The Tennessee Titans have announced that the team will not be bringing back quarterback Vince Young, which is about damn time. It all came down to the Titans’ owner, Bud Adams, contemplating on who to keep; Vince Young or head coach, Jeff Fisher. Personally, I think this was a no-brainer. I would have my chips with Fisher all the way. Young brings too many issues and distractions to the Titans. The Titans, at one point this season, were legitimate playoff contenders, but Young’s inability to handle pressure crumbled this team.
Coming out of college, Vince Young was a top quarterback. Hell, he is one of the best college quarterbacks I have seen to step the field. The two Rose Bowl performances he put on were remarkable. The National Championship game against USC was the best performance from a quarterback I have ever seen. Young nearly put up 500 total yards on his own, that is just unheard of, especially in the title game. This kid was simply on top of the world.
So what went wrong? A lot…….
Regardless of what people think, Vince Young has all the tools and physical attributes to become a franchise quarterback. He has the athleticism, height, and arm strength that most quarterbacks wish they possessed, but the problem was his ability to mature into the quarterback position. Many coaches described his work ethic as “lazy” and as a quarterback that isn’t acceptable. As a quarterback you have to be a leader and being lazy definitely doesn’t help your purpose. Do you think Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are lazy? I sure don’t. The quarterback position all starts in the classroom; one must study film constantly and work on the little things. Since Vince Young stepped into this league, his footwork hasn’t improved at all nor has his throwing motion. The dude still can’t even read simple zone coverages. I can find high school quarterbacks that can recognize coverages better than he can. You figure if you were drafted to become the franchise quarterback for your team that you would work to get better, but Young hasn’t shown half the effort compared to other quarterbacks in the league. Instead, he would rather start fights at strip clubs.
The biggest problem, I see, in Young is his inability to handle adversity and pressure. In my opinion this all started from college. Throughout most of his football career, Vince Young was labeled as the “greatest thing ever” since of his accomplishments in college. Now, he is being told that he isn’t good enough and has gotten benched, he hasn’t taken it professionally. At the University of Texas, Young was given all the freedom; especially when your head coach is Mack Brown. During his collegiate days, Young never really faced adversity. He basically had everything handed to him because of his god-given athleticism. This isn’t going to cut it in the NFL. In this league, you must handle adversity both on and off the field. Young simply can’t handle this league. Prior to this season, Young was supposedly having mental issues even resulting to suicide rumors. Is that really what you want out of your quarterback? Even this season, after getting injured and benched, Young decides to lash out on his coach and even gave up on his team. He ended up throwing his pads into the stands. That right there isn’t acceptable from all perspectives. If it were up to me, I would have cut his a## that day. Although Vince Young has talent, he simply doesn’t have the mentality NFL quarterbacks must possess.
What’s next for VY?
That is a good question. The only place I can see Young going to is the Arizona Cardinals at this point. Young is set to be released soon since the Titans aren’t willing to pay his $4.25 mil roster bonus in March, and I highly doubt the Titans will get any trade value out of him. The Cardinals basically have no quarterback at this point. John Skelton? Max Hall? Give me a break. Neither are franchise quality quarterbacks. The Cardinals defense and special teams virtually kept them in games. That would be the best bet for him to land another starting gig in this league. Some may say the San Francisco 49ers or Miami Dolphins, but I would take Alex Smith or Chad Henne over Vince Young in a heart beat. I would even take Troy Smith over the guy. He may even have to settle as a backup if he wants to stay in the NFL. Honestly, if I was an owner or general manager of a team, I would definitely not want a guy like him on my team. A quarterback who gives up on his team and lashes out on his head coach is a big NO NO. I would not be surprised if Young wasn’t part of this league after this season. The predicament he has put himself into is going to be tough to get out. Perhaps, Vince and JaMarcus can join the UFL together!
What do you think? Would you want Vince Young as your franchise quarterback? Will he even make a NFL roster next season?