40 Acres Sports

The ESPN Insider homepage had this genius headline and teaser for an article that barely says anything similar.

Mr. Wrong?

Even though [tag]Vince Young[/tag] is an amazing talent, the Titans shouldn’t have taken him at No. 3. Tennessee needs a QB who can step in right away, and Young isn’t that guy.

The article is a pick-by-pick analysis of the first round and one of the 32 things they discuss is that the Titans should have drafted Matt Leinart because he was more ready to make an immediate impact.

I’m sure if Jeff Fisher, “whose job could be on the line if Tennessee doesn’t bounce back with a strong season,” would start Billy Volek or beg Steve McNair back if he was overly worried about losing his job. The Tennessee Titans would probably win five games with Billy Volek (and maybe six with Steve McNair) or a whopping three or four with Matt Leinart. Mel Kiper has over and over again screamed how stupid it is to draft a QB on how he’d do in the first year.

Who cares how many games a quarterback would win in 2006? None of these three first round guys are ready to play right away and shouldn’t be forced too, 2006 is probably the least important year in their NFL careers. What matters is how many games they can win in 2008 and which guy you think can lead you to a Super Bowl in 2009.

Man, it sure feels good to see Vince get off the board so early in the draft. So much craziness happened with the top 2 picks I had no idea what was going to happen to Vince.

I think Tennessee is a good fit for Vince, considering he has a chance to learn from Steve McNair who had a similar playing style when he came out of college. What I think is most interesting about this pick though, is that even Norm Chow couldn’t get Matt Leinart to come to the Titans. Definitely a telling sign if you ask me.

More analysis to come later. Now it is time to go and buy a Tennessee Titans jersey.

Update

Titans just picked up LenDale White with the 35th overall pick, best overall running back in the entire draft for Vince to hand off to now. Kind of wondering why he fell this far, but could be an absolute steal for the Titans. (5:19 pm)

Here’s our projections for how the first round of this Saturday’s NFL Draft will go down. After the first seven picks all hell breaks loose as Matt and I very greatly on who we think goes where. Just one of the many reasons why the NFL Draft is like Christmas and Opening Day rolled into one weekend for both NFL and college football fans.

We’ll have a little further analysis and thoughts on where the other Longhorns like David Thomas and Cedric Griffin will be headed in the next couple of days.

Here’s the picks for the First Annual BevoSports Mock Draft:

The Tennessean asks the three top quarterback prospects fifty useless questions but actually gets some interesting answers…

What’s in your CD player right now?

Matt Leinart: Billy Joel.
Jay Cutler: “I have XM radio.”
Vince Young: Yolanda Adams.

Biggest pet peeve?

Matt Leinart: People chewing with mouth open.
Jay Cutler: Slow drivers.
Vince Young: Losing.

Biggest fear?

Matt Leinart: Failure.
Jay Cutler: Heights.
Vince Young: None.

Leinart’s answer to that first question is really embarassing. Billy Joel? Are you kidding me? Do people still listen to him? Meanwhile Young’s biggest peeve and his biggest fear explain 41-38 in the Rose Bowl nicely. While Leinart was worrying about people with bad manners and thinking about failing, Vince was busy playing the game of his life with no fear. And of course Cutler was at home on his couch watching the game on TV.

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Vince Young will be featured in a BET reality series titled “Next Level: Vince Young.” The show will chronicle Vince’s life as he makes the transition from college immortal to rookie NFL quarterback. No further details about when the show will air or when filming will begin.

BET unveiled a slate of new unscripted series including vehicles for football player Vince Young and rapper DMX at its upfront presentation Monday in New York.

“BET has always been known for hot music and great award shows, but now we’re moving into primetime with a broader mix of new shows than ever before,” BET president of entertainment Reginald Hudlin said.

Among the projects in the works is “Next Level: Vince Young,” a reality series that follows the quarterback as he ventures into the pro game, and “DMX: Soul of a Man,” which will take a look at the troubled rapper’s personal life.

Now I’ll have to find out what channel BET comes on with my cable.

[tag]Roger Clemens[/tag] picks up his National League Championship ring and then catches for fellow Longhorn legend Vince Young as he throws at the first pitch. As usual, he throws a perfect strike.

Nice overhand throwing motion from Vince, I bet NFL scouts would love that. With his size and athleticism, if he’d have grown up with a baseball in his hand he’d probably have been a remarkable centerfielder. Of course, the Longhorns already win plenty of championships in baseball so I think he picked the right sport.

Wonderlic score is going to mean added pressure when he throws for scouts at Texas’ Pro Day.

It is amazing to me how fast rumors spread and how so many versions of a story can come across in the meda. Did [tag]Vince Young[/tag] really get a 6 on the Wonderlic Test. Did he re-take the test and then score a 16? Did the grader of test actually make a mistake in scoring, proving that he would probably score a 1 on the test? All of these questions are up in the are at this moment, and I think the NFL really needs to come out and clarify the situation.

It seems to me that the consensus of stories that I am hearing is that Vince Young did in fact get quite a low score on his first test on Saturday, and then on Sunday was allowed to retake the test and then scored a 16. Now I will admit that a 16 is not great, but to me football IQ is much different than book IQ. And I think I read somewhere that Dan Marino scored a 14, and his career turned out to be just a little bit ok.

So I think we should all just wait until the truth really comes out and hold our opinions until then.

Latest Updates:

• False score gives Young wrong kind of buzz
• Only a 6? No, Young did better on Wonderlic
• GM refutes reports Young scored poorly

Someone sent me this hilarious quote about Vince Young and Marcus Vick.

“Texas quarterback Vince Young has decided to go pro, and Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick has decided to go con.”

So true. So true.

The Houston Chronicle is reporting that Vince Young has scheduled a press conference for 3pm today and will announce he is headed for the NFL. Young will reportedly sign with Steve McNair’s agent Bus Cook.

Obviously disappointing news for Longhorn fans but probably the best decision for Vince. His stock is about as high as anyone’s could get right now and he’s probably got a chance for some endorsements coming off his legendary Rose Bowl performance. Also, the hometown Houston Texans are drafting number one overall and his mentor McNair’s Tennessee Titans are sitting at number three. I think things are setting up for him to head to the Titans and spend a year or two learning under McNair (who is unsigned but looks close to completing a deal) while he finishes up his career.

Young’s departure would leave the Horns unbelievably thin and inexperienced at the quarterback position for next season. Redshirt freshman Colt McCoy would be the only scholarship QB on campus right now and he’s never taken a snap. Fortunately, blue chip recruit Jevan Snead will also be on campus this Spring and will have a chance to go through practices with the team. Snead performed very well in yesterday’s US Army All-American Bowl and will compete for the starting job. We’ll have a complete look at the Longhorn depth chart for 2006 sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Again, tough news if true but we wish him the best and will immediately become fans of whatever team he ends up with.

Update

It’s official, good luck Vince.

Update 2

Just to clear something up, I didn’t mention Sherrod Harris, the other QB recruit coming in, because unlike Snead he won’t be here in the Spring and I think that puts him well behind McCoy and Snead. He definitely has the skills and smarts to make an impact at Texas but he’s more of a project and might not be able to compete for the position immediately.