Open Letter to Vince Young

Vince....

Unless you are completely clueless, never watch TV, never read the paper, never read the internet, and only talk to your Mom, I have some bad news for you.

Everybody hates you and think you are not a good NFL quarterback.  They do.  Seriously.  Not only does everyone now believe you are 90% down the road to bust-ville, everybody thinks you will be unemployed by next February (at the latest).  In fact, many think you won't even be the backup QB this year. There isn't a single NFL fan outside of Tennessee or Texas that thinks you are any good at football and likes you.  Probably 75%, maybe more, of Titan fans hate you and think you suck.  Luckily, you have a small contingent of fans left in Texas that still like you.  But you need to forget about them as soon as possible.  Never talk to them again.  That is your first piece of advice.  More to follow below the fold.

I know this comes as a surprise to you.  You think you will be in the Hall of Fame and win Super Bowls.  I'm sorry I'm the one to break the news to you that you are now the laughing stock of the entire football nation.  There isn't a football writer or blogger in the nation that can go a day without using you as a punch line.  I can only guess you won't take this news well.  But alas, not all is lost.  You can turn this around.  I'm sure of it.

But to pick yourself out of the football gutter you have got to redefine yourself. 

No more of this "everybody wants me to go out there and be perfect" crap.

That couldn't be further from the truth.  Hell, most Titan fans just want you to be average, let alone perfect.  All NFL fans outside of Titan-land want nothing more than for you to fail even bigger than you already have.  Everybody hates you, which is the exact opposite of wanting you to be perfect.  You have very few fans left.

We all know how you work now.  You want to be loved.  You want to make everyone happy with your football talents.  You want everyday to be just like those glorious moments after the Rose Bowl.  You remember, don't you?  Standing in the end zone, soaking up the praise and admiration of a nation.  Being on the cover of SI.  You should be proud of what you did at Texas, and what you did in your first year in Nashville.  But you've had more than enough time to drink Tequila and reflect in your great moments.

Those times are long gone.  In fact, that is step 1 of a 3 step plan.

Step 1.  Forget about all of the good things you have ever done in the past on the football field.

Step 2.  Forget about all the bad things you have done on (and off the field) lately.

And here is the crux of this advice on how to become relevant again.

Step 3.  Became the Villain.

This is going to be hard for you to do.  You have wanted to be the good guy your whole life.  Giving Madison High fans state championships.  Giving the state of Texas national championships.  Trying to get your old hometown NFL team a Super Bowl trophy.  But no more.  Quit fucking trying to please people.  Quit trying to please you teammates.  Quit trying to please the press.  Quit trying to please the fans.  Just quit.  They all hate you, so why the hell are you trying to do something for them?

You have always been the "face" on the football field.  Now it is time for you to be the "heel".

I've thought alot about this and I truly believe this is the best way for you to regain your edge.

Instead of getting your feelings hurt that the fans boo you, you need to want the fans to boo you.  That may be hard to understand, so I'll repeat.

Don't get mad when people boo you and pout.  Try to get people to boo you.  Want people to boo you.  Thrive off of people booing you.

Be the bad guy.  Be the villain.  Get pissed.

Go out there every day to prove the doubters wrong.  Come to grips that the whole country hates you and thinks you suck.  Every yard you gain.  Every pass you complete.  Every TD you make, needs to be to rub it in everyone's face.  And when you do something good on the field, you need to look at the press and the fans and tell them to F-off.  Tell them it isn't for them.  Tell them you hate them too. 

You need to regain your edge on the field.  You need to find something that lets you unleash your skills.  Something needs to help you run faster and hit harder, because whatever has been going on in your head the last year isn't working.  You are hesitant to throw.  You are not relying on instincts.  You are thinking too much and are too afraid to play bad. 

You need to play mad.  You need to be the villain.  You need to look to take out frustration on every defender lining up against you.  I see the "happy-go-lucky" look in your eyes and it is killing your play.  Quit smiling.  Quit laughing.  Surely you aren't having a good time when everyone is laughing at you, are you?

Do you watch UFC?  You should go watch the last Brock Lesnar match.  Watch how he fights pissed.  Watch his aggression.  Watch how he treats the crowd after the fight.  Find that sort of intensity and anger in your soul and unleash it.

You are not going to succeed by trying to prove the Titans right for picking you #3.  You need to try to prove people wrong for saying you are a bust.  And then if you happen to turn this around and start to play good, you need look at the fans and at the press and tell them to shove it.  Make people hate you for playing good and not being gracious about it.  You should hope they say you are a good player and a bad sport.  Right now they say you are bad player and a bad sport. 

When you drop back to pass and see an open WR, try to break their knuckles with a rocket pass.  When the pocket breaks down, run as if every defender on the field just punched your Mom in the face.  Seriously, get fucking angry!!!!  Quit freaking trying to please people and prove you are not the wimp everybody now thinks you are.

So, lets recap.

--Everybody hates you

--Everybody thinks you suck

--You are on the verge of being unemployed

--You need to forget about the past and focus on being NFL's version of Brock Lesnar.  Be the villain.

Try to punish people when they try to tackle you.  Play angry.  Play pissed.  Accept that everybody hates you and embrace the role.  Be mean to the press.  Be mean to the fans.  Be mean to the defense.  The only way your teammates are going to follow you is if they believe you are going to do whatever it takes to win and will stomp on any defender that gets in your way.  Don't help any defender off the ground.  Don't pat a defender on the butt when they tackle you.  Don't smile.  Play so fucking mad that even Cortland Finnegan thinks you need to keep your cool.  Don't worry about personal fouls.  Don't worry about what people think about you.  Make it your goal to be the strongest, hardest QB to tackle.  One that punishes defenders.

Get freaking angry and embrace your new role as America's newest hated football player.  Be the villain, Vince.  Be the villain.  It might be the only way you can regain your old edge on the field.  All this pouting only makes you physically and mentally weak.  Make it your mission to be the angriest football player in the NFL.