I’m borrowing this post form the fine folks at Dear God, Why us? Sports. Be sure to check out their awesome website which is dedicated to snark, the Bills, the Sabres and the greatest invention in the history of the world…Cuss words. You can also follow them on Twitter.
This news was a couple weeks in the making. Having opted against taking a serviceable QB in the draft, and having the likes of Tyler “Heads Up!” Thigpen as the presumptive #2 QB on the depth chart, I guess we shouldn’t be all that surprised that Vince Young got signed today. On paper, there is plenty to offset the absurdity of this signing and to, at least arguably, keep Bills fans satisfied that Buddy Nix hasn’t gone completely crazy. People I respect on Twitter (there are at least five of you) say that there’s nothing to dislike about this deal, which I suppose is true from the “Thigpen is a weenie, Young is at worst an upgrade and we’re probably only going to win if Fitz stays healthy anyway” perspective.
But, if you want to argue that Vince “adds a new dynamic to this offense” or that “this team can win with Young under center,” then please, shut the fu$# right up. This is the same guy that got benched in favor of Rusty Smith in 2010 despite a decent record and good passer rating of 98.6. And he’s the same guy that, when called upon to fill in for renowned puppy killer Mike Vick last year, was as inconsistent as ever – beating the Giants on Sunday night football with a 2 TD, 3 INT day, torching the Pats for over 400 yards (in a loss) the next week, throwing four picks the next against the Seahawks. Oh, and if he ever does start for the Bills, he’d be the guy taking over a pretty complicated, fast-thinking offense while also being the guy who scored sixteen out a possible fifty points on the Wonderlic test. Athletic prowess aside, I’m guessing he won’t be an easy transition from Fitz.
Forgive me if I don’t expect the team to rally around him should he be given an opportunity to play.
Maybe I’m wrong on this. And if Fitz does go down with a mid-season injury, God I hope I am. In the end, to think that there’s any way to predict Young’s impact on the field is a fool’s errand. The guy has tremendous upside and tremendous downside at the same time, and there’s simply been no way to know which version of Vince Young you’re going to get week to week.
And that doesn’t even take into account the X-Factor psychological issues that appear to make him a moment or two away from Crazy Town.
“The City of Buffalo needs more chronically depressed athletes with large hand gun collections. Monday mornings should be exciting!” – Scizz, via text, three minutes ago.
Real Juice. Drink it up. Not that I think it’s neceaarily appropriate to be overly flippant about an athlete’s fragile emotional state. Funny, sure, but not appropriate.
Where does this leave the Bills? Again, fu#$ if I know. I’ll take a shred of solace in the fact that, until now, none of Buddy’s offseason moves have left me scratching my head for too long, so I won’t sweat this one too much. Ultimately, though, this is a move that could put some strain on a locker room full of “high character guys” that may not mesh so well with the baggage that VY brings with him.
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