The NFL has seen a drastic change at the quarterback position over the last decade or so, with a plethora of athletic, mobile signal callers entering the league.
Players like Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck, Colin Kaepernick, Alex Smith and Russell Wilson have all shown an ability to run with the ball that wasn't present in quarterbacks until recently.
Perhaps one man in particular has to do with the rise of the mobile quarterback: Michael Vick. No one seems to be more sure of that fact than Vick himself.
"I was the guy who started it all," Vick told ESPN.com. "I revolutionized the game. I changed the way it was played in the NFL."
Vick, the No. 1 overall pick in 2001, played sparingly as a rookie but burst onto the scene as a starter in his second season, rushing for 777 yards.
Mobile quarterbacks like Randall Cunningham and Steve Young came before him, but Vick has three of the top six rushing seasons by a quarterback, including churning out 1,039 yards on the ground in 2006, the most ever by a QB.
Vick's number could likely be even higher if not for two seasons spent in prison on dog-fighting charges and numerous games missed due to injury. It's a fact he realizes but doesn't lament.
"The things I've done, I've pretty much surpassed myself and expectations - over 25,000 yards in total offense in the NFL, and I missed a lot of years and a lot of games," Vick said. "That's more the reason I have to keep it going."
The main reason Vick continues to play is to capture that elusive Super Bowl ring. He may currently be viewed as the New York Jets backup behind Geno Smith, but even winning a championship from the bench would mean a lot to the four-time Pro Bowler.
"It burns a lot," Vick said of not winning a Super Bowl. "It's something I've always shot for. When we went to the NFC championship game in 2004, I was almost certain I'd be involved in two or three more, at least. This is such a team game that, even in my prime, I couldn't do it all by myself."
