Vince Young's Spring Break

by Jimmy on Mar 9, 2008 7:39 AM CST in Tennessee Titans News

Vince Young, who is enrolled full time in classes at the University of Texas, took his spring break week to come to Nashville and visit with Titans' new offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger.

"It was a great meeting. We kidded around. He's cool,'' Young said of Heimerdinger. "I like the direction things are going with the offense, some of the things we're going to do. With everything I learned from Norm, that should help me get things even quicker. It's going to be good.''

This was the first time that Young and Heimerdinger had met face to face. They will have a lot of work to do over the next few months. I haven't really commented on the whole Vince Young in school thing. It is hard to say you don't like someone going back and finishing their education, but I would think that coming off the year he had in 2007 that Vince would want to do everything in his power to get better. It also wouldn't have been as big of a deal if Norm Chow was still here, but Vince really needs to be around to work on getting comfortable with the new offense. I am glad to see that he came up here this week when he had the chance.

Vince did say he is excited about the way this team is shaping up:

"I am excited about what he (Alge Crumpler) can bring, a Pro Bowler, a veteran. That's going to help the offense, give us another weapon,'' Young said. "And we got my guy Gage re-signed. I feel like we're going to do some more things to help the offense (in free agency and the draft), too. I'm excited about things, the direction we're headed.''

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I love

Vince

by Big Bad Bulluck on Mar 9, 2008 9:07 AM CDT reply actions

mabye, finishing his degree

will help him indirectly on the field with say, higher order reasoning skills, making decisions under pressue, evaluating options, etc. Or at least we can rationalize it that way. Good for VY!

by 2tonedBLUE on Mar 9, 2008 12:51 PM CDT reply actions

I hope that all the ...

Wonderlic haters agree too!!!

by SuperHorn on Mar 9, 2008 4:29 PM CDT up reply actions

I'm waiting.....

for someone to hit us with how it would have been better if Vince had stayed in Nashville to frequent strip clubs and smoke weed. Maybe he would have had the chance to get mad at Heimerdinger and thrown a punch or two at him.

Morals don't matter. Winning does.

Being a positive role model doesn't matter as long as you're a proffesional athlete. Winning matters.

To hell with anything else. Winning is king.

Win at all costs.

Big Bill "You never lose a game if the opponent doesn't score." Darell K. Royal

by Hook em Titans on Mar 9, 2008 8:51 PM CDT reply actions

Happy to deliver...

Being a "role model" you say? How come we expect athletes to be role models, but professional musicians can be coke-head screw-ups and that's "normal".

Professional sports is a job, like any other. It's not a "privilege" to play pro sports as so many people seem to think either. It's simple economics; if you can do something remarkable with your athletic prowess, people will pay money to see it. People vote with their wallets, and if they are offended, they can spend their money elsewhere.

But Hook Em' you're hitting this argument with a blunt object. Nobody thinks that morals don't matter, but I do think that (on this board at least), morals are over-emphasized. And nobody thinks that people should run around punching coaches.

At last count, there are 7 teams looking to get Pacman. The Titans, apparently, are not even considering it. I guess Titan fans get to feel good about their moral superiority while they have one of the worst return games in the league again. If Chris Davis is the answer, I'd like to know the question...

If you are happy with settling for lesser talent, then keep feeling happy that the Titans will probably steer way clear of "low character" guys; personally I like to see more integers in the W column and less in the L column.

"Playing fair" and "being a positive role model" is a great paradigm for Pop Warner.

I'm not a Titans fan because I think these are good guys off the field... Frankly I couldn't care less if the players spent all their spare time snorting blow and banging hookers. If they put up the numbers on Sundays, I will continue to bleed two-tone blue. I want warriors on my team, not a bunch of emasculated eunuchs who spend more time thinking about community service than football.

So yeah, I like to win. sue me.

by BeansCarter on Mar 9, 2008 9:42 PM CDT reply actions

I guess we are

all fans for our own reasons. Some people just have different standards than others.

Morals over-emphasized on this board? For the 7 teams that are interested in this laughing stock of a person, there are 25 that aren't interested in such a great talent. That should tell you something.

Everyone knows that being a professional athlete comes with a certain level of responsibility. Your always in the spotlight, your always subject to scrutiny. Some morons just choose to ignore this, and that is how they end up not playing for full seasons at a time. Obviously the people on this board are not the only people that feel this way or Adam would have played this season, and the Bengals wouldn't be so embarrassed to have something so ridiculous get out into public.

There is nothing wrong with wanting good players that are good people as well. I do think Chad is a good person. A good person that lost it and made a mistake. Everyone deserves a 2nd chance, just not a 3rd 4th 5th and 100th.

And the question is, who is our 5th WR next season?

by Big Bad Bulluck on Mar 9, 2008 10:18 PM CDT up reply actions

Other teams

Besides the Titans eject problem character guys. They're a hassle, plain and simple. I don't care so much about watching my team win as enjoying watching a game, and if I hate the guys I'm watching it kinda spoils it for me. Color me old school, but I don't even like spiking the ball on touchdowns, and mock mooning fans or staging little mime plays when scoring a touchdown also makes me want to root against a guy and the team that guy is on. I can handle Albert's stomping act (as long as it's a one-off) better than I can a mime play on a touchdown - which speaks to me of pre-meditated arrogance. I for one will be happy if the Titans steer clear of problem characters for awhile.

by numbertenox on Mar 9, 2008 11:38 PM CDT up reply actions

This is very sad

"... I don't care so much about watching my team win as enjoying watching a game"

I'm just happy the players have a little more killer instinct than you do.

In any case, I feel a bit misunderstood. I don't think that backing off on the push for ethics and morality will instantly end up in anarchy. There will always be good guys and bad guys in the league. And, with our media's fascination with celebrity culture, we'll always know more than we should about their lives. The good guys are generally more likeable (as celebrities - the fan perspective), and better role models for your kids, but I think players should ultimately choose if they want to behave like role models.

Community service is noble when it's genuine, but when it's forced upon otherwise unwilling players, it's just sad. I don't believe in holding these players to higher standards than the average Joe off the street.

Do I have a line? Yeah, I do - clearly it's not the same as the other posters here. I don't advocate winning at any cost, but I have a pretty high pain threshhold for troublemakers. Look at how well T.O. did in Dallas; he just needed a little special treatment. It's ok to give players special treatment sometime. There is a model for success in there.

As far as Adam Jones, he probably is a "poison" to the locker room culture. But I think the over-arching force that is pushing him out of Nashville is the fan perception. If they think they can reign him in, I'll take the extra 1 or 2 wins that kid could get us. But clearly, here at least, I'm in the minority, ahnd he is a goner.

by BeansCarter on Mar 10, 2008 9:14 AM CDT up reply actions

I will say....

....that I appreciate your perspective. I don't agree with you on much of it, but it lets me (as well as others) know that there is a different thought process out there.

That being said, with the events surrounding #32, whether it be what he said in his recent interview on an Atlanta radio station, or his stupid actions off the field, I would rather be 10-6 without him than 12-4 with him. Call me whatever you want, but that is how I feel.

Titans Blogger at Music City Miracles

by Jimmy on Mar 10, 2008 11:21 AM CDT up reply actions

Coke head screw ups......

are exactly the reason MTV has no home in my home. You are right. Drug use and immorality has become the norm in show biz. That's a shame. Because the music industry is in decay, should we accept and allow the sports industry to follow the same path.

Why should we not teach Pop Warner kids that winning is the only thing? Why not pump them up with roids and HGH if winning is all that matters. If it's ok for the Titans, than why is it not ok for them?

I guess where our paths diverge is when you say you don't care what they do as long as they put up the numbers. I do. We agree that this is purely economic for the club. I think that's why the Titans recognize they need to get rid of A. Jones. Money talks. There are more people that do care about morality and role models than don't.

We are obviously way different. That's ok. You have your beliefs and I have mine. I am a little disappointed that you would consider someone that thinks about community service an "emasculated eunuch". I guess that explains an awful lot about our society today.

Big Bill "You never lose a game if the opponent doesn't score." Darell K. Royal

by Hook em Titans on Mar 10, 2008 12:00 AM CDT up reply actions

Argh.

It's like saying that cops and firemen aren't role models. Guys, seriously, pro athletes are high-profile entertainers, and part of their job--for which they are very well compensated--is to be role models. No they don't take the place of parents, but they mostly are people that we can all look up to--for their ability to succeed in adverse circumstances if nothing else.

As I've said here before, Eddie George is STILL one of my personal role models. Why? Because he's about the same age I am, is a terrific athlete who continues to keep himself in shape, and because after football, he used his education and name to found a successful landscape architecture company. That is INSPIRING. Why shouldn't it be?

Vince Young seems to understand all of this. One can guess from reading about him online that he's not really a coomfortable student. I dare say he's doing better in school now that he's gotten a little older and chosen to be there, but he's never gonna be a rocket scientist. That's fine. But at least he understands that there is a whole community out there who looks up to him, and he is doing what he can to inspire that community, on the field and off.

Moreover, that "Just Win Baby" attitude has only rarely been successful and never long term. The Raiders are the worst in the League for a reason, and give the Cowboys five years. What Parcells built in Dallas won't last forever. Quality people are any organization's greatest asset, even pro football teams. So, bottom line, the guys that make good role models also tend to make good players and/or employees. That's true in any business.

DannoE

Go read FRIDAY MAD SCIENCE at www.paperbackreader.com
Thanks!

by DannoE on Mar 10, 2008 7:00 AM CDT up reply actions

Being a good role model isn't important ???????

Football is the most popular sport in the country. My sons look up to these guys. Brett Favre was one of the most likeable guys that ever played the game, because he wasn't all about himself or fulfilling his own needs. He was the ultimate "warrior". Yet, he managed to achieve superstar fame while not engaging in debauchery.
PacMan Jones does not have a place with the Titans or any other football team with the way he lives his life. He may be the greatest return threat in the NFL, but if he can't play by the rules off the field he should not get the priviledge of playing onfield.
Commissioner Goodell wrote: "Your conduct has brought embarrassment and ridicule upon yourself, your club, and the NFL, and has damaged the reputation of players throughout the league. You have put in jeopardy an otherwise promising NFL career, and have risked both your own safety and the safety of others through your off-field actions. In each of these respects, you have engaged in conduct detrimental to the NFL and failed to live up to the standards expected of NFL players. Taken as a whole, this conduct warrants significant sanction

People are willing to forgive if it is just one or two infractions, but Pacman consistently makes bad personal decisions and doesn't seem to care.

I certainly don't admire Crackhead musicians or dope dependant actors. Britney Spears has proven to be the farthest thing from a role model, who honestly would look up to her?

JOY KAT

by Bergman on Mar 11, 2008 8:28 AM CDT up reply actions

missing the point...

Nice of you to remove every single nuance and wrinkle out of my arguments.

Athletes are "privileged" to play in the NFL??? This is such a fallacy! There is no reason to make a judgment on whether it's a right or a privilege... It's their occupation. Is it a privilege to "die for your country"? Is it a privilege for a Hedge Fund manager to make money trading convertible bonds? Is it a privilege to be healthy enough to get out of bed in the morning? Is it a privilege to be a running back for 10 years that does so much damage to his knees that he ends up in a wheelchair?

You'd be well served to think a little more independently than this.

The only reason so many fans perceive playing in the NFL to be a privilege is because they'd give up their own mundane lives in a heartbeat to be 'ballers'. But please pause for a moment to reflect on a basic economic principle... Just because people get rich doing something that looks like fun doesn't make it a privilege. It's known more accurately as a scarce resource, and they are compensated accordingly for being able to supply it.

I think role models are extremely important. I just don't hold athletes to any particular higher standard. If they want to be role models, good for them, if not, well good for them too... At the end of the day, that's their business, not yours; the only thing they owe the fans is a Sunday performance... Don't you get it? Their job is entertainment. Your job is to give your kid someone to look up to.

No matter how many Pacmans are out there, the Brett Favres of the world will still shine through as role models. As a parent, you can help your kids choose. And if, for some sad reason, the kid chooses Pacman, it's not the league that failed the child...

by BeansCarter on Mar 11, 2008 2:48 PM CDT reply actions

Fine, but...

...there are people who are role models by virtue of the profession. For some professions, it just comes with the territory. Firemen. Cops. Army officers. The Governor of the State of New York. And yes, even pro football players.

Clearly not everyone in these positions is going to live up to the standards of the occupation, but that doesn't mean that the occupation doesn't have standards.

DannoE

Go read FRIDAY MAD SCIENCE at www.paperbackreader.com
Thanks!

by DannoE on Mar 13, 2008 1:51 PM CDT up reply actions

I would argue that...

...any time you can put on a uniform and thereby represent an organization, like it or not, you are a role model for that organization's values. Therefore, since the NFL makes (a lot of) money on it's image, it has made a (mostly marketing) decision to make it's players role models.

And they are compensated for that.

DannoE

Go read FRIDAY MAD SCIENCE at www.paperbackreader.com
Thanks!

by DannoE on Mar 13, 2008 1:57 PM CDT up reply actions