Posted December 3rd, 2006 by Matt
Filed under: Football

Merril Hoge may be the most delusional person that I have ever seen. His hate for Vince Young has been taken to a whole new level today with his latest rant on ESPN. It’s hard to put into words how idiotic he sounds, so just check out the video. There is a transcript of what he said after the jump.

Thanks to TexasOwnzYou from Hornfans for the video.

Thanks to Jag Heter from Hornfans for the transcript below:

Other announcer: When the game is on the line in the fourth quarter Vince Young finds a way

Hodge: As a team they find a way. They did a great job of managing Vince Young. You got to put perspective on this I think the coaching staff should be one of the leading candidates for coaches of the year, especially jeff fisher, cause they hide vince youngs weaknesses now and they cater to his strengths. His strenghts are being able to run the football. They throw a lot of screens a lot of hitch routs, a lot of flair out.. They don’t throw the ball downfield ALL that often. And the reason they don’t. Vince Young doesn’t understand coverage right now. He gets confused on that. So they don’t ask him to do that. So they don’t ask him to do it.

They have a dominant running game. They run the football on second down, on third down, fourth down. It doesn’t matter.. it could be third and long. They are not asking their young QB ot go out and make a lot of bad mistakes, or to put him in a bad situation where he WILL make a lot of mistakes. So they are training him how to play the position, but he has a LONG way to go. One thing they have encouraged him to do and he did a good job today was run the football more.

If you don’t like it run the football. And he did a good job today, but the the thing I saw.. a lot of big time hits. Now what you gotta do is the transition. You got to take some of those rushing yards and convert them into throwing the ball downfield and being successful there. If he makes that transition then still got a shot. But he still has a LONG way to go before he can do that..

Other announcer: Now Merril you have been very critical of vince young

Hodge: Yes..

Other guy: You are very critical about his upside in this league, and what he brought to this league. He now has a winning record as a starter. Have they proven you wrong with Vince Young and can they win with him at the QB?.

Hodge: Listen when he was 8-22 for the philladelphia eagles we did not come out here and say he cant play. When he threw 3 or 4 interceptions agains the cowboys we did not say he is a loser. And because he won a couple of games you cant say he is a winner. The Titans defense.. it would be a slap in the face.. The defense let the indianapolis colts score three points in the second half. It would be a slap in the face.

They have a rushing defense that is relentless. It keeps them on schedule. It doesn’t ask the qb to do a lot. They don’t ask VY to win. What they do is ask him to mangage the game. They HIDE him more than they highlight him. And people keep saying he is a winner.. that is because they don’t know what else to say. He is not a loser when he loses, therefore when he win I think the Titans win. If I remember right they are 5 – 7 as a team. That’s not a winning record.

Other guy; 5 and 4 with Young. Can they win with him?

Hodge: They have already shown they can win with him in CERTAIN games. But to win as far as winning a championship, winning.. going into the playoffs, NO.. Playing like this you can not go the the next level. He will have to mature and be a better qb from the pocket and mature in his throwing ability and deciphering coverages inorder for them to go to the playoffs and win championships.

Other guy: Coming into the draft you said he is the most raw, and you just said that he cant fully read coverages right now. With what he is doing now winning games, and he does have a winner record. Can you now see 5-6 years down the road him being a probowl qb.

Hodge: Ehhh it’s hard to say pro bowl quarterback. One thing I gave him. I gave him three year. I thought it was going to take three years. That’s why we cant say whether he is a loser or a winner right now. He has too many weaknesses and there is a couple of strenghts. One thing I have noticed in the past few weeks, he has a willingness to stay in the pocket. He has the willingness to learn. But there’s a lot of mechanic things he has to get better at. He is very inacurate. He threw a lot of dirt balls.

The giant game is a great example. The first three downs on that last drive, he threw them all in the dirt. Then Kiwanuka let him go and the giants gave them an opportunity to win that game. That is not going to happen each and every week. There is still a lot of growing pains for him. I still say it is a three year process. They are 5-7 they are not going to the playoff.. In order for him to get better that where they will go to the playoffs.. If they does not get better then they are not going to the playoffs. Not this year, not next year and not the year after.

But if the transition takes place, and he starts playing better from the pocket. You have to give him some time too to understand deciphering coverages, cause every rookie struggles with that, but that is usually a 2 year window. You cant put full judgment on a kid until two years are up. Right now he does not know. Right now he is very confused about what is going on, especially against a team that plays a lot of coverage. The colts, they don’t play many, they play very few coverages. That is why he struggled against the Eagles..

The eagles are a team that disguise a lot of thing they blitz a lot, that is why he was 8 of 22.. nearly threw 3 ints.. he threw to the eagles all day. Against the colts, why didn’t he? They are a very vinilla team. They line up in a certain coverage, a certain front, and they allow a qb to be successful if they know where he is going with the football. One thing I notice in every week in every game they throw a lot of screens, flare routes and a lot of quick hitches. So they can be successful and they don’t ask the qb to go down the field and make a lot of mistakes.

The interception in the endzone was a perfect example. He locked in on a guy, he was going to throw it to that guy, and it got picked off. That’s what the titans coaching staff understands about him. That is what he is going to do right now. So they say “lets not ask him to do that.� Run a little bit if you want to vince young. We are going to throw screens for you.. and if it is 3rd and long we have no problem with running the football. So they are managing him correctly. Bla bla bla.. one thing they are doing is building his confidence and not breaking it down.

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14 Comments

  1. reply to  #1

    Brian

    Ha I was just going to forward this video to you.

    It’s like he doesn’t even watch the games.

  2. reply to  #2

    Greg

    what an idiot!

  3. reply to  #3

    Kese

    This guy really hates VY i just dont understand why! is VY mess with his wife or something Im no expert or anything and nither is he but every rookie has troble with covage look at Matt and Jay they have a way better team then VY and they are not getting it done Matt has two pro bowl reciver and a hall of fame running back jay has a pro bowl reciver and a very good defense and a good team he has just started but he did not look all that good but that okay he a rookie last week we saw a kid put the team on his back and lit a fire under every one of his team mates and the battle back to win we see him do this in college and in highschool now he doing it in the NFL against pretty good teams NY and Ind who both are play off teams so get off the guys back and let him play a** hole give some cred. when cred is due he proved you wrong so admit it he does not have to finish the season that good for me i seen what i need to see with a couple years exp. he going to be special

  4. reply to  #4

    Matt

    Kese, I think you officially get the award for the longest sentence ever on this site. Congrats.

    But yeah, I agree. Vince is getting more done than Leinart with less talent.

    I read somewhere that Hoge is just upset with the Titans organization because they basically ended his career. I would have thought he was just a USC lover.

  5. reply to  #5

    other matt

    Let’s compare facts

    VY = winner, he doesn’t throw just right, he doesn’t run just right, he’s not the “smartest”, blah blah blah. He just wins.

    Merril Hoge = loser
    8 years for Pittsburgh, team made playoff twice, only won one playoff game, he played fullback. Came from Idaho State, Drafted Round 10

    Just the facts

  6. reply to  #6

    brady

    Im a little off subject, but does anyone else find it funny that both Vince Young and the Dallas Cowboys owned the Manning brothers this season. Just another reason for the world to hate Texas, haha. Incidentally, I have all the respect in the world for Peyton, but Eli has been looking like scared child as of late.

  7. reply to  #7

    Israel

    Much of the hate stems from the fact that Hogey hates to be wrong. He is probaby furious, considering Cutler did not perform like he said he would. Hogey has been one of Young’s biggest critics, Jaws has already admited being wrong about Vince Young. Like many of us who have seen Young throughout his career, we already believe. You look even further when Skip Bayless time after time would trash Young as well, now Skip is one of Young’s biggest supporters, he believes now. Soon and very soon I expect someday to see Hogey wearing a Vince Young Jersey when he leads the Titans to the playoffs next season.

  8. […] Merrill Hoge is a delusional twatwaffle who greatly dislikes Vince Young. (Bevo Sports) […]

  9. reply to  #9

    Dwayne DEveaux

    After seven seasons with the Steelers, Hoge signed with the Chicago Bears as a free agent in 1994, but played in just five games with only six carries and 13 receptions. He retired after suffering a series of concussions.

  10. reply to  #10

    hockeydamon

    vince young stinks

  11. reply to  #11

    M.D.

    Looks like Merril Hoge has been vindicated. Vince Young is the worst quarterback to ever start a game in the NFL. You are the delusional one.

  12. reply to  #12

    hondo

    Yeah, who’s delusional now? Hoge is an astute observer of the NFL who tells it like it is. VY will likely never be a successful NFL passer, period. He has lots of athletic ability, no doubt. But it takes more than that to be a championship NFL QB. You have to read coverages and deliver the ball, and he can’t. At least not yet, and doubtful if ever.

    Want to hear more ranting from Merril about VY (and Leinart)? He was on the morning show on WDVE-FM (Pittsburgh) on Sept. 10, 2008 after all the news about VY broke. Check out the audio from the podcast :

    http://www.dve.com/cc-common/podcast.html

  13. reply to  #13

    TigerBlue

    Hondo, you are delusional. Vince Young, so far, is 19-11 as a starter and that is a WINNER.

    You also have to take into account his rushing touchdowns, rushing yards, and his ability to; convert 3rd downs, time of possession for his offense (thus rest the defense), and keep offensive drives alive. This include his ability to scramble and avoid sacks. He also confuses defenses and keeping an eye on Vince, opens up chances for the RBs, TEs, and WRs to make plays too.

    You can pass for 250 yards, and still lose games. A QB can pad his stats in the 4th quarter to look good, while his team has lost the game.

    You have to do more than look at passer rating, but look at the complete performance of a mobile quarterback. You have to understand what stats mean to a game and winning. At 19-11, so far, Vince is a winning QB getting the job done when put in as a starter.

    What Merril Hoge said about Vince Young is just very bias irrational garbage.

  14. reply to  #14

    Disgusted fan

    Merrill Hoge is an idiot and should be fired.

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