The Harrington Family Foundation

Flowery Branch — Two by two, Falcons players addressed the media after the first practice of training camp. Lawyer Milloy shared the podium with Alge Crumpler. Then Keith Brooking and DeAngelo Hall answered questions. All four dealt mostly with questions about Michael Vick.

But the starting quarterback, much like the head coach, didn't share the spotlight with anyone. When it was his turn to talk, Joey Harrington ambled up to the lone microphone at the center of the table and tried to lighten the mood of the packed interview room.

"Nobody else has anything better to do today?" he asked, flashing a quick smile.

While on a family vacation in Oregon, Harrington got word of Vick's indictment, and the backup quarterback who prides himself on being prepared for anything wasn't prepared for that.

"I was honestly very surprised," said Harrington, adding that the news came "out of left field."

And as a result, he finds himself the starting quarterback — replacing a player whom Harrington called one of the most talented players ever to play the game.

Everything, it seems, has changed for Harrington. He doesn't see it that way.

"I don't know if my role has changed, to be honest," he said. "My role, when I came to Atlanta, was to be ready to play. Whether I'm No. 2 or No. 1, my role is to be ready to play."

In Detroit, he was the high draft pick anointed the savior of a struggling franchise. In Miami, he replaced an injured Daunte Culpepper in midseason.

Now in Atlanta, he's picking up the pieces of a quarterback position vacated in a way nobody would have imagined.

Coach Bobby Petrino said he's impressed with the way Harrington has stepped in.

"Joey is doing a really nice job," Petrino said. "He's very mature, and that helps us a lot. He's been through his own controversy, his own battles before. He's excited about the fresh start."

Petrino said the installation of the offense is no different than if Vick were under center, but that will change. It'll take hours of film review and an evalulation of Harrington's strengths, but Petrino said there will be an adjustment to his offense with Harrington running the show.

"It's up to me to really understand what parts of [the offense] Joey executes the best. Then you form the offense around him," Petrino said. "Nothing has changed yet, but certainly each quarterback does something different, and you try to highlight what each does well."

And to a man, that's why each member of the Falcons' offense expresses confidence there is life after Michael Vick.

It's the system. And right now, day one of training camp, the players believe in it.

"Coach has a great mind," Crumpler said. "He's put in countless hours to make sure we can function with anyone out there. That's one of the reasons why Bobby was brought in here in the first place, to help us be able to function."

Harrington knows you don't win over a team with one day of training camp or a few nice passes in offseason workouts.

He has learned from his time in Miami and Detroit that nothing short of winning wins over a new team.

"Most of the guys don't really care as long as you are playing well," he said. "It's kind of a cynical thing to say. What most people care about is winning football games ... when they see me playing well, they'll have confidence in me."