Just say no to Vince Young!!!
By author
The radio lines and message boards have been abuzz ever since Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams said Young would not be back next year as a Titan. Much of that talk centers around our very own Washington Redskins who in recent history have become known for making an off season splash by bringing in big games that often times end up not resulting in big play.
Cindy Boren of the Washington Post has an online poll up as to whether or not the Redskins should pursue Young
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/early-lead/2011/01/would_vince_young_redskins_be.html
MJD of the yahoo blog Shutdown Corner lists the Redskins as one of the 5 teams that should take a look at Young
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Five-teams-who-should-take-a-look-at-Vince-Young?urn=nfl-304060
and the list of online articles dedicated to the topic goes on and on as does the number of times I’ve heard this topic being discussed on sports radio shows by both the hosts and people calling in.
So I am here to say NO TO VINCE YOUNG!!!!!
I know there will be some that are for the idea of Young coming to Washington and I can already hear the arguments now as I am typing
1. he is only 27 so he still has what should be some productive years left in him
2. he has a strong arm
3. he is a former pro bowler
4. he has more seasons with a winning record as a starter than he has losing records
Yes he is still fairly young for a quarterback and yes he has the physical tools and athletic ability to be a good quarterback and you won’t ever hear me say different.
For me though that is where it starts and ends with Young because he is lacking in what is probably most important for a quarterback and that is the mental ability to run an offense successfully at a high level. Being a quarterback is not just about being able to throw the ball far you actually have to be able to run the offense, make the right reads and checkdowns, know when to audible out of a play, know when to throw the ball away and so on and so on.
Being a successful quarterback is just as much if not more about whats between your ears as it is about your physical gifts. This may sound harsh but I don’t think Young has what it takes mentally to be a consistently good quarterback and on top of that I don’t think he has the emotional toughness to hack it as a quarterback.
Maybe he suffers depression or is bi-polar who knows… But I mean lets be real in 2008 police were called by his family because he stormed out and they were worried about his mental state and it was reported that he had mentioned suicide to his therapist several times prior to him leaving the house. After the 2008 incident his mother just about begged people to not boo her son or talk bad about him which unfortunately for Young comes with being a professional athlete. Heck even this year he had a meltdown following the week 11 game vs the Redskins.
As for his winning seasons a lot of that was due to a very strong running game and defense and his pro bowl appearances were a joke based off of hype alone and people wanting to see him succeed. I mean come on now did he really deserve to be in the Pro Bowl his rookie season? No
He has thrown just as many interceptions as touchdowns on his career
He averages only 150 yards per game passing on his career
Young just is not that good as an NFL quarterback.
Plus Young can not cut it mentally as an NFL quarterback and that might sound harsh but I honestly feel it to be true. Had he been playing for the Redskins this season and it was Young they pulled for Grossman there would have had been a suicide watch for Young.
Bringing in Young would end up going down as just another one of the big moves that did not pan out under Dan Snyder’s reign as the owner of the Washington Redskins.