Michael Vick stood behind a podium, all alone. His amazing speed and quickness was of no use in this predicament. He couldn't scramble away from trouble with one of those nifty moves.

All he could do was apologize. And ask for forgiveness. And start "bettering Michael Vick the person, not the football player."

Looking somber and speaking without notes, Vick said Monday he was taking full responsibility for his actions after pleading guilty to a federal dogfighting charge in Richmond, Va.

He could go to prison for one to five years.

"I offer my deepest apologies to everybody out there in the world who was affected by this whole situation, and if I'm more disappointed with myself than anything it's because of all the young people, young kids that I let down, who look at Michael Vick as a role model," he said.

Vick called dogfighting "a terrible thing," said he initially lied to the NFL and his team about it because he was ashamed, and apologized specifically to all those he deceived about a gruesome dogfighting ring: commissioner Roger Goodell, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, coach Bobby Petrino and his teammates.

"I need to grow up," Vick conceded.

Acceptance of responsibility is one of the factors U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson will consider in handing down Vick's sentence Dec. 10. The federal sentencing guideline range is projected at a year to 18 months, but Hudson can impose up to the five-year maximum.

Vick has already been suspended indefinitely by the NFL.

"So I've got a lot of down time, a lot of time to think about my actions and what I've done," he said.

In Atlanta, the Falcons said they would not cut Vick immediately because of salary-cap issues. The team intends to pursue the $22 million in bonus money he already received in a $130 million contract signed in 2004, looking to reduce the financial burden of his massive deal.

"Cutting him today may feel better emotionally for us and many of our fans," Blank said. "But it's not in the long-term best interests of our franchise."

Vick took no questions after his first public statement about the dogfighting ring, and he said little in court. With family members, including his brother and mother, watching from the front row of the packed courtroom, Vick stood flanked by two of his five lawyers and softly answered "Yes, sir" and "No, sir" to Hudson's questions.