[etodd]

I really can't stand after the fact commentary although it is great fun and highly entertaining. The second cousin to "The second guess". Therefore I will make the wholesomely unpopular statement in the Land of Titandom that I beleive that Vince Young for all of his wonderful and exciting abiltiy will most probably prove to be a woeful first round draft pick when the tremendously entertaining game of "How did we get to this point?" is replayed a couple of years from now.

In the NFL, history has shown that first and foremost, the QB needs to be a competent passer. Running ability, play-calling (not needed as much anymore), scrambling, etc. are all plusses, but defense recognition and passing ability are always prerequisites to extended service under center. In my never to be humble opinion, Vince Young falls short in this department. I know the naysayers will label this idea as prejudiced in favor of the classic QB mold. Well, there is a reason that the traditional idea of a QB is classic.

I read the following in August and it says it much better that I'm attempting to, so I'll shamelessly post it without creditation because frankly, I can't remember where I got it from. I can say I wholeheartedly agree with it. But as the last line says, I could be mistaken.

Vince Young: Great college QB, lousy pro prospect

Vince Young won't make it as an NFL quarterback -- at least, not as a star NFL quarterback. And in time that is how he will be judged.

Was Young worth the No. 3 overall pick of the 2006 draft? Was he a star quarterback?

And the answer will be: of course not.

Unless it's a weak year for prospects, the No. 3 overall pick in any NFL Draft should end up somewhere between the Pro Bowl and the Hall of Fame. If this was a weak year, so be it. Time will tell on the 2006 draft class, just as it will tell on Vince Young. And what it tells on Young, and on the team that picked him, won't be nice.

The Titans got suckered. Suckered by Young's incredible body and athletic ability and highlight reel at Texas. They got suckered so badly, they looked past Young's painfully obvious deficiency: He can't throw the ball downfield.

This being the Titans, you can't be surprised. This is the same team that got suckered by the body, athletic ability and highlight reel of West Virginia cornerback "Pacman" Jones. Despite his obvious character issues, the Titans took Jones with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2005 draft. Jones has been a good player, but he's not going to last in the NFL. A bad character is a bad character, as Jones has consistently shown after 15 months with the Titans.

Hey, it's not Jones' fault. He is what he is. You don't blame the horse for pooping in the kitchen. You blame the idiot who took the horse inside the house.

So it is with Vince Young. It's not his fault he went No. 3 overall in the 2006 draft. Blame the Titans, but don't blame Young when his career falls far short of his draft placement. Young has worked hard and stayed out of trouble, and will continue to do so. He's a high-character leader but not, sad to say, a high-caliber NFL quarterback.

Don't tell me about the 2006 Rose Bowl. Don't tell me what Young did to Southern California. I watched him roll up 467 yards of offense against the Trojans, but what does that have to do with the NFL? If college football had anything to do with the NFL, 1996 Heisman winner and national champion Danny Wuerffel of Florida would be 30,000 yards into his Hall of Fame career instead of doing ... whatever it is he's doing.

Young did to Southern Cal what he did to everyone in college. He ran past slower defenders, ran over smaller defenders and, when he had to, he threw the ball. But he didn't throw the ball like an NFL quarterback. He threw the ball short -- here or there.

Benefited by his supernatural running ability, Young had an open field and gifted receivers working one-on-one against a defense that couldn't afford to give Young's arm as much attention as it gave his legs. Sometimes his receivers took those short passes and turned them into big gains. That's how he threw for 267 yards while running for 200.

What's strange, and what gives me pause, is that the Titans have one of the best offensive minds in football in coordinator Norm Chow. He's the reason BYU was the most explosive team in college football for years. He's the reason North Carolina State was once so promising. He's not the reason USC became the new Miami, but he's on the short list. Chow is for real. He knows offense like "Pacman" Jones knows trouble.

And Chow helped draft Young? That troubles me.

Then again ...
Multiple reports have declared that Chow and Titans coach Jeff Fisher preferred USC's Matt Leinart over Young. The guy who wanted Young, Titans GM Floyd "The Barber" Reese, is the same knucklehead who picked Jones in 2005.

So I feel better.

This sort of thing happens in all sports. Great college players from great programs are routinely unable to make the adjustment to professional ball. Record-setting slugger Jeff Ledbetter of Florida State couldn't hit with a wooden bat. National Player of the Year Ed O'Bannon of UCLA wasn't skilled enough for the NBA. And now comes Vince Young of Texas, who can't throw the ball downfield well enough to star in the NFL.

Argue this all you want, but I haven't felt this strongly about a quarterback since 1998, when the top two choices in the draft were Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf.

I liked Leaf.

Comments?

[Trashed]

He's a poor man's Micheal Vick and Vick is not even a real NFL QB. He's a runningback who has a good arm. I bet Antwaan Randle El could be better than Vick and Young if he made a go at the QB position. Titans should have taken Leinhart.

[etodd]

Originally Posted by Trashed

He's a poor man's Micheal Vick and Vick is not even a real NFL QB. He's a runningback who has a good arm. I bet Antwaan Randle El could be better than Vick and Young if he made a go at the QB position. Titans should have taken Leinhart.

Can't wait for Batman to chide you on your lack of foresight or innovation. LOL

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by etodd

Can't wait for Batman to chide you on your lack of foresight or innovation. LOL

(As if on cue)...Yep...see you could almost write my end of it huh?...why don't we just go back to the 70's...3 yards and a cloud of dust?... The NFL has changed...drop back heros like Drew Bledsoe are on the bubble...you need mobility.

And Trashed my man...Vick keeps winning...Vick is the reason Dunn and Company can rack up 200-250 rushing yards a game...look I know you are in a bit of a dark place right now...but if you don't like what Eli is doing and you don't like Vick or the possibility that is Young, what do you like?...wait...don't tell me...Matt Schaub...he should be starting...lets take all NFL teams and cram them into a West Coast offense...because why?...why?...(your cue etodd)...because we do not want innovation and vision in the good all NFL...hell, lets bring back the Johnny U black high tops while we are at it.

[Music City Miracles]

It is oh so early to be labeling VY a bust.

[etodd]

He may very well not be a bust. On the other hand, he doesn't have the arm or long range accuracy to make the Titans a consistent winner. Not being mean, just a realist.

[LovelyLisa]

Originally Posted by Trashed

He's a poor man's Micheal Vick and Vick is not even a real NFL QB. He's a runningback who has a good arm. I bet Antwaan Randle El could be better than Vick and Young if he made a go at the QB position. Titans should have taken Leinhart.

This is BS. First off, what is a real NFL QB? Second, the Mike Vick comparison is a poor one. Vince is mobile, yes, but that's as far as a Vick comparison can go. If anything compare him to Culpepper or McNabb early in his career, then you'd be say something. Perhaps we should have taken Leinhart, but we didn't, so keep it moving.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by etodd

He may very well not be a bust. On the other hand, he doesn't have the arm or long range accuracy to make the Titans a consistent winner. Not being mean, just a realist.

Aahhh...a realist...is that what you are calling yourself these days...I would have gone with a guy who can't think outside the box, and thus doesn't like his QBs to wonder out of the pocket either...but hey that's me...

I side with LL on this...there is no prototype QB....though yeah....they could have taken Leinart or Cutler...shame on them...

[etodd]

Whatever, keisha. And Lisa too.

[Sweets]

Give me a dang break people, VY is being labeled a bust and he's a rookie??? Are you people serious???? You don't need an "arm" or long range accuracy to succeed and end up in the HOF...Montana did it with the WCO, you guys remember those right?? Those soft little 5 and 10 yarders that won games and Super Bowls??? You need vision of the field and knowledge and that comes with experience, you need a good or great team around you etc. The Titans are in their rebuilding mode now, most of their good players were let go a couple of years back because of salary cap issues. Jeff George had a hell of an arm and what really did it get him, oh yeah it got him Al Davis thinking George was the great QB that Davis was looking for...NOT...

[Woof]

Umm... In the two games that Vince has played in so far, the offense has played better and has moved the ball better than it had in the first three games. Now, with Kerry The Sacrificial Lamb as QB, that might not seem much of an achievement, but Vince so far has provided the spark necessary to get a positive direction going for the offense. We will see in the next 3 games how Vince picks up things.

Before losing patience with him, remember three things:

1) Fans desperate for a win always pin excessively high hopes on high draft picks. (Ask yourself this question: Do you fall into this category?)

2) Rookie QB's usually suck. (Peyton Manning, Terry Bradshaw, Carson Palmer, the list goes on and on.) The rare exceptions, like Dan Marino, are very rare. Leinart, in his first game, looked really good for a whole quarter and a half before the opposing defense shut him down. He sucks too right now. The ones who make it are the ones who are tenacious, and willing to learn.

3) Vince was put into service a year before he was planned to begin. The fact that he is there shows desperation (caused by bad business decisions, not coaching decisions). Vince, while hungry for the role, isn't getting a fair deal in this. He needs to grow into the position.

Give it some time. Put aside your worry until later. We've done it before with a relatively unknown QB from Alcorn State who was picked high and took a while. Remember him?