Maddening QB or crazy-good RB? Vick's pick should be obvious

If this is a mean argument to make, fine. I'm a mean, mean guy. But does this next sentence soften the blow? Michael Vick might be one of the most dominant tailbacks in NFL history, if he'd just play the position he was born to play.

Vick is built like a truck. At 6-feet, 215 pounds, he's significantly bigger than Hall of Fame backs Tony Dorsett (5-11, 190) and Walter Payton (5-10, 200). Vick's roughly the same size as O.J. Simpson. Vick's faster than all three.

Vick's faster than anyone in the NFL today, according to a recent poll of 361 players in Sports Illustrated. He's probably one of the fastest NFL players of all time, trumped only by Olympian sprinters like Bob Hayes and Willie Gault. And with a football in his hands, Vick might be as fast as any NFL player who ever lived.

This isn't merely an assumption of size plus speed equaling tailback greatness. If it were as simple as that, former Texas A&M star Curtis Dickey would have been one of the best ever and not a 6-1, 213-pound tease of world-class speed in seven NFL seasons.

With Vick, you don't have to project him at tailback and hope for the best. Just look at his statistics, watch his highlights. He has Dorsett's shimmering shoulders and hips, and Eric Dickerson's breakaway speed. Would Vick have to learn the intricacies of the position? Sure he would. Sort of like Van Gogh had to learn to paint.

But this works only if Vick is willing to make it work, and if Atlanta agrees. With his ridiculous contract -- his $130 million deal runs through 2014 -- he might have priced himself into a box. What team can afford to devote so much salary to a tailback? Maybe no team. Then again, for one of the best backs of all time, there could be a team willing to make that exception.

I'm guessing Vick, 26, knows he could be an elite tailback. His shelf life isn't all that long -- he has taken an NFL pounding since 21 -- but Gale Sayers played just four full seasons in the NFL, and he's in the Hall of Fame. So are Doak Walker (six seasons), Earl Campbell (eight) and Jim Brown (nine).

Vick is a Hall of Fame running back, but only if he wants to be. Otherwise he'll be remembered as a quarterback who revolutionized the way we thought about his position ... but was a disappointment in every way imaginable.