Were brothers Michael and Marcus both Vick-tims of difficult upbringings?

Last season Michael Vick became starting quarterback at the Philadelphia Eagles, propelling them to a 10-6 season, and, unfortunately, a one and done playoff surge. He showed poise and maturity, becoming a stand out leader in the NFL’s most explosive offence.

Vick was always destined for great things, and many believed the same could be said for his younger brother Marcus, also a quarterback starlet. Marcus never had the athleticism of Michael, but he made up for it by earning a reputation as a more accurate passer.

Unfortunately things turned out differently for the younger Vick. He struggled to put his fiery temperament aside and, off the back of a disastrous spell at the Miami Dolphins, where he played just one game before he was promptly dropped, his NFL career fizzled out when no other team were willing to take the risk with such a high maintenance player.

Both Marcus and Michael had widely publicised troubled pasts, with Michael sent to jail for operating an illegal dog fighting ring and Marcus most recently testing positive for drug use – just one of many incidents since a fall from grace in the NFL.

So why is it the two quarterbacks have had so many confrontations with the wrong side of the law? It appears to be a more common trait with the pros, so is it the money, or the fame?

Could a tough upbringing be a plausible excuse for both brothers? Both Michael and Marcus reportedly grew up in Ridley Circle, a public housing project in a financially depressed and crime ridden sector of the East Newport News, Virginia. Growing up in these surroundings could be one of the reasons that both Vick's aren't afraid to push for every yard.

Marcus has had a very difficult decade. Numerous infractions with the law led to the Virginia Tech quarterback becoming unceremoniously thrown off the team, the final straw coming in the 2006 Gator Bowl victory against Louisville. Elvis Dumervil will remember this game for all the wrong reasons, as Marcus demonstrated the highest level of unsportsmanlike conduct by stamping on the defensive ends calf – an incident that Elvis has claimed Marcus never apologised for.

Marcus has always shown a degree of arrogance. In response to being thrown off the Viriginia Tech team he proclaimed "It's not a big deal. I'll just move on to the next level, baby." Vick also then claimed that he was a better quarterback than both Jay Cutler and Matt Leinart.

Funnily enough Jamarcus Russell had a paralleled level of arrogance and he is now widely considered to be one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history. Is this a classic case of players trying to run before they can walk?

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