Is it Really the Time?

Even today wasn’t too ugly, not when you consider the situation this time last year. Vince Young is still well on track to revive his career. Just when it looked like the NFL had seen the end of VY he proves everyone wrong. But where did this revival come from? It has come from the one entity there isn’t enough of these days. It’s an old fashioned value that is now very unpopular. It came from Old Mother Time. Long ago in a distant time, kids were given time to become men. They developed, took their lumps and watched older guys. Most importantly these young men learned their craft. It’s easy to forget exactly how different the NFL is compared to college. College quarterbacks play 12 games a year facing maybe 5 or 6 elite linemen or linebackers maximum, especially in these times of cupcake games. They then switch to the pro’s, walk out in their first game and face 8 elite linemen and linebackers. They have maybe a quarter of the time they have at college level, and they have less open receivers. Vince Young’s decline in his second and third years show the difference in the games, as soon as teams have film you have to adjust, Vince never did. So he sat, for a long year he sat. And he watched, he watched the gnarled veteran Kerry Collins lead the Titans to 13-3 regular season. He then lead the Titans to an 0-6 start this year, an opportunity introduced itself. November became the month of Young, a different Young, a mature Young. We know why Young was rushed into the NFL, we know why all these young QB’s are rushed to start. The amount of money that is invested in these young men that teams become tied to them, they need returns on their investments. But for those investments we get seasons like this 2009 vintage. Three first year quarterbacks and two high-profile sophomores, none of them playing well. What do they all have in common? They don’t fully understand the National Football League craft. They are all throwing interceptions, making bad decisions and looking inexperienced, at this level talent doesn’t get you too far on it’s own. The two aforementioned sophomore QB’s, Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco, are experiencing exactly what happened to Vince Young first hand. Both blew peoples doors off last year, they looked poised, relaxed and mature beyond their years. This year everybody has tape on these guys and they are struggling. Maybe Mike Smith and John Harbaugh should maybe be brave and take the plunge, sit both these two future stars and let them learn what they need to from veteran guys. You only have to watch Matthew Stafford, Mark Sanchez and Josh Freeman for a short time to realise how far they have to come. All three make plays, they also make plenty of mistakes, more than they should be making. The Lions had the best chance to get the best out of their number one pick. there is no doubting the amount of talent that Matt Stafford has, he just has no experience and very little knowledge. Detroit had Daunte Culpepper, a perfect stop gap to let Stafford just study NFL defences, let him understand what he has to beat.

So what about this years draft class. Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford, Jimmy Clausen and Tim Tebow. It’s safe to rule Tebow out of this discussion, he will never play quarterback at the pro level. That leaves McCoy, Bradford and Clausen. None of these three young men are anywhere near NFL ready. They all have big arms, are football clever and two of them seem somewhat sensible. They are the best of the 2010 draft and none of them have anything close to a pro skill set…yet. It’s just one or two years at a maximum, two years in which you can build a young team, let them grow together and learn the league. Building however takes time and money. NFL owners only have one of those two qualities.