Report: Executive says Young not up to backup duties
Does Vince Young have what it takes to be a backup quarterback to Aaron Rodgers? Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports photograph
It sounds as if newly-acquired quarterback Vince Young will get some time on the field for the Green Bay Packers tonight, despite the fact that he only has three practices under his belt.
That might be a good thing, but it also might not be depending on how he plays.
While he competes for a backup job behind Aaron Rodgers, a report on jsonline.com today cites an unnamed league executive who says that Young simply isn’t cut out to be a backup quarterback – for any team.
The executive goes so far as to say that the signing of Young by the Packers appears to have been done in panic mode:
"“Unless you’re saying that maybe Graham (Harrell) is that guy supporting (Rodgers) on game day but he’s just not ready to be the guy, and that’s how you’re rationalizing it, it’s just so strange to me. I respect them so much. It just screams of an emergency move.”"
Young has all the tools: size (6-5, 230 pounds) and athleticism, as well as some success in the league. However, he just didn’t blossom into an elite quarterback like so many thought he would. In addition, according to the report, the executive said that not only did he not become the starting quarterback everyone envisioned, but that he more importantly doesn’t have what it takes to be a backup quarterback in this league.
Not that Young doesn’t understand the game, the executive, who is said to have seen him operate on a day-to-day basis, said that the quarterback doesn’t have the preparation skills needed for a NFL signal-caller.
“This isn’t a guy who’s going to read coverages from the sideline and be in your ear about things he’s seeing. All these little things that maybe don’t come to the forefront when you talk about a back-up quarterback, you see them holding clipboards, that’s always the moniker, but not many people understand what that means, what that can do.”
In other words, this executive doesn’t think that Young could handle the Packers backup position even if he were to earn it by playing well on the field.
“It’s going to be an interesting challenge for (Young) and one I don’t necessarily expect him to excel at.”
The executive, who said he has a ton of respect for Ted Thompson and the Packers, didn’t think the signing of Young sounded like a Thompson move. Could he have been talked into it? That’s highly unlikely given that he’s the top dog and takes responsibility for all things that deal with personnel.
But here’s what the exec said in full about that issue:
“I guess it has more to do with the sad situation in the NFL back-up quarterback market. It seemed like the kind of guys that Ted wanted around were a bit smarter than this. Maybe it’s just the impression you have around the league and the credit Ted is due, you carry that kind of respect for him. Maybe it’s being biased from being around Vince, around that experience, but it just didn’t scream of a Ted Thompson move.”
We’ll know more starting tonight and in the coming days and weeks whether this executive is right. Young has said the right things in the locker room to the press, but whether he can turn his past experiences into positives in Green Bay, Wisconsin, remains to be seen.