MYTH: Vince Young went off the deep end, plain and simple.
FACTS: Nobody knows what went on, and a lot of speculation has been quoted as "fact."
What we really know from WKRN-TV, who ESPN credits as having first broken the story, is this much: http://www.wkrn.com/Global/story.asp?s=8976169 1. Vince Young left his house without a cell phone 2. He had an unloaded gun in his car, which is legal in Tennessee. 3. Someone close to him was "concerned" about him, yet to this day nobody's elaborated on why they were concerned 4. His family notified the Titans, who notified police 5. The police had negotiators on standby, which is common practice according to Nashville Metro Police spokesman Don Aaron. 6. The police eventually found him at a friend's house 7. He then met with Titans officials and went home in his own vehicle.
Quite honestly, out of those seven facts, number 2 worries me the most about his mental state. After what happened to Sean Taylor last year, that thing should've been loaded! If I were a high-profile celebrity with a lot of money traveling alone, I'd have a loaded gun with me. Even if a would-be robber didn't recognize Young, I'd be willing to bet Young has a really expensive car, which would draw attention. It's only common sense that you should protect yourself. Despite all this, the media acts like it's a bad thing when someone famous has a gun.
Given these facts, one can conlude that this was overblown. Later on that week, things really got crazy when ESPN published that Young's the#### was "suicidal." My comment on this was "If Justin McCareins was my #1 receiver, I'd want to jump out of a window too." Then I realized that the####s have to take every mention of suicide seriously, even ones like the comment I had just made. It's not that difficult to imagine someone saying "I played terribly yesterday, I need to hop in front of a moving train," and not really meaning it.
Unfortunately, due to these incindents many formerly reasonable "journalists" hopped on the anti-Vince-Young bandwagon. The most shameful of these was Adam Schefter, who out of the blue declared that Vince Young asked to be taken out of the playoff game against the Chargers. At halftime of that game, ther Titans were winning by 6 points. They weren't losing at that point, so it's not like he felt bummed by being down. But they also weren't winning by enough points where you could pull your starting quarterback. Merril Hoge came up with some crazy stuff too, but I can respect him at least because he's been against Young since before Young was drafted. Schefter either needs to come up with some real sources backing him up, or just admit he was wrong and apologize to Young. http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/09/14/young-as ked-out-of-titans-playoff-game/
All in all, this should serve as a reminder to all of us that we should think before we judge someone based on hearsay.
OK, this post was
written based on my personal opinion from watching games, not based on
stats. In my opinion, stats can only tell tell so much. I'd rather
hear about an amazing play someone made or see a video clip of that
play, I'd rather see that than just "so-and-so has a higher YPC average,
so you're wrong." Please feel free to share who your favorite players
are at this position; I enjoy debate. Also, my list of top QBs is here: http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/Football_Guru /2008/08/08/Football_Mythbusters_Whos_The_Best_QB
Also, just so you guys know, this is only a list of the best RBs who are playing today.
MYTH: (Insert a RB's name here) is the best running back in the league.
FACT: In my opinion, these are some of the best.
1.
1. LaDainian Tomlinson (Chargers) – As much as I
absolutely despise the Chargers, LaDainian Tomlinson is simply the best in the
league today, without a doubt.
2.
2. Adrian Peterson (Vikings) – If he plays
throughout his career as well as he did last year in his rookie season, he’ll
end up better than LaDainian Tomlinson in a year or two.
3.
3. Brian Westbrook (Eagles) – Amazing runner, and
he catches the ball excellently. He’s
awesome.
Most overrated: Reggie Bush
(Saints) – Gets praise, when he’s terrible.
Simply said, he’s fast, with no football skills and will not be any good
for at least three more years.
Honorable Mention: Maurice Jones-Drew, Fred Taylor, Lawrence
Maroney, Willie Parker, LenDale White, Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw, Clinton
Portis, Frank Gore, Larry Johnson, Jamal Lewis, Chester Taylor, Stephen Jackson
Could Be On This List
In a Few Years: Darren McFadden, Felix
Jones, Rashard Mendenhall, Chris Johnson (Titans) , Marshawn ####, Mike Hart, Michael Turner
OK, this post was written based on my personal opinion from watching games, not based on stats. In my opinion, stats can only tell tell so much. I'd rather hear about an amazing play someone made or see a video clip of that play, I'd rather see that than just "so-and-so has a higher QB rating, so you're wrong." Please feel free to share who your favorite players are at this position; I enjoy debate.
MYTH: (Insert a QB's name here) is the best quarterback in the league.
FACT: In my opinion, these are some of the best.
1.
1. Tom Brady (Patriots) – Dominates the league like
no other, and has great receivers to throw to.
2. 2.
Peyton Manning (Colts) – Second only to Brady,
also has good receivers. He’s getting a
tiny bit worse, but he’s still one of the best.
Not as good as he was a couple years ago.
3. 3.
Brett Favre (Jets) – He’s still great,
despite his theatrics
Most overrated: Eli Manning
(Giants) – Has shown flashes of greatness, but is completely inconsistent. He may have been Super Bowl MVP, but the
Giants won the Super Bowl because everybody else on the team played
exceptionally while Eli played mediocrely.
Most underrated: Vince Young
(Titans) – Has bad stats, so don’t take him for fantasy. However, he can throw the ball AND run it,
but the Titans’ offensive woes have been blamed on him when the problems were
really due to underacheivement by his wide receivers.
With a new receiver and new tight end, along with a rookie running back
who is fast AND catches well, the Titans’ offense will improve tremendously,
mainly due to the Titans’ management surrounding Vince with decent players to
help him realize his true potential.
Honorable mention: Drew Brees, Ben
Roethlisberger, Carson Palmer, Donovan McNabb, Tony Romo, David Garrard
Could Be On This List In a Few Years: Tarvaris Jackson, Colt Brennan, Matt Schaub, J.P. Losman, Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, JaMarcus Russell, Jay Cutler, Dennis Dixon... Should I risk mentioning Aaron Rodgers?
