Each week, Michael Tunison will take a closer look at a dinner NFL storyline in The Hot Read. Today, he targets Vince Young, who appears ready to become a top tier QB after years of on and off the field struggles.
Sep 17, 2010 - In the Tennessee Titans 38-13 pasting of Oakland Raiders on Sunday, Vince Young completed 76.4 percent of his passes, threw for two touchdowns and finished with a passer rating of 142.8.
It was a stellar performance by any standard and good enough to be the top rated among all quarterbacks for NFL's opening weekend. Yet if Young was mentioned at all by the national media this week, it was regarding the question of whether he would want the 2005 Heisman Trophy relinquished by Reggie Bush.
If it seems like a slight to a quarterback at last coming into his own on the pro level, it can still for the time being be excused by the fact that Young hasn't been a starter for a full season since 2007. An, of course, there are the numerous disconcerting off-the-field incidents. While Vince Young can boast an impressive career record of 27-13 as a starter, it's only within the last season that he has demonstrated the skills necessary to prove he can be a franchise quarterback.
On Sunday, the Titans host the Pittsburgh Steelers. Last year, the Titans entered Pittsburgh for the showcase season opening Thursday night game. Kerry Collins was the incumbent starting quarterback coming off a 13-3 regular season finish in 2008 in which the Titans earned the no. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. The Titans dropped that opening game 13-10. They'd lose the next five as well, punctuated by a 59-0 throttling at the hands of the Patriots in a snow-covered Gillette Stadium.
If you're looking for people to have in your corner as an NFL player, your team's owner isn't the worst person in the world to be there. It was Bud Adams who prevailed upon Titans head coach Jeff Fisher to select VY third overall in the 2006 Draft. It's been reported that Fisher and other Titans officials had wanted to take Matt Leinart instead. After the disaster in Foxborough, there was Adams again, telling Fisher that, hey, maybe it's time to give Young another look.
At the time, people scoffed that Adams was only making that request because he was shelling out the kind of money you give to a quarterback selected third in the draft. And maybe that's true. Moreover, people had a right to scoff. Despite a winning record as a starter, based on his composure and judgment as a quarter, you'd be hard-pressed to pin Young as anything more than a bust with the benefit of a strong supporting cast.
But then Vince Young went right back to winning. He went 8-2 as a starter the rest of the way last season with better play than he had ever shown at any point in his professional career. He threw for nearly 400 yards and led an outstanding last minute drive to defeat the Cardinals, beating Leinart once again in doing so. Take away a dud VY laid he laid against the Chargers in Week 16 where he was 8-for-21 with two interceptions and you can't say he really played a bad game in 2009.
The success was starting to come around, but the off-the-field maturity was more spotty. In June, Young got into a violent altercation at a Dallas strip club. Video caught Young punching a manager at the club who was taunting him about his college affiliation. He was issued a Class C citation by police and fortunate not to be suspended by commissioner Roger Goodell for the outburst.This, of course, was the same player who went missing from the team early in the 2008, prompting Fisher to call police because Young had mentioned several times to a therapist that he had considered suicide.
At least on the field, Young has learned to overcome his problems. At the same time, Matt Leinart, the player Jeff Fisher wanted to take in the '06 Draft, washed out in the last of his many chances to establish himself as a possible starter with the Arizona Cardinals. One wonders if Leinart could have developed into a viable starter if he had an owner in his corner the way Young did.
Most likely Leinart will never get that shot again. But Young has made the most of his second chance, proving not only that he belongs as a starting quarterback, but that he has the potential to be considered among the top 10 or 15 signal callers in the league. Armed as he is with the one of the league's best running backs and a defense that looks like it's returned to its punishing form of 2008, the prospect of seeing Vince Young advance deep into the postseason is far from the ridiculous notion it would have been a year ago today.
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Comments
I guess that logic works but it seems a little suspect to me. How can you ignore the one bad game he played and say, except for that game, he did not play a bad game? Fact is, he had one bad game last season and I can’t see how you can disregard that game.
The Mikan Drill
by JoshuaR on Sep 17, 2010 9:15 AM EDT reply actions
Not saying it should be ignored or disregarded. Only that it looked like an aberration when his play was solid the rest of the season.
by Michael Tunison on Sep 17, 2010 9:39 AM EDT reply actions
Vince Young
The Vince Young maturation process started in earnest when the Titans defeated the Cardinals in one of the better games of the 2009 season. The TD pass to Kenny Britt with time expiring infused the Titans and I think gave Heimerdinger and Fisher a reason to believe in VY again.
VY has the physical tools to be a Fanchise QB. He posseses the prototypical size and arm-strength to threaten a defense across all five field zones. VY can drive the football down the field. His deep ball accuracy is very good and he’s throwing with great anticipation. VY’s mobilty is also a huge asset when his primary or secondary read is not there. It allows WR’s to “uncover” and extends the play.
Young now is becoming a passer and not a thrower. VY is seeing the field better and the Titans are running a much more sophisticated passing attack instead of the one read, tuck and run one of the past. His dedication to the playbook coupled with the good coaching of Heimerdinger has allowed Young to become the player the Titans thought they were getting when they drafted Young with the 3rd pick in 2006.
In any discussion of the development of Vince Young, the Chris Johnson impact must be factored in. CJ is the back in pro football and eases the burden on VY AND the Titans passing game (DC’s gear up to stop CJ and are not as concerned with Young as a passer…..a mistake). CJ beneifts from Young’s mobility as the back side “wiil backer” and DE must sit at home for contain purposes allowing for cleaner running lanes for CJ2K. If Young remains healthy the Titans are in good hands moving forward. In a QB-driven league the Titans have a QB that finally gets it.
by Ravens One on Sep 17, 2010 11:14 AM EDT reply actions
Leadership
Anyone who saw VY at Texas cannot doubt his leadership on the field. I think the incidents you mention have been overplayed. Their main effect was to make management hesitant to commit to Young and I think what we are seeing is less a great leap on Young’s part than him finally being in an offense where he can succeed.
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. If they get mad, you're a mile away AND you have their shoes.
by Caradoc on Sep 17, 2010 7:31 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
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