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03-08-2006, 08:19 AM
Stop the Vinsanity
Stop the Vinsanity
By Terry Bowden, Yahoo! Sports
March 3, 2006
Have we found enough reasons why Vince Young is not one of the top two quarterbacks in the NFL draft?
Let's see. He has a funny throwing motion. He runs too much. He hasn't been under the center. He can't read defenses. He didn't throw at the combine. He has questionable representation. He scored a six – make that a 16 – on the Wonderlic test.
Shoot, next they'll be telling me he puts mayonnaise on his cheeseburgers and watches figure skating.
Seriously though, are we talking about the same Vince Young who I saw hang 41 on Southern California in the Rose Bowl? The same Vince Young who calmly put the entire Texas football team on his shoulders and led them from 12 points down in the fourth quarter to win the national championship? Is it the same Vince Young who is 6-foot-5, 235 pounds, and runs like a deer? The same Vince Young who led the nation in passing efficiency?
Well, if we're talking about that Vince Young, then I think you're crazy if you don't think he ought to be one of the top three picks in the draft.
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I know that determining the top quarterback in the NFL draft is not an exact science. For every Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer there is a Ryan Leaf and Tim Couch. And there are a lot of things about Vince Young that I don't know. I don't know how quickly he can count backwards in multiples of 13, or how many words he misspells when he writes a letter to his mother.
But I do know one thing: When the game is on the line and all the marbles are on the table, he will play at his very best – and he will deliver.
I call it poise under pressure, and every great quarterback who ever played the game has had it. If you looked it up in my dictionary, you would find a picture of Joe Montana. It can only be measured on the field of battle, and every tool of evaluation at a combine pales in comparison.
I have watched Vince Young play a lot of football games over the last two years. During that time he has run off 20 straight victories, been named the MVP of the Rose Bowl twice and beaten a great Ohio State team in Columbus.
But in the closing minutes of the national championship game against USC, with Texas down by 12, I saw everything I needed to see about Vince Young. With the poise under pressure that all the great ones have, he confidently completed 10 of 13 passes and ran for two touchdowns and a two-point conversion to single-handedly win the game and the championship for the Longhorns.
So, what do I know about Vince Young?
I know:
He is taller than Dan Marino.
He is bigger than Terry Bradshaw.
He is faster than Brett Favre.
He has a stronger arm than Joe Montana.
He has a prettier release than Bernie Kosar (OK, that's debatable).
But more than that, he has poise under pressure, and that's the most important thing of all.
Terry Bowden is Yahoo! Sports' college football analyst. Send him a question or comment for potential use in a future column.
Updated on Friday, Mar 3, 2006 3:
Stop the Vinsanity
By Terry Bowden, Yahoo! Sports
March 3, 2006
Have we found enough reasons why Vince Young is not one of the top two quarterbacks in the NFL draft?
Let's see. He has a funny throwing motion. He runs too much. He hasn't been under the center. He can't read defenses. He didn't throw at the combine. He has questionable representation. He scored a six – make that a 16 – on the Wonderlic test.
Shoot, next they'll be telling me he puts mayonnaise on his cheeseburgers and watches figure skating.
Seriously though, are we talking about the same Vince Young who I saw hang 41 on Southern California in the Rose Bowl? The same Vince Young who calmly put the entire Texas football team on his shoulders and led them from 12 points down in the fourth quarter to win the national championship? Is it the same Vince Young who is 6-foot-5, 235 pounds, and runs like a deer? The same Vince Young who led the nation in passing efficiency?
Well, if we're talking about that Vince Young, then I think you're crazy if you don't think he ought to be one of the top three picks in the draft.
ADVERTISEMENT
I know that determining the top quarterback in the NFL draft is not an exact science. For every Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer there is a Ryan Leaf and Tim Couch. And there are a lot of things about Vince Young that I don't know. I don't know how quickly he can count backwards in multiples of 13, or how many words he misspells when he writes a letter to his mother.
But I do know one thing: When the game is on the line and all the marbles are on the table, he will play at his very best – and he will deliver.
I call it poise under pressure, and every great quarterback who ever played the game has had it. If you looked it up in my dictionary, you would find a picture of Joe Montana. It can only be measured on the field of battle, and every tool of evaluation at a combine pales in comparison.
I have watched Vince Young play a lot of football games over the last two years. During that time he has run off 20 straight victories, been named the MVP of the Rose Bowl twice and beaten a great Ohio State team in Columbus.
But in the closing minutes of the national championship game against USC, with Texas down by 12, I saw everything I needed to see about Vince Young. With the poise under pressure that all the great ones have, he confidently completed 10 of 13 passes and ran for two touchdowns and a two-point conversion to single-handedly win the game and the championship for the Longhorns.
So, what do I know about Vince Young?
I know:
He is taller than Dan Marino.
He is bigger than Terry Bradshaw.
He is faster than Brett Favre.
He has a stronger arm than Joe Montana.
He has a prettier release than Bernie Kosar (OK, that's debatable).
But more than that, he has poise under pressure, and that's the most important thing of all.
Terry Bowden is Yahoo! Sports' college football analyst. Send him a question or comment for potential use in a future column.
Updated on Friday, Mar 3, 2006 3: