Vince Young knows what you think of him: just another mobile quarterback itching to tuck and run, a passer who can't wait to transform into a runner. Basically, another Michael Vick.
To that, the second-year Titan has this to say: "In terms of us making big plays with our feet, yes, (Vick and I) are similar. But me, I like to look downfield first. And if it does break down, I'm still looking downfield until it's time for me to take it down and run."
In other words, a play is never over until Young - or a savvy defender - says so.
When Young makes his first visit to Tampa on Sunday with his 3-1 team, it will be interesting to see how he adjusts to a unit that was a pain in the neck for Vick, the suspended but sometimes superhuman Atlanta quarterback who typically was made mortal by Tampa Bay.
"With Vick, he just made a lot of teams look stupid," Bucs defensive tackle Chris Hovan said. "But the one team that always got him down was Tampa because Tampa always shot its gun against Vick.
"They didn't just sit there and hesitate and wait for him. The first guy isn't always going to make the play. The second or third guy will, though. That's the kind of mentality we have to take."
But don't think the Bucs have all the answers for the 2006 offensive rookie of the year. Just when it appears Young is going to take off or a defense believes it has him contained, he rips off a pass with his rocket arm.
He has a gun of his own. And it is never holstered. "He can throw it on a whim," Hovan said of the No. 3 overall pick out of Texas. "His throwing motion is very sneaky because all of a sudden, (though) it doesn't look like he's throwing it, he's throwing it 40, 50 yards - and it's a rifle."
Bucs: Titans' Young tries to avoid Vick's footsteps
10-13-2007, 03:34 PM
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