You know in the movies when they say the main character has fallen from grace? That’s what happened to quarterback Vince Young over the past couple of years, only this fall is somewhat resembles the scene from Lord of the Rings when Gandalf is fighting the Balrog and there’s that one shot of them falling into a massive cave into an underwater lake.
Once upon a time, way back in 2006, Vince Young stepped into the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA and led his Texas Longhorns into battle against the explosive offense of Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, and the USC Trojans. It was the most anticipated Rose Bowl in college football history. Both sides were laden with talent that have since put on NFL uniforms.
Finishing the game in true Hollywood style (since they were right around the corner), Young rushed into the end zone with 19 seconds left, capping a fourth-quarter, game-winning drive in the biggest game of his career.
He goes on to win MVP and is drafted 3rd overall by the Tennessee Titans. In the NFL, he receives rookie of the year and a spot in the Pro Bowl. He was going to lead the Titans to many Super Bowl victories and ride off into the sunset. The future was so bright that you had to shield your eyes, because sunglasses wouldn’t suffice. Ah, Young had it good.
But his career didn’t exactly pan out as he would have liked. Instead of leading his team to the playoffs every year like other top quarterbacks a la Peyton Manning, he had an unusually inconsistent stint with the Titans. There were spurts of greatness followed by moments of mind-numbing mediocrity followed by greatness again. It was as if his career needed a Valium or something.
It can’t be all blamed on Young, however. If you’ve ever played a team sport, you know that athletes tend to get in grooves. Once you start playing well, you are motivated to keep playing well because… well, it just feels good. But as any athlete knows, everything can get derailed in the blink of an eye by a nasty little thing called an injury.
A well-known fact is that football players have a 100% chance of getting injured at some point in their career. Vince Young and his… aura, energy, karma, whatever you’d like to call it… has seemed to take this to heart. In 2008, he was replaced by Kerry Collins in Week 1 because of a knee injury. Even though he was cleared to play a few weeks later, coach Jeff Fisher decided to go with Collins for the rest of the season. The Titans went on to finish 13-3.
And then there was that issue about his mental health. Apparently, or so the story went, Young got so upset after fans booed him during a game against the Jaguars, in which he threw a number of picks, that he left home without his cell phone and went missing for hours. It was speculated that he fell into a depression and intended to end his own life. Fortunately for everyone, it didn’t happen.
Another well publicized incident was his feud with Fisher. After injuring his thumb while playing the Redskins, Fisher held him out even though he felt good to go. After the game, Young threw his shoulder pads into the crowd and had an altercation with Fisher in the locker room. This would be the last time he would put on a Titans uniform. Things obviously didn’t go well, because shortly afterward Young was replaced, and then released after the season.
A brief stint with the Eagles, playing back up to Michael Vick, proved to be uneventful, and Young was released after the season. But he wasn’t released because of his performance.
“One of the biggest things there was I asked Andy (Reid), ‘Could I be part of the team again?’ He was like, ‘I would love for you to stay here, but you’re not a backup quarterback,’ so when I heard the big guy, big red, say that, it showed me more confidence and more respect that he had for me.”
Having gone from one of the most decorated college players to a rarely used backup, Young has had a long fall. As of right now, he is technically unemployed; however, all is not lost. Several teams are rumored to be interested in his services. And the truth is, he still does have his mobility. He’s only 28, and that means he has more than a few years left in terms of athleticism.
Time is on the side of the two-time Pro Bowler. With his natural abilities, if he is plugged into the right system with the right team around him, he could very well contend for a championship.
And if someday Young does get to that mountaintop, he would have a jolly good time rubbing it in his critics’ faces. And yes, he has had a lot of them.
Follow Giovanni Galindo on Twitter @giogalindo
