Mike Johnson spent three seasons nurturing Michael Vick, “the quarterback,” of the Atlanta Falcons.

On Monday, all Johnson could think about was Michael Vick, “the person.”

Johnson, the former Falcons quarterbacks coach who is now the receivers coach for the Ravens, was melancholy yesterday as he reacted to the news Vick entered a guilty plea to a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge in Richmond, Va., on Monday.

“It saddens you because I like him as a person,” Johnson said. “I knew nothing about it and I’m just saddened that he put himself in that situation.”

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Johnson’s former protégé could receive a jail sentence between one and five years, possibly bringing an abrupt end to a once-revolutionary career. Two of Vick’s three Pro Bowl appearances came under Johnson’s tutelage. Vick will be sentenced on Dec. 10.

Last week, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Vick, the former Virginia Tech star, indefinitely.

Johnson believes Vick, known for his thrilling runs on the field, must find a path to redemption, outside of football.

“It’s just disheartening that you take a guy that was in that type of spotlight and has so much going for him, that you get caught up in that situation, but he has to pay a price for that,” Johnson said. “I’m just concerned with how he is as a person, as a man and as a father after he pays his price. That’s what I’m more looking toward now.

The Ravens, members of the American Football Conference, have played Vick’s Falcons, members of the National Football Conference, sparingly since the Ravens arrived in Baltimore in 1996. The Ravens posted a 24-10 victory over the Falcons last season, holding Vick to 11-of-27 passing for 127 yards and a touchdown.

The Ravens play the Vick-less Falcons in the preseason finale Friday in Atlanta.

On Monday, players appeared as coached off the field as they are on it, turning questions about Vick into diatribes about former Raven and current Falcons fullback, Ovie Mughelli.

“It’s tough, he’s such a great athlete,” linebacker Bart Scott said of Vick, before turning the talk once again to Mughelli.

However, linebacker Terrell Suggs said last week: “I’m just as shocked as you are. We all make mistakes. Whether he should be condemned forever, that’s not my call.”

—mpalmer@baltimoreexaminer.com