Posted March 22nd, 2006 by Brian
Filed under: Draft, Football

Not exactly breaking news, but ESPN sucks. This is their front page story on Vince’s workout today…

Quarterback Vince Young was timed in 4.58 seconds in the 40-yard dash Wednesday on what is considered a fast track at the University of Texas in Austin, one NFL scout told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen. The scout said Young’s time was slower than anticipated. According to the same scout, Young’s overall workout was “fairly impressive,” but the scout believed that Young was not asked to make certain drops and throws that he would have to perform in a private team workout. Young’s pro workout Wednesday, which was open to all NFL teams, was run by Jerry Rhome, a former NFL quarterback and assistant coach.

First off, pretty much every person I’ve heard quoted that was actually there called it a great performance and Sean Salisbury said he and all the scouts were “blown away.” Salisbury, a USC homer, even said he’d think about taking VY over USC QB Matt Leinart. Former Cowboys’ scout Gil Brandt said, “He impressed everyone with his arm strength, quick delivery and accuracy.”

Second, the 40-yard dash times ranged anywhere from 4.49 to 4.57 depending on whose stop watch you were looking at. Of course ESPN quoted a time above all of those.

Next, I’ve heard several times over the last couple of years that the track they run on is a slow one. I’m not sure if that’s true, but I’ve certainly never seen it called a “fast track.”

Finally, Chris Mortensen is a jackass. He’s been trying to claim for years that former Arkansas QB and current Jaguars receiver Matt Jones was a better quarterback than Vince. Despite the evidence from this past season and inspite of all logic, he restated the ridiculous claim again today.

Unbelievable.

Update

ESPN has updated their story to include a few quotes from people who were actually there. For the first couple of hours the quote above was the entire story. I find it interesting that they can only find unnamed sources that’ll give negative quotes. Hmm… (6:50 p.m.)

Update

They’ve added some good video of the workout to the story. Ed Werder does actual reporting from Austin and talks to actual coaches and scouts instead of quoting a single unnamed scout to say negative things like Mortensen did. It’s amazing that ESPN ran with the one negative report they could find based on second-hand reports from a guy I don’t believe was even there, despite the gushing reviews from their own guys like Salisbury. (03/23/2006)

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11 Comments

  1. reply to  #1

    Brian

    And now SportsCenter teases the story with “Is Vince Young the next Danny Wuerffel?”

    They must’ve found one scout to say the opposite of what everyone else is and they’re going to run with it.

  2. reply to  #2

    Matt

    I am so tired of the west-coast bias that ESPN puts up everyday. Like doing the whole “where does USC rank all-time” bullshit they did BEFORE the Rose Bowl. Get a clue ESPN, USC lost!

  3. reply to  #3

    Robert

    First let’s deal with the pro career. Vince Young will be a bust. The guy’s throwing is a joke! He looks like Bernie Kozar when he throws. He didn’t read defenses at UT and this is going to kill him. It will take five years to be sure, but the Titans will be very disappointed.

    Wait and see…

    As a college QB, there were few ever better. He was amazing. His athletic ability could overcome any shortcomings he had. He will go down as one of the best football players the Longhorns ever enjoyed.

  4. reply to  #4

    Brian

    Wow, you sure regurgitated the crap 2 out of 100 analysts told you. How do you figure? Did you actually watch Texas play and the way Vince would look move off his primary target and hit his second or third option? And then use his 4th option, his feet, to absolutely dominate opponents?

    By the way, if you’re getting your opinions from Merril Hoge, he admitted today that he watched a whole five games of Vince Young. He actually sounded proud of himself for watching less than half a season of film too, what an expert!

  5. reply to  #5

    Robert

    Brian, I never listened to Hoge, just going by what I have seen.

    Young opens up his hips, one reason he rarely gets sacked as he can see the entire field, but this is what causes his sidearm throwing motion. Young needs to keep his hips closed as he drops back. People miss this flaw in many QBs, and if he doesn’t start turning, then his passing motion will remain strange. Perhaps Chow can change his motion, but I doubt it.

    The Texas passing game is pretty simple. The Longhorns depend on the athletic ability of their players rather than outsmarting opponents. Very good idea considering the superior quality of the players when compared to the Texas foes.

    Michael Vick is probably better than Vince Young and he hasn’t done much in the NFL. I expect even less from Young.

    I also have listened to Vince during his interviews. He isn’t very articulate and he is now the face of the Titan organization. This will cause him even more problems as when he struggles, he can’t fall back on his interviews.
    Again, I would say Young was one of the best college QBs ever, but this isn’t going to translate to the pros. He was a great QB for the Longhorns, and will always be remembered for leading Texas to the national title and two Rose Bowl victories. But NFL teams require different things from QBs and to me, Vince doesn’t have these qualities. Tom Brady was a 6th round pick and has the qualities of an NFL QB. An NFL QB doesn’t have to go high to be good – Joe Montana was a 3rd round selection.

    Of course, this is just an opinion and I could be wrong. But hey, that is what makes forums go!

  6. reply to  #6

    Robert

    Here is a link to a very interesting site on running QBs in the NFL. This link would support the theory that Vince will be an NFL success!

    http://www.drafthistory.com/

    You can’t say I’m not fair and balanced!

  7. reply to  #7

    Brian

    Young had much better passing stats in college and it wasn’t even that close. Vince completed 11% more of his passes in his last season for 1,800 more yards. The only way to compare them at this point is based on their college careers, and Young beats Vick in a landslide.

  8. reply to  #8

    Robert

    Alas Brian, college stats don’t always predict NFL success. All you have to do is look at Andre Ware, David Klingler, Danny Wuerffel, and Steve Sarkisian (Who? See BYU).

    Here are Young’s stats for 2005:

    Comp Att Yards TDs Int Comp %
    212 365 3,036 26 10 58.1

    Here is another famous QB’s stats for his senior season:

    262 completions, 405 attempts, 64.6%, 3,242 yards, 24 TDs, 12 int.

    I dare say Young had a better season than this famous QB who happens to be John Elway. Did you know that Elway never led his team to a bowl game? College success or lack thereof is not a good predictor of pro success. Shoot, Tom Brady played behind Brian Griese at Michigan!

    The NFL is a much different game than the college game and that is what I am looking at when I think Vince will never be a franchise NFL QB. Will he be exciting? Yes! Will he rush for a ton of yards? Yes! Will Tennessee win with Young at QB? Maybe. Will Young ever be a good passer in the NFL? Not unless he changes his mechanics!

  9. reply to  #9

    Brian

    Yeah but there’s a huge difference between those system guys and Vince Young. While Texas’ offense wasn’t a traditional NFL style offense, it sure as heck isn’t in the same category as the UH Run and Shoot or Spurrier’s Fun and Gun. College success doesn’t mean NFL star 100% of the time, but it’s a much better indicator than 40 time or Wonderlic score.

    Vince has a very strong arm, a quick release, and great accuracy in addition to his other worldly mobility and leadership, exactly which of those things makes you think he won’t be a franchise NFL QB? He was the best passer in the NCAA this season, there’s absolutely no basis for assuming he won’t be at all successful as a passer in the NFL.

  10. reply to  #10

    Robert

    I disagree Brian, Young was a statistical phenomenon but he rarely threw the ball on the deep outs the NFL throws and many of his passes were just flicks over the middle.

    I remember in the Rose Bowl where Vince threw the ball across the field – it floated and was lucky not to be intercepted. His arm is very strong, but he his mechanics are so bad that he will not be able to pull it off in the NFL.

    What do you think the percentage of plays Vince was in the shotgun for the Longhorns? This is hardly an NFL offense. The commentators on TV say the Texas runs a one receiver system – that is Vince knew where he was going before the play began. I have no idea if this is true or not – I find this hard to believe – but I know a lot of his passes were quick passes over the middle. I remember the first game against Colorado and I bet he didn’t throw anything but those quick little passes over the middle. Thus, his completion percentage was great. (Combined with CU’s complete ineptitude makes it kind of hard to tell how good his game really was! HA!).

    How many years do you think it will take before we can say if Vince is a success? Also, I would say a success in the NFL is beyond stats, but leading your team to victories. That will be the proof and perhaps his leadership will prove to overcome his throwing mechanics. But I have a very bad feeling about his throwing and his running. What NFL QBs that primarily run have ever led their team to a Super Bowl victory? I can’t think of one, except maybe Steve Young. Elway was a pocket passer when he won his Super Bowls. Maybe McNair, but the Titans lost to the Rams.

    As far as NFL prospects, I personally like Cutler better than Young. He has a gun and while his mechanics are also not picture perfect, they are far superior to Young’s mechanics. But there is no comparrison when it comes to college QBs – Young was far superior to Cutler. Of course it would have been interesting to see Cutler someplace other than Vanderbilt, but I still think Young would have been better.

    Anyway, it is an interesting debate, but one that can’t be solved until we have more data. But one thing we know – Vince Young was one of the greatest QBs in college history. This can’t be argued by anyone!

  11. reply to  #11

    Robert

    This comment doesn’t really go with Vince, but I find it interesting – both Texas and North Carolina St. had six players drafted. The Longhorns had two in the first round and NC State had three! How strange is that?

    NC State was a program that lost to Wake Forest! Just goes to show that what the NFL sees in a prospect has very little to do with team success!

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