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Falcons begin life without Vick

Sep 9, 2007 - 10:27 AM Atlanta (7-9) at Minnesota (6-10) Sunday 1:00 pm EDT

MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) - When Bobby Petrino was named the new coach of the Atlanta Falcons, he thought he would be working with electrifying quarterback Michael Vick.

Instead, Joey Harrington will be under center Sunday when the Falcons face the Minnesota Vikings in the season opener for both teams.

After going 41-9 in four years as coach at Louisville, Petrino was lured to the NFL by Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who inked him to a five-year, $24 million contract.

Known as an offensive-minded coach, Petrino was planning to build his offense around Vick.

But Vick has been indefinitely suspended by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after pleading guilty to federal dogfighting charges. Vick, who likely will wind up in jail when he is sentenced on December 10, may never play in the NFL again.

Without Vick, the Falcons now must rely on Harrington, who has been a bust since he entered the league as the third overall pick of the Detroit Lions in 2002.

Harrington is just 23-43 in his career as a starter, having thrown 72 touchdowns and 77 interceptions. He spent last season in Miami, passing for 12 TDs and 15 interceptions in 11 games.

Thanks to the legs of Vick, the Falcons ranked first in the league in rushing offense last season, averaging 183.7 yards per game. Vick became the first quarterback in league history to rush for 1,000 yards.

Atlanta's running game now squarely falls on veteran Warrick Dunn, who underwent offseason back surgery, and speedster Jerious Norwood.

The Vikings are entering their second season under coach Brad Childress, who guided the franchise to a 6-10 mark in 2006. Minnesota got off to a 4-2 start last season before losing eight of its final 10 contests.

There also are issues at quarterback for the Vikings, who start untested Tarvaris Jackson. The 2006 second-round pick lost his only two starts as a rookie, throwing for two touchdowns and four interceptions.

To take pressure off Jackson, the Vikings will rely on their running game that will feature the 1-2 punch of Chester Taylor and first-round pick Adrian Peterson.

One strong point for the Vikings last season was a run defense that ranked first in the league by allowing 61.6 yards per game.