ATLANTA — Hanging in Arthur Blank's opulent headquarters is a signed photograph of his star quarterback breaking away from a defender, a memento of happier times for the Atlanta Falcons.

"To: Arthur. Thanks for everything. Michael Vick. 7."

Well, it looks as if that picture may soon be coming down.

The Falcons said Tuesday they wanted to suspend Vick over dogfighting allegations, and their owner left open the possibility that the guy who helped sell out Georgia Dome every week, got one of the biggest contracts in NFL history and became the face of the franchise has played his final game for Atlanta.

"This sort of behavior is really horrific," Blank said in the team's first public comment since Vick was indicted last week on federal charges related to dogfighting. "This is not the player or the person that I knew the last six years."

The team already is taking steps to distance itself from Vick. During a luncheon earlier in the day, a condensed version of the 2006 highlight film did not show him at all, even though he became the first NFL quarterback to rush for 1,000 yards.

When the Falcons open training camp Thursday, Vick is scheduled to be in Richmond, Va., for his arraignment. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell barred the quarterback from attending camp while the league looks into the ugly accusations, a compromise worked out by the league, the team and the player's union.

The Falcons wanted to suspend Vick for four games, the stiffest punishment a team can deal out for detrimental conduct. Goodell could hand down a yearlong suspension under the league's new player conduct code.

"We were pursuing the maximum discipline," said Blank, joined at a news conference by general manager Rich McKay and new coach Bobby Petrino. "We had gone so far as to draft the letter. But the commissioner asked us not to take action until they completed their review."

The Falcons considered all options, including the possibility of releasing Vick. Most tellingly, Blank said he would encourage the quarterback to give up any thoughts of playing while the case is pending, even if it means sitting out the entire season.

"This is not about playing football in 2007," Blank said. "This is a very difficult process he'll be going through over the next couple of months. It's very difficult to do that and focus on football at the same time."

Goodell weighed in on Vick's case during a news conference with NFL Players Association chief Gene Upshaw in Washington, where the two discussed an alliance to help former players.

"Let me make it very clear that the National Football League is very disappointed that Michael put himself in this position," Goodell said. "In no way do we think that dogfighting or anything related to dogfighting is acceptable. We think it's despicable, frankly."

As for why he blocked an immediate suspension against Vick, Goodell said the league needed more time to investigate.