerking speech makes you realize how barbaric Vick is.

There’s a hell of a chance that none of us will ever see the electric, the immortal, the unbelievable Mike Vick play football again. Vick pleaded guilty on Monday to dog fighting charges and brokered a plea deal with the federal government. The charges pending have a consequence of up to five years in prison and fines of up to $250,000.

See ya Mike. To hell with you. Finally all those patriotic warriors of the legal system can shut up about Vick “not being guilty until he got a fair trial.” He’s done. Not only is he going to spend at least the next year in prison, he’s going to get suspended by Roger Goodell when he returns from the jail sentence. There’s always that team that is willing to take a gamble on someone despite off the field issues but I think this is an entirely different situation. Adding Mike Vick to an NFL team is P.R. suicide. In a country that seems to be so infatuated with their pets, it appears that this crime is more heinous than even murdering another person. What kind of person murders this kind of face in cold blood?

If Vick returns, does anyone really believe he’ll be able to play quarterback? He couldn’t play quarterback even when it was his daily job, now he’s going to be in a cell block and not on the field for a few years. America loves to give people second chances in life, but I’m not so sure Mike Vick will be one of those people. Even if he turns his act around, this is something that’s going to live with him forever. Good. Enjoy your next 18-36 months inmate #846242, errrr Mike Vick.

We already know what Clinton Portis thinks about the Mike Vick dogfighting fiasco, and it turns out that Jonathan Vilma needed to voice his opinion as well. Vilma, who appeared on a local radio show, dropped this bomb about the relationship between dogfighting and horse racing

“Dogfighting is much more extreme, but you can equate it to horse racing. … Everyone has heard about dogfighting. Whether you choose to participate or not, that’s your decision. I’m not here to condone or accept it. It’s been there for a while…”

Whoah, whoah, whoah, Jonathan. Because I’ve heard of dogfighting, I can all of a sudden equate it to horse racing? Because it’s been around a while it is all of a sudden acceptable or excusable? Cue up the Jonathan Vilma backpedal…

“I was definitely not comparing the two, dogfighting to horse racing. You’ll have activists who are against both. They say in horse racing, you put a lot of stress on the animals…” Vilma went on to add “I’m indifferent and it’s a matter of wanting to stay away from the whole Michael Vick situation, whether he is involved or not. I’m not saying anything about dogfighting or anyone who might be involved in it.”

Alright, good save there Vilma. There’s no need for you to get dragged any further into this situation that can only be catergorized as a career death trap. Clinton Portis was bastardized by both the media and the NFL afer his comments regarding the issue and it’s fortunate for Vilma that he was able to catch and correct himself before he found himself in any serious trouble with the league.

This whole situation is going to uncover a lot about Mike Vick when all is said and done. For other players to jump in and come to his aid and support him is, for all intensive purposes, social and job suicide. There’s no doubt Vick was running a dogfighting ring. There’s no doubt he knew about it. There’s no doubt that both of those things are illegal. So why would anyone want to come out and say things that not only don’t condone Vick’s acts but support his cause even further. It makes no sense.

Vilma is a great young player and it would be a shame for him to do something dumb that would give himself a negative image in the public eye. There are plenty of screw ups and dumbasses already in the NFL and there’s no reason that Jonathan Vilma needs to join that group.

Roddy White, Peerless Price, Michael Jenkins, Ashley Lelie. And now, Joe Horn. According to Yahoo Sports’ John Murphy, Joe Horn and the Falcons have agreed on a multiyear deal. After seven productive seasons in New Orleans, Horn will stay in the Dirty Dirty, where he should play a major role in new coach Bobby Petrino’s offense.

Before you hear otherwise on ESPN, let me make it clear that Michael Vick will not be improved because of Joe Horn. We’ve heard that when the Falcons spent consecutive first round picks on wide receivers. We heard it when they nabbed Peerless Price from Buffalo. Two mediocre seasons later, Price is out of Atlanta. Ashley Lelie was the big deep threat that would benefit Vick’s laser, rocket arm. But he had 28 catches a year ago.

The good news for the Falcons is they have quite a nice batch of wide receivers for Vick to miss. If Vick wasn’t running the offense and another quarterback (just to throw out a name…Matt Schaub) was, this could be a pretty potent offense through the air. But as far as we know, Vick is still the guy in Atlanta. Therefore, I won’t be selecting Joe Horn in any fantasy drafts. It’s no fluke that all these talented receivers have flopped in Atlanta. It’s because their Herpes-infested quarterback can’t get them the damn ball.

I think it’s a pretty lousy deal for both teams. The Falcons could have used this money to maybe try and convince Patrick Kerney to stay. Instead, they’re spending money on a wide receiver whose talent will be wasted. He’s also 35 and on the decline. As for Horn, it’s not a very good move either. He left New Orleans with a chip on his shoulder, possibly disgruntled about Marques Colston being the Saints’ new go-to guy. Rather than go somewhere where he can succeed and shove in New Orleans’ face, he’s going to a place where his numbers will be dismal.