All Vick wants is a chance. That’s basically the pitch he made in Indy when he got to meet with coaches and general managers.

“I was basically just laying it all on the line,” he said. “Hey, I’ve made mistakes. I just want to bounce back from the mistakes I’ve made.”

The message drew a mixed reaction, at best.

“Some of them felt my pain,” Vick conceded. “Some teams didn’t.”

Over the past three months, he spent extensive time in Georgia with his older brother. Marcus and Michael have worked out together, talked football and had plenty of heart-to-heart discussions.

Recently, Michael spoke bluntly about his brother’s troubles.

“He needs to realize that he’s a grown man now,” No. 7 said. “This is his livelihood.”

But Michael also believes his brother has matured greatly over the past few months, growing to realize his next mistake might be his last as far as getting a chance to play in the NFL.

“He just needs someone to take a chance on him and mold him into the person he needs to be,” the older Vick said. “What he needs is someone to take him under their wing, tell him what he needs to do and what not to do, because I’m not going to be there for him anymore.”

There are plenty of reasons to believe in Marcus Vick.

In 24 career games at Virginia Tech, he threw for 2,868 yards, with 19 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He also ran 184 times for 492 yards and six TDs. In his final season with the Hokies, Vick made the All-Atlantic Coast Conference team and was just one vote shy of being the league’s offensive player of the year.

Vick also has shown a willingness to be a team player. As a high school sophomore, he played the entire season at receiver because there were older players ahead of him at quarterback. His freshman year at Virginia Tech, he again took reps at receiver because the Hokies were set at QB with Bryan Randall.

“I’m a guy who will go out and do whatever I can do to help the team,” Vick insisted. “Me and Mike are different. Mike never had to deal with that. ... Mike was always a quarterback.”

Indeed, Marcus isn’t a carbon copy of his brother. While they are similarly sized, the 6-foot, 201-pound Marcus doesn’t have the same speed or quickness. Then again, he’s probably got more potential as a passer.

“He’s not as good an athlete as his older brother. He’s not as dangerous a runner as his older brother,” Mayock said. “He’s got a better innate feel for the passing game than his brother did at this time of his career.”

But Michael Vick casts a large shadow. He always came first, setting an impossibly high standard his kid brother was inevitably measured against — first at the Boys Club in their hometown of Newport News, Va., then at Virginia Tech and now, possibly, in the NFL.

“I love my older brother. He paved my life for me. He put my whole family on his back in college,” Marcus said. “But there’s ups and downs with that. When things are going good, he’s a great person to have as your brother. When bad things happen, everybody knows about it.”

At least in the pros, Marcus would get a chance to carve a niche of his own. There’s no chance of the Falcons drafting another Vick — and that’s just fine with both of them.

“That would just be adding more pressure to him,” Michael said.

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Because of a nearly four-year age difference, Marcus has never gotten a chance to go against his older brother on the football field. Their personal battles have been confined mostly to pickup basketball, where Michael got the best of Marcus the last time they played a serious game.

“That 41-inch vertical leap is hard to deal with,” the kid brother joked. But turning serious, it’s clear he wants to make a name for himself.

“I always wanted to be the opposite of Mike. I never wanted to be on the same team,” Marcus said. “I’m always trying to get a shot at him. I want to beat him. You always want to beat your older brother. I’m looking forward to that.”

Hoping to ease concerns about his character, Marcus and those around him emphasize that he’s accepted responsibility for his actions and cleared up all legal matters.

For instance, Vick’s initial response to stomping on Dumervil in the Gator Bowl was to insist it wasn’t intentional. Now, he acknowledges doing it out of frustration and regrets the embarrassment it caused his teammates and his family, who “didn’t speak to me for weeks.”

“Character is revealed not only when things are going well, but when they are not going well,” said Lawrence Woodward, Vick’s attorney. “Marcus has never blamed anybody. He’s never been a whiner. He’s never taken the ’world is out to get me’ approach. When he’s done well, he’s taken credit for that. When he’s made mistakes, he’s taken responsibility for those.”

Vick said he started attending church after getting kicked off the Virginia Tech team, looking for spiritual guidance to turn his life around.

“I think I’ve changed a lot. I’m always thinking about the big picture. I’m actually thinking before I react now,” he said. “I want to focus my life in a different direction. The way I was doing things before was not working.”

Now, Vick just needs someone to take a chance on him.

“Whoever gets him is going to get a great player,” his big brother said. “Some people might think he’s immature because he’s gone through a lot. But he’s definitely a great player with great heart.”

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