THE PHOENIX

Merriam-Webster defines the phoenix as a bird that "burned itself to ashes on a pyre, and rose alive from the ashes to live another period." After a season that saw him come from hell and back, it is safe to say Michael Vick can be compared to the mythical bird.

This season, Vick reached career highs in passing yards, touchdowns, and quarterback rating en route to being named as a starter to the Pro Bowl and winning the NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

Michael Vick rebuilt his fan base in just three short years with performances such accounting for six touchdowns on Monday Night Football against the Washington Redskins on Nov. 15 and engineering the Miracle at the New Meadowlands on Dec. 19.

Yet, there will forever be people that oppose the re-existence of Vick in the NFL or even society.

A former Facebook "friend" of mine commented on one of my statuses saying "I would love to see him seriously injured...it's disturbing to see how many people still support a piece of shit like that."

Fox News correspondent Tucker Carlson went one forward and said in December that Vick should have been executed for killing dogs.

Now granted, as I have said before, killing dogs is immoral and inhumane, but does it warrant the execution of one's life?

One word: No.

The man did his time and he deserves a chance to walk in a straight and narrow path. Whatever Vick did, let God handle that. Plain and simple. Man is not perfect.

I repeat: MAN IS NOT PERFECT!

People make mistakes, but they learn from them.

So far, Vick is heading back to the popularity where he was at before his jail sentence, but this offseason will be the toughest test.

One social mess-up could ruin this comeback story and it nearly happened last year with a club shooting during a birthday party in his honor.

However, having faced the lowest of lows, one can only hope that this instance is a minor hiccup. Vick is finally reaching all of his potential as an NFL quarterback and if he continues his progression, we could be seeing him hoist the Vince Lombardi trophy one day.

After going to jail in 2007, chances looked bleak on if Michael Vick would be a starter and the face of an NFL franchise again.

However, after a marvelous 2010 season. Vick has given supporters and Eagles fans hope for the future.