"I knew how to lie with a straight face. Sad to say, Commissioner Goodell bought into what I was saying, and I think he truly believed me that I was telling the truth. I deeply regret not telling him the truth from the outset.

"It was a very nervous time for me. I knew I was going to try to lie my way through the whole dogfighting case and see if money, good lawyers, and manipulating the system could get me out of the position I was in -- which was a terrible position."

In the end, Vick couldn't make the last two parts of his plan work. His lawyers couldn't do enough, and he couldn't manipulate the system as thoroughly as he'd hoped. Had the criminal case against him not been so strong, and had he not spent 19 months in federal prison, he'd probably still be lying about it today.