He is hoping to get a second chance. To earn it he went back to where it all began and went through Pro Day at his alma mater. That doesn't take care of the attitude issues though.
Young did take a big step in the right direction with a letter he sent to his former coach, Jeff Fisher. In it he said he apologized for his behavior and how he handled things back during their time together.
"I definitely wanted to apologize (to Fisher) for the things that I did, letting him know about the frustration, a lot of different things that was going on in my life at the time, and want him to know that I really did appreciate him trying to make me become one of those type of leaders on the team, a successful quarterback," he said. (Yahoo)
Awesome food, but come on--5 grand? Then there is the matter of the loan he took out for $300K to throw himself an epic birthday party when he was already well on his way to broke.
Not a good move Vince.
What's really telling is his inability to take responsibility for his performance in Tennesee. While off-field issues can play a factor in a person's game, he isn't the only pro to have issues off the field--it's no excuse.
“I don’t really feel like it was my game, I just feel like it was some off-the-field issues, with some of the things that, as I was cleaning up a lot of the mess outside the field, I really feel like teams don’t want their quarterback to be in that position, of being distracted,” Young said. “It was nothing about my game, it’s just those things have to be cleared up before I get that opportunity.” (BlackSportsOnline)
Hmm...so it had nothing to do with how he played huh? Let's review:
- His best rating was a 98.8 but he averaged 74.4. To help put that into perspective Mark Sanchez has averaged 71.1.
- He's thrown 46 TDs to 51 INTs.
- His career completion percentage of 57.9 is right down there with what Jake Locker and Brandon Weeden did last season.
Young was an incredibly gifted athlete and player in college, but outside of his first two season in the league he did not play very well. That was why he got benched. That is what led to him being let go. Yes, his attitude problem which were apparently fueled by off-field issues helped hurry the end of his career in Tennessee along, but in the end he was not getting the job done.
If you really want to rehab your image Vince try not making excuses. The letter was a good step, but you have to take responsibility for what happened on the field as much as off.
I realize Vince handled things poorly but to let Jeff Fisher off the hook is ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteJeff from the start was obviously no fan of Vince Young or the organization as a whole choosing to pick Vince despite Jeff's wishes. Jeff made no secret by his own bitter face expressions on the field that he was not on board with Vince leading his offense.
How did Vince respond in the beginning? He went out and played in a system that was not set up to utilize Vince's skill set or how Vince best operated and he won some impressive games and made the pro bowl. How did Jeff Fisher respond, he went out and marginalized Vince and behaved himself like a spoiled child who was unhappy he did not get what he wanted for once. This despite the fact that what he got showed a lot of potential and promise.
Vince was not the most mature person coming out of college. A lot of young men have come to the pros with much the same immaturity but many of them do not make the news because their teammates and coaching staffs properly address those issues in private. Vince should have handled things better but he was never his coaches pick and his coach did not want him. That has to be hard to deal with. He and Jeff Fisher made the news more for their outside of the locker room feud than they did with their team.
Vince was for sure way out of bounds in the end but let's not give Jeff Fisher a free pass. Vince unfortunately is the one apologizing and Jeff is so "graciously accepting" yet taking little to no credit for his part in what happened between him and Vince.
If Jeff really felt Vince deserved a chance he would acknowledge that as a man and a head coach he could have handled things better.
Vince is a similar QB to Cam Newton and RGIII and had he been handled like both but especially Cam who showed many of the same personality quirks he may have blossomed to becoming the kind of QB who could lead a team to great things and make a few more pro bowls along the way.
I find it sad that Michael Vick who is small and injury prone and has had many years to do more conventional things better yet has not, while at the same time come out of prison for inhumane treatment of dogs is on a team and yet Vince can not get a fair shot.
I do not but that Michael Vick is a huge step up from Vince Young. Based on his injury issues he may be a step down. Vince can execute as well as Vick if not better if he is used in a way that fits what he does best.
It was a petty messed up situation; both were definitely at fault. Vince does deserve another chance over Vick--that's for sure!
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