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On Vince Young's Career Record

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30-17.  If you are in a debate with someone defending Vince Young, it is inevitable that he or she is going to throw that number at you.  That is Vince Young's career record as a starter.  That person will tell you that 30-17 proves that VY is a good NFL quarterback and you are crazy for thinking otherwise.  They will also point out the saving of Fisher's job last year with an 8-2 finish from VY.  The problem is those numbers doesn't really mean anything out of context, and this post is dedicated to putting that record in context.

First a few comments on 8-2 to end last season.  Everyone was pumped heading into this year because of that, but if you go back and look at the teams the Titans faced, it really isn't that impressive.  There were three games against teams that ended up making the playoffs.  The Titans were 1-2 in those games, and it took a miracle drive for the one win, the game against the Cardinals, and the Cards ran out Matt Leinart instead of Kurt Warner in that game.  This paragraph is really an indictment against the whole team- not just Vince Young.  The defense was better later in the season, but that was helped tremendously by facing some pretty bad offenses.

Now to the argument that is VY specific.  In his career he is 5-10 against teams that ended up making the playoffs, and that includes his one playoff start that was a loss.  So let's just calm it down with the "all he does is win stuff," or just change it to "all he does is win against bad teams."

Click through the jump for the individual game breakdowns.

 

2006

Opponent Comp Att Yds TD INT Rating Carries Yds TD Fumbles
Cowboys 14 29 155 1 2 47.3 5 3 0 2
Colts 10 21 63 0 1 34.4 4 43 1 0
Ravens 13 25 211 0 1 63.9 8 39 1 0
Eagles 8 22 101 1 0 66.7 8 49 0 1
Giants 24 35 249 2 0 107.9 10 69 1 1
Colts 15 25 163 2 2 72.6 7 78 0 0
Patriots 15 36 227 0 2 39.9 2 29 1 2
Totals 99 193 1,169 6 8 63.2 46 310 4 6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quick note: Fumbles are listed whether lost or not because that is random.

So in his rookie year the record is probably in line with what you would expect from most QBs against the better teams (meaning that most QBs are going to have a worst record against playoff teams than overall record) , but the numbers are terrible. Don't come with the rookie excuse for those numbers because if you throw the numbers out because he is a rookie you also have to throw the record out, and you that would mean you lose 3 of the 5 wins- which is an indictment in and of itself because the only 2 wins he has against playoff teams after his rookie season are the game the Colts gave the Titans in 2007 and the Cards win against Third-String Leinart.

2007

Opponent Comp Att Yds TD INT Rating Carries Yds TD Fumbles
Colts 17 27 184 1 0 95.3 5 53 0 0
Bucs 11 14 120 0 1 72.6 3 6 0 1
Chargers 13 21 121 0 2 38.1 2 2 0 0
Colts 14 18 157 0 0 103 4 19 0 0
Chargers 16 29 138 0 1 53.5 2 12 0 0
Totals 71 109 720 1 4 71.7 19 92 0 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vince didn't face any playoff teams in 2008 because he just started the opener against the Jaguars.

2009

Opponent Comp Att Yds TD INT Rating Carries Yds TD Fumbles
Cardinals 27 43 387 1 0 99.7 4 8 0 0
Colts 24 43 241 2 1 77.8 4 16 0 2
Chargers 8 21 89 0 2 11.9 6 40 1 1
Totals 59 107 717 3 2 77.5 14 64 1 3

 

 

 

 

 

So here is his career line against playoff teams:

Comp Att Yds TD INT Rating Carries Yds TD Fumbles
Career 229 409 2,060 10 14 63.6 74 466 5 10

 

 

 

Again, 5-10 against the upper echelon of teams in the NFL, which keep in mind are the teams that he would have to beat to win a Super Bowl. I still believe that VY has all of the physical tools to be a good NFL quarterback, and there is no doubt he has made huge strides on the field in his first 5 years, but he hasn't done anything yet to prove that is is going to be a guy that can lead a franchise to the Super Bowl.