Covitz's NFL blitz: Vick returns to Atlanta, this time in style

The first time Michael Vick returned to the Georgia Dome, he was still a disgraced figure.

He had been banished from the NFL, served 19 months in Leavenworth for his role in a dog-fighting scheme, and as a backup quarterback with the Philadelphia Eagles, mopped up a 34-7 rout of his former team, the Atlanta Falcons.

Sunday night marks a triumphant return to Atlanta when Vick, named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year for his play in 2010 and with a $100 million contract in hand, directs the Eagles, a team picked by many to reach the Super Bowl.

“It’s going to be exciting just to go back,” Vick told reporters last week. “This is a business, but from an emotional aspect, it’ll be good to go back to the dome. I think we just have to focus on the game, and I think that’s going to be my approach. I don’t want any distractions, and I just want to go out and play the best football that I can play.”

Vick, the first overall pick by Atlanta in 2001, spent six seasons with the Falcons, was selected to three Pro Bowls and took the Falcons to one NFC Championship Game. He is not sure what kind of reception he’ll receive from the fans, but there will be plenty of No. 7s in the house; some will be his old Falcons red jersey, others Eagles green.

“That’s something I haven’t thought about and don’t want to get into,” Vick said. “I still have a lot of love for the fans down there, but keep in mind that I am with the opposition now. I don’t expect it to be in my favor since I’m out there for the other team, but we’ll see. That’s the fun part of the game, and we’re just going to enjoy the game.”

Last week in St. Louis, Vick started his first season opener since 2006, when he was with the Falcons. He threw for 187 yards and two touchdowns and added 98 rushing yards in 10 carries in the Eagles’ 31-13 victory.

“I think maturity has been the biggest reason why I’ve been able to accomplish the things I’ve accomplished since I came to Philadelphia,” Vick said. “With age comes the maturation process, and everything happens in turn.”

Vick knows what to expect from the Falcons defense.

“I’m expecting the blitz, and that’s what we’re preparing and practicing for,” Vick said. “I expect to see that until, I don’t know, the fifth or sixth game of the season. Teams think that’s the way to get after us, but we have so many weapons and so many ways to counter that, how much can you do?”

Three who need big games

Vikings QB Donovan McNabb may have RB Adrian Peterson to lean on, but 39 yards passing? Come on, he’s got to do better than that.

Washington RB Tim Hightower, a former Arizona backup, carried 25 times in last week’s win over the Giants and gets a crack at the team that traded him during the offseason.

Chiefs S Jon McGraw steps in for Pro Bowler Eric Berry at Detroit and will cover dangerous tight ends Brandon Pettigrew and Tony Scheffler.