AceRimRat
04-29-2006, 01:02 PM
Live from the Draft: Opting for Young
April 29, 2006
By Eric “Ace” Strauss, Raiderfans.net/Fanpass.net Staff Columnist
http://www.fanpass.net/2006_NFL_Draft/young.jpg
Needing to replace aging star Steve McNair, the Tennessee Titans had a choice of quarterbacks with the third pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. On the board were the two consensus top passers: Texas’ national champion, Vince Young, and Southern Cal’s former Heisman winner, Matt Leinart.
The USC connection was clear: Leinart won the Heisman Trophy quarterbacking for Trojans offensive coordinator Norm Chow, who moved on to the Titans in 2005. And Leinart has been considered the most polished passer in the draft.
But Young clearly has the bigger upside. He has a stronger arm, faster feet, and was a one-man gang ending USC’s — and Leinart’s — dreams of a repeat title in the national championship game.
Reportedly, he was the choice of the Titans’ front office, while the coaching staff, for obvious reasons, favored Leinart.
In the end, the front office won out, and Young was the pick. He should quickly remind fans of McNair, who spent his rookie year watching from the sidelines before proving one of the best of the NFL’s 1990s breed of running quarterbacks.
Young started for most of his three years for the Longhorns, and fell two yards (as a redshirt freshman) shy of three 1,000-yard rushing seasons. But most importantly, he proved as a senior he wasn’t just a pair of legs, throwing for more than 3,000 yards and finishing as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.
(Sources: ESPN television coverage and NFL Draft Guide 2006, Ourlads’ Scouting Services 2006 Guide to the NFL Draft and 2005 Review, Pro Football Weekly 2006 Draft Preview, Raiders media guides, NFL media information, The Sporting News Complete Pro Football Draft Encyclopedia)
April 29, 2006
By Eric “Ace” Strauss, Raiderfans.net/Fanpass.net Staff Columnist
http://www.fanpass.net/2006_NFL_Draft/young.jpg
Needing to replace aging star Steve McNair, the Tennessee Titans had a choice of quarterbacks with the third pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. On the board were the two consensus top passers: Texas’ national champion, Vince Young, and Southern Cal’s former Heisman winner, Matt Leinart.
The USC connection was clear: Leinart won the Heisman Trophy quarterbacking for Trojans offensive coordinator Norm Chow, who moved on to the Titans in 2005. And Leinart has been considered the most polished passer in the draft.
But Young clearly has the bigger upside. He has a stronger arm, faster feet, and was a one-man gang ending USC’s — and Leinart’s — dreams of a repeat title in the national championship game.
Reportedly, he was the choice of the Titans’ front office, while the coaching staff, for obvious reasons, favored Leinart.
In the end, the front office won out, and Young was the pick. He should quickly remind fans of McNair, who spent his rookie year watching from the sidelines before proving one of the best of the NFL’s 1990s breed of running quarterbacks.
Young started for most of his three years for the Longhorns, and fell two yards (as a redshirt freshman) shy of three 1,000-yard rushing seasons. But most importantly, he proved as a senior he wasn’t just a pair of legs, throwing for more than 3,000 yards and finishing as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.
(Sources: ESPN television coverage and NFL Draft Guide 2006, Ourlads’ Scouting Services 2006 Guide to the NFL Draft and 2005 Review, Pro Football Weekly 2006 Draft Preview, Raiders media guides, NFL media information, The Sporting News Complete Pro Football Draft Encyclopedia)