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Young Aiming for Elite Status

By DAVE HOLLANDER,
AOL
Posted: 2008-06-12 20:38:34
Filed Under: NFL
As the NFL teams head into mandatory three-day mini-camps, Vince Young remains the one of the most intriguing players going into the 2008 season. People can complain all they want about the Titans having he fewest (9) TD passes in the NFL last season, but they can’t say Vince Young hasn’t been a winner. 2008 will be an interesting test for the third-year QB who took a moment away from his training to tell us if other teams are cheating he may very well quit football, give us his theories on footwear, acknowledged his unique and sensitive position vis-à-vis the new collective agreement negotiations.


DAVE HOLLANDER: What do you make of all this spying stuff?
VINCE YOUNG: I don’t really too much care about it. I know if it really happened, if it’s true, that’s very upsetting as an NFL player -- a guy that’s played the game everyday. Because you always want to be fair. We’re all out here competing. We’re all out here getting ready to play these games. And, if you can’t get ready to play off the film you watch on other teams and you have to cheat, I feel like that’s bad. I hope it’s not true. Because if they're starting to do stuff like that, I’m gonna get out of the game. Because I don’t think it’s fair to the guys playing the game and I don’t think it’s fair for the fans who enjoy the game.

DH: If you lost a playoff game and found out the other team was stealing your signals, how would you feel?
VY: If you can’t just win a game by going out there and competing and going off your instincts then you shouldn’t be a part of the game. A lot of people pay a lot money to watch the game. A lot people pay money to come out an support the guys who play. If you’re doing stuff like that, you know, (pauses) that’s pretty bad, man.

DH: How did you feel after your playoff loss last year in you first NFL playoff game?
VY: It was a bad taste. The good part about it is we did make it. That was one of my goals: to get to the playoffs. Now it’s to get farther in the playoffs and get to a Super Bowl. But to get the taste in my mouth, to get the feel of it -- I know what to expect. I know what it takes to get there. It was great feeling, for the team, for the city, for the whole community. I’m looking forward to doing it again.

DH: With your “VY Electrify” are you trying to do for football shoes what Michael Jordan did for basketball sneakers?
VY: Definitely. You know, when I got drafted into the NFL I said I wanted to be the Michael Jordan of football. The respect a lot of people had for him, I want that respect in football and across the world. With the Reebok Electrify shoe, it’s helping me reach my dream.

DH: Stephon Marbury is no Michael Jordan but he sells his sneakers for $9. How much will your cleats go for?
VY: (No comment from Vince, but his publicist did email us pricing: $99.99 for cleats and $64.99 for the cross trainer that comes out in July. When it comes to sneakers Vince Young is no Stephon Marbury. )

DH: But really, Vince, how much can a different set of cleats improve your game?
VY: A lot. It can make you feel good. If the shoe looks good, your performance is gonna look good. Just like when you get a hair cut, you feel great, right? So vice-versa with a nice shoe on your foot.

DH: Are these cleats going to be too much of an advantage, like a performance enhancing drug?
VY: It’s a big advantage. I like the cleat because it’s real light. The heel and the toe have the pump on it so you can squeeze it and your feet don’t be sliding around. Some shoes, when you have on a certain pair of socks on, you slide around in your shoes.


DH: You’ve had success in high school, college, now NFL. People talk about the business side of the NFL but on the field is football still football?
VY: On the field football is always football. But it’s the things off the field that’s the crazy part about being an NFL quarterback. But on Sunday you can take your mind off all the other stuff that’s going on in your life and just play the game you love.

DH: When you hear the words “running quarterback” how dumb does it sound to you?
VY: It don’t sound dumb at all. I guess ‘cause I run a little bit. Everybody is free to make their own opinions. But to me, I feel like I’m an elite quarterback. I don’t have the stats like some of those guys you see out there but you if you look at my winning stats, it’s pretty high. (laughs) That’s all that matters to me, man, winning the ballgame. Being a leader. Being a role model . Being humble. That’s all that matters to me. The stats and all that, it’s looks good certain days, but as long as we walk off the football field with a Dub (a “W,” a win) that’s all that matters to me.

DH: The Titans chose not take a receiver with their first round draft pick this summer. You care?
VY: The guys that’s upstairs, I trust ’em. That’s their job. My job is downstairs, along with some of the other leaders on the team. It’s up to us to go out there and play football. Ain’t no matter who’s out there, what guy. Everybody’s getting paid to take care of their responsibility. I feel like the guys we have -- Justin Gage, Justin McCareins, Roydell (Williams), BJ (Brandon Jones) -- the receivers we have, I think we’re gonna really be good. Got a guy like [Alge] Crumpler added to the team. Bo Scaife's still there. A lot of people will see this year the type of talent we’re going to have on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

DH: Alge Crumpler is 6-2, 262 pounds. How hard will it be to miss that target?
VY: It’ll be very hard. Seriously, it won’t be hard to throw to him at all because of his great hands. Just from the looks of mini-camp and practices, me and him have been connecting real well right now.

DH: Some NFL players do very intensive offseason workouts -- running up mountains, chopping wood, pulling a Mack truck, whatever. What do you do?
VY: Definitely not none of that crap! (laughing) You catch me in the weight room working out. You catch me running with my teammates, throwing to receivers. Then you catch me in the film room with Coach (Mike) Heimerdinger going over film, working with him, watching old tape of myself and seeing what I need to do to get better. I don’t know about pulling tractors and all that.

DH: Titans center Kevin Mawae is NFLPA president. Being the man who puts his hand behind Mawae’s sensitive area snap after snap, how much influence could you have on collective bargaining negotiations?
VY: (laughs!) I can throw some things in here but I won’t. He’s still the man. He’s a grown , grown man! He’s been in the league for a long time so I feel like he knows what he’s doing.

DH: One false move, Vince, and you could cause a players strike.
VY: (lauging) He won’t do that. Me and him got a great relationship.

Dave Hollander is the author of 52 WEEKS: Interviews with Champions! and blogs for The Huffington Post. Info at: www.davehollander.com

2008 AOL LLC. All Rights Reserved.
2008-06-10 15:54:55


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auntiea42 10:58:52 AM Jun 16 2008

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YOUNG IS JUST ANOTHER BLACK WANNABE QB....ALONG WITH MCNABB, MCNAIR,YOUNG VICK........THEY REALLY CAN'T MAKE THE CROSS-OVER INTO THE BIG TIME FROM COLLEGE......THEY SHOULD OF STUDIED IN SCHOOL, NOT JUST SLIDE BY BECAUSE OF FOOTBALL.

dapperdan999 11:40:44 PM Jun 14 2008

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Check out this Football Simulation Game:

http://goallineblitz.com/game/signup.pl?ref=12028999

dnbubba 11:14:50 AM Jun 13 2008

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What is wrong with you people?

nickcherryl 10:53:24 AM Jun 13 2008

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Won't happen he is going to be with Obama in the cabinet, going to take care of all the white folks that Obama does'nt care for.

dnbubba 09:57:28 AM Jun 13 2008

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Also he does not say he wins games Dave Hollander says it.

dnbubba 09:55:10 AM Jun 13 2008

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Read the title you idiots. It says "Young aiming for elite status". Nowhere does he claim to be an elite QB. Dumb ass Giants fan probably didn't even read the whole interview before you responded.

reste0123 09:31:54 AM Jun 13 2008

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This guy's not even in the top 20 QB's in the league. All the teams that drafted these "running" QBs out of college have gone nowhere. The "pocket" Qb's..Brady, both Mannings, Favre, Romo, and the list goes on are the ones that can lead a team. This guy couldnt hit the water if he fell out of the boat. Leadership, Field awareness, Poise and a strong arm is what makes a winner........Ask Michael Vick or McNab. All dumber then a box of rocks...

mgraber16 03:42:16 AM Jun 13 2008

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He is no elite quarterback thats for sure, and they only made the playoffs cuz the colts handed them the game, it was ********, he will never come close to being the "michael jordan of football"

hehateme1051 08:24:34 PM Jun 12 2008

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"Michael Jordan of basketball" VY considers himself an elite QB. ARE YOU SERIOUS. The guy threw 17 interceptions with only 9 TDs last year. He's barely an average NFL QB. He says he "wins games". He doesn't win games, the Titans defense and running game wins games.

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