# Allen Iverson influenced Michael Vick..



## Coatesvillain

This is something I already was aware of, but it's always neat to go back over it.



> PHILADELPHIA -- Before there was Michael Vick, the elusive, quick-as-lightning quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, there was Allen Iverson.
> 
> Both grew up in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, and both were star quarterbacks for their high school teams - Iverson at Bethel High in Hampton and Vick at Warwick High in Newport News.
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> We may never know who the better quarterback is, but many contend that Iverson was just as good a football player, if not better, than Vick.
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> Even Vick admired the way Iverson played.
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> "He's the reason I play the way I play, running around the field and throwing the deep ball," Vick said. "Our style is exactly the same. [Iverson] was really good. He was somebody we always had to go see play every Friday night."
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> The Eagles will find out for themselves on Sunday how good Vick is when they face him in the NFC championship game at Lincoln Financial Field.
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> Iverson is convinced that he could have accomplished everything Vick has in the NFL, despite his size. Iverson and Vick are both 6 feet tall, but Vick, at 215 pounds, weighs 50 pounds more than Iverson.
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> "He might have made it in the pros, but size would have been a factor," Vick said. "He would have had to get up to around 200 pounds. But he definitely had the potential."
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> There's no doubt in Iverson's mind.
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> "Absolutely," Iverson said about whether he could have made it to the NFL. "Football has always been my favorite sport. I tell people all the time, especially my teammates who think I'm bragging, that I was a better football player than I am a basketball player. I could have played in the NFL. People who have seen me play in Virginia know that I'm not bragging.
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> "I think [Vick] knows, too. If he doesn't answer that correctly, then let him know I'm going to call him and cuss him out."
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> That call won't be necessary.
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> Iverson and Vick never played against each other in high school because Iverson, 29, is five years older. But Iverson did play against Aaron Brooks, Vick's second cousin, and many have said that Iverson was the better quarterback.
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> Brooks is the starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints.
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> "There's no doubt Allen would be in the NFL, and people would be talking about him today like they're talking about Michael Vick and the other great ones," said Gary Moore, who was Iverson's first coach in youth football and is now his personal manager. "I really hate to think of what might have been if Allen had played football professionally. He'd probably be one of the first guys in the NFL who would have done everything - and by everything, I mean play quarterback, line up at wide receiver, play in the defensive backfield and return kicks.
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> "Allen would have the same impact that he has had on the basketball court, and then some."
> 
> As a junior at Bethel in 1992, Iverson set single-season records that Vick never broke. Vick played college football at Virginia Tech and became the first overall pick in the 2001 draft. He is the first black quarterback to go first in the NFL Draft.


LINK


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## Petey

Wow, he could have never gotten up to 200 lbs. Haha!

-Petey


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## Max Payne

He might have not needed to Petey...Iverson is the toughest guy I've ever seen in professional sports...if he went up to about 200 lbs that would have been enough...on "The Answer" DVD they have segments of his high school play and it is unbelievable...absolutely stunning.


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## HKF

> Originally posted by <b>Max Payne</b>!
> He might have not needed to Petey...Iverson is the toughest guy I've ever seen in professional sports...if he went up to about 200 lbs that would have been enough...on "The Answer" DVD they have segments of his high school play and it is unbelievable...absolutely stunning.


No he would have been killed in the NFL as less than 200 lbs. I know we like to equate how tough he is on the basketball court, but guys in basketball aren't going out there trying to hurt you. In football, it's the opposite. 

Iverson chose wisely IMO.


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## Coatesvillain

> Originally posted by <b>Max Payne</b>!
> He might have not needed to Petey...Iverson is the toughest guy I've ever seen in professional sports...if he went up to about 200 lbs that would have been enough...on "The Answer" DVD they have segments of his high school play and it is unbelievable...absolutely stunning.


I saw an NFL Films piece on the Newport News QBs (Allen Iverson, Aaron Brooks, Ronald Curry, Michael Vick), I'd recommend anyone to watch it if they have a chance. It's not the best NFL Films piece, but it's good.

I think Iverson playing basketball was best for him, even if it was against his will. If he played football he'd be utilized like Antwaan Randle-El or if he insisted that he play QB in the NFL he'd be like Senecca Wallace (though more talented). It was a different NFL back in 1997 (when Iverson would've been eligible for draft) and he most likely would've been forced out of his position.


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## Max Payne

True but I also believe Iverson has the athletic gifts and the pure sporting talent to have been an awesome running back and punt returner....hell I'm a soccer addict and I'll be the first person to say that he may well have been a jaw-dropping soccer player as well...


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