News Flash: Norm Chow Wanted Matt Leinart Instead of Vince Young

by Jimmy on Aug 27, 2008 4:08 PM CDT in News Comment 26 comments

Former Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow was on the Wake Up Zone on 104.5 this morning and had this to say about the 3rd pick in the 2006 NFL Draft:

"Everyone knew who I wanted and... the minute that they took Vince I told my wife, 'I think my days are numbered here.'"

Obviously Chow is talking about Leinart. So basically the Chow VY relationship was doomed from the beginning. What I can't figure out is did he say this because he didn't think VY would fit his system, or because he didn't think VY was good enough to play quarterback in the NFL. Either way it is a terrible attitude to have, and it goes a long way in explaining why he and VY never seemed to mesh.

You can say what you want about VY's progression so far, but Leinart has been worse. I know Leinart has had some injury issues, but even when he has been healthy he hasn't been any good, and keep in mind that he has not one but two receivers in Arizona that are 100 times better than anyone here.

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"Everyone knew who I wanted and... the minute that they took Vince I told my wife, 'I think my days are numbered here.'"

Spoken like a true champion.

/sincere

Michael Roos doesn't eat pitas because NOTHING BREAKS THE POCKET ON HIS WATCH!!!

by August West on Aug 27, 2008 4:24 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Or he could have meant

That because they didn’t honor his request for the QB he really wanted, that he figured he wasn’t going to be a good fit (coach / owner won’t listen to me). Impossible to know what he meant exactly, but any way you cut it he wasn’t the right OC, and Leinart probably wasn’t the right QB.

I was rooting for Cutler, personally – but I was excited by the VY pick too.

by numbertenox on Aug 27, 2008 5:19 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Uh hmm... Annnnnyway...

…I hear that Mike Heimerdinger is a pretty awesome OC. Glad we got him and can’t wait to see the offense in full swing this year.

Superman was an amateur.

by MilkyWhiteNegro on Aug 27, 2008 5:45 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Well,

He had Leinart in college, didn’t he?

by Rustmeister on Aug 27, 2008 6:52 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

2 years of Chow

was too much…..

he was terrible at find the correct play to run….his schemes were bad….he had bad instincts and no guts…..

by zackmann on Aug 27, 2008 7:01 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Leinart

Leinart and Young have been equally bad. Titans would have been so much better off with Cutler, but that was tough to see because he played for a bad school.

by MasterRWayne on Aug 27, 2008 7:22 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

In 2005...

Cutler led an awful Vandy team to wins over Tennessee, Arkansas, and Ole Miss, and hung 42 on Florida in a 49-42 loss IN Gainsville. That victory over UT was the first since 1982 and Cutler was SEC player of the year as only the second ’Dore to throw for over 3K in a season.

In short, it didn’t take a leap of faith to think he’d be a very good pro.

Yay, sports.

by MDC on Aug 27, 2008 8:14 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not to folks who saw every home game he played

and every away game that was on TV… I begged and pleaded for Cutler then and Bennett this off season.

No comment on the Vince slight; you kids have already convinced yourselves that VY’s accomplishments never happened and only his bad plays exist.

Michael Roos doesn't eat pitas because NOTHING BREAKS THE POCKET ON HIS WATCH!!!

by August West on Aug 27, 2008 8:27 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe, but Vince was AMAZING with a capital Z during the Rose Bowl.

I wanted VY, and I was way glad that the Titans took him. Plus, given the team’s history with using QB mobiliy successfully (see also: McNair in Super Bowl, etc.), I thought then (and still do) that VY was the right choice for this team. Maybe not every team, but this team.

And I’m not gonna say that VY can’t or won’t do it at the pro level until he has pro-caliber receivers. If he was playing with AZ’s receivers, I dare say the team would have looked a lot better at least twice this preseason.

Besides which, he played well in his rookie season. He didn’t play well last year. So I think you’d have to say that THIS is the really telling year for what kind of career we can expect him to have long-term.

DannoE

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

by DannoE on Aug 28, 2008 8:12 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

cutler

cutler took over a 7-5 team that was currently sitting in a playoff spot and let them OUT of the playoffs…..then followed that up by leading a veteran Denver team with a solid defense to an underwhelming season where the “Great Leader” Shanahan is on the hotseat for the first time ever….

cutler has good stats and is bad in the win/loss column…..

by zackmann on Aug 28, 2008 8:33 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ughh

If you think Denver had a good defense last year you are sadly mistaken.

Cutler is more of a QB than Vince Young will ever be. Also, you know I too am glad that you guys took Vince Young because it means your team is set back at LEAST 4-6 years while my team, the Colts, continues to stack up on talent.

Heck the Texans will probably pass you guys this year.

by MasterRWayne on Aug 28, 2008 10:02 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

That is what everyone keeps saying,

but let me ask you this, How have the Texans improved since last season?

Titans Blogger at Music City Miracles

by Jimmy on Aug 28, 2008 10:11 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mario enters year three...

and it was really the second half of year 2 when everything clicked for him, so we’ll get 16 games of his dominance this year.

Amobi is a year older and won’t hit a wall after week 12 like he did last year.

Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson are healthy.

Frank Okam gives the team its first true NT ever (and, hopefully, means less Travis Johnson in our lives)

Steve Slaton seems on a fast track to taking the starting RB gig by week 4 or 5, if not sooner, and he’s running like an every down back right now.

Fred Bennett was fantastic over the second half of last year. See the part about Mario for explanation.

HEALTH. For two years, we’ve had nearly 20 guys end the season on IR. One assumes that sort of thing evens out over time and will no happen again.

Duane Brown is already playing LT, especially in pass D, very well. Which is something we could never say about Ephraim Salaam.

Alex Gibbs and Ray Rhodes joined the staff.

Etc.

Yay, sports.

by MDC on Aug 28, 2008 10:31 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

And Chris Brown. Don't forget Chris Brown!

Seriously, I thought the Texans took a big step last year, but their defense looks about like Tennessee’s Offense right now.

DannoE

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

by DannoE on Aug 28, 2008 10:41 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

That is the big concern. Jimmy was just asking where we improved. This biggest improvement we could have made, firing Richard Smith as DC, we chose not to do.

I am hoping that the defense so far has looked awful because we don’t want to tip our hand as to blitz packages, but I don’t even know if I believe that.

Yay, sports.

by MDC on Aug 28, 2008 11:16 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

You left out

an unproven head coach, an unproven and frail QB, only 1 LB that’s worth much (though he’s a beast), no DL depth, no proven talent in the secondary until Dunta is back and healthy, no running game (Slaton is a guessing game and I bet Chris Brown already knows the team doctor’s kids on a first name basis he’s hurt so much)…

Gibbs should really help the running game, but his linemen/scheme have always gotten QBs knocked around (thus all the bootlegs that Denver and ATL ran)…

I’m just saying, there’s a lot more questions there than you were letting on. NOt saying you guys can’t improve, but I’d bet against it.

Michael Roos doesn't eat pitas because NOTHING BREAKS THE POCKET ON HIS WATCH!!!

by August West on Aug 28, 2008 10:44 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

At least that's what Richard Justice says

I’m just kidding with you guys now!

Michael Roos doesn't eat pitas because NOTHING BREAKS THE POCKET ON HIS WATCH!!!

by August West on Aug 28, 2008 10:54 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sorta true

Zac Diles is apparently going to be a damn fine SLB. He’s a converted MLB, so he has the speed for it. I wasn’t high on him coming in, but he’s looked great. (Greenwood, on the other hand, has looked abysmal.)

Fred Bennett was one of FO’s highest-rated DBs last year. I see no reason why he won’t improve on that, since he was doing that without Dunta in the lineup for the most part.

Chris Brown won’t make the team.

Slaton is a guessing game, but he looks comfortable in the system, has added 15 lbs, and is running hard. It’s a crapshoot, but I feel better about him than I do about Ahman Green or Darius Walker.

There are definitely a lot of questions, don’t get me wrong. Jimmy was just asking how we’d improved.

Yay, sports.

by MDC on Aug 28, 2008 11:21 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

"Fred Bennett was one of FO’s highest-rated DBs last year."

I honestly hasn’t noticed that… tohcè good sir

Michael Roos doesn't eat pitas because NOTHING BREAKS THE POCKET ON HIS WATCH!!!

by August West on Aug 28, 2008 11:30 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Best part is, if VY does improve, you twerps won't even give him credit for it.

because for a guy who’s ‘set us back’, your boys sure have a hard time beating him so far!

Michael Roos doesn't eat pitas because NOTHING BREAKS THE POCKET ON HIS WATCH!!!

by August West on Aug 28, 2008 10:16 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

See, this is why I dislike you RWayne.

It’s the “ever” in that statement. You can make an argument that VY is behind Cutler now. I wouldn’t agree, but you can say it and defend it on the merits.

But then saying Cutler will ALWAYS be better is just foolish. You don’t know. No one knows.

DannoE

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

by DannoE on Aug 28, 2008 10:20 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

almost all of the people who really hammer VY make the same damn mistake.

mostly because they either have an axe to grind, or they’re so dumb they always speak in hyperbolic absolutes… it makes me go further the opposite direction.

Michael Roos doesn't eat pitas because NOTHING BREAKS THE POCKET ON HIS WATCH!!!

by August West on Aug 28, 2008 10:30 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's just weird. I mean, Eli Manning was pedestrian at best for 3/4 of last year.

But he was GREAT for the last quarter, the one that really mattered. So, bottom line, you’d think folks would allow for the possibility of growth, especially since Eli’s last name is “Manning”.

DannoE

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

by DannoE on Aug 28, 2008 10:40 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

They're blinded by play style.

Colts fans watch, every week, one of the greatest traditional QBs ever to play the game. So, since Peyton is so very very good (and he is, I just wish he played in a different division), they can’t conceive that a QB who doesn’t play the way Peyton does can ever have success.

by hartley on Aug 28, 2008 10:44 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

This Titan fan to Norm Chow:

STFU already.

by hartley on Aug 28, 2008 1:33 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I have to say, after hearing the clip replayed on 104.5 this morning

Chow did say ‘I had no problem with Vince and still have no problem with Vince’. It made the whole statement sound like more of an indictment of the front office and Fisher’s faith in him, than throwing VY under the bus.

Still a dumb, cry-baby thing to say.

Michael Roos doesn't eat pitas because NOTHING BREAKS THE POCKET ON HIS WATCH!!!

by August West on Aug 28, 2008 8:35 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs