Vick Making Ammends?

So you knew it had to happen. Michael Vick would go from being the back-up quarterback to the starter and from being the ex-con to the anti-dog fighting spokesperson for the Humane Society. Somehow it all has happened, but not without significant work on the part of Vick, or his publicist.

Just recently Vick spoke to the students of the Imhotep Charter School in Philadelphia, where the field next door was once an arena for dog fighting. When Vick asked the kids in attendance how many of them had ever seen a dogfight, about 80 raised their hands.

This tells you two things: one, that dog fighting, as reprehensible as it seems to most people, still exists and that two: Vick is actually taking his message to the right places. It also tells you that his words may actually carry some validity as far as the kids are concerned, since his athletic star is once again on the rise. In fact, he mentioned to the kids that he would like to be remembered as a good father and maybe even, a Super Bowl champion.

In many ways it is a remarkable story about second chances. Vick makes no bones about the fact that he realizes this is his and he has no intention of blowing it. We can only hope he is sincere.

"Every day you walk out of the house with a responsibility, and its to do the right thing," he told the kids. "All it takes is all you got. You got to make it happen."

Has he learned his lesson? We can only hope. Should we continue to hold his past mistakes against his future promises? Maybe, at least until we can figure out if he is truly serious about the things he says.

Yes, the Eagles are playing better football than anyone ever expected, with Vick at the helm in a very surprise move. But I'm not convinced that one thing should influence the other. In other words, regardless of Vick's prowess on the field, he still needs to walk the walk when he's not playing.

On that, I believe, the jury is still out.