Just say no to Vince Young

I’m all about giving 2nd chances in life. Even in a sports world where fans/media tend to be judge, juror and executioner, we should give most athletes 2nd and even 3rd chances. Vince Young kind of falls into that place. Yes, he’s had issues in the past with the Titans, but there is no denying that he’s as talented as they come. Last year, I did a post about whether Young should be given a chance with the Bills. A few promising stats that stood out was his QB rating and W/L record. He also happen to be on a Tennessee team that didn’t have many offensive weapons (Chris Johnson and is Kevin Dyson still playing?) and he lacked a legit offensive play caller. At the end, I thought we should have given Young a chance because he was still in his prime and Fitzpatrick seemed to be nothing more than a bridge gap QB.

Fast forward almost 11 months and I kind of still think the same way about both players. I don’t know what we have with Fitz. He was awesome for 7 weeks and was Trent Edwards the next 8. Buddy Nix can come out all he wants about how he thinks #14 can be a franchise QB, but what else is he suppose to say? If I had a dollar for every GM who said this or that guy was going to be the unquestioned starter only to then get booted, I’d be sporting the same bling around Vince Young’s neck at the strip clubs.

If you add Young to the situation, it will cast a shadow over Fitz. This isn’t last year when Bills fans were hoping for just 6 wins. We are now in playoff mode. We think the Bills should be a playoff team and so does Ralph, Buddy and Chan. You remember how crazy Sabres fans got in November when the team was treading water at 12-6? Fans were pissed and a lot of it had to do with expectations being risen. If this team is below .500 come the end of December, you bet your ass we’d want some changes.

Don’t buy into the “Thigpen needs competition” crap. Come on. A 4th round pick could add to that. A damn 6-year old could push Thigpen. I’m not trying to crap on Tyler’s play, but he’s your typical backup while Young isn’t. Plus, Fitz hasn’t missed a game unless he was pulled or the guy he was keeping the seat warmed returned. What makes a backup QB great is that he doesn’t pose a threat to your starter. Young and Vick last year? No threat. In Buffalo? You see those last few games last year? He’s a threat. Plus, there’s no way we (Fans) could handle this type of distraction. Buffalo loves a good controversy. We drove Flutie/Johnson into a reality TV drama and anytime Ryan Miller was challenged by Enroth, it became a topic of discussion. We need an argument. You can say all you want Gailey won’t care what the fans say and I’m pretty sure every coach in the NFL feels the same way, but if Fitz struggles, Gailey doesn’t need the fans booing to make him think twice.

In fact, I think he’d have a itcher trigger finger if he has someone behind Fitz. For instance, what if Young was here last year? Remember those bad games? Could Gailey have decided to play Young when Fitz was struggling? He may have, especially if he was nursing a injury. I know fans are in La-La Land right now with “In Buddy we trust” and we think we can walk on water and avoid drama, but any sort of adversity we face, the sh#t will hit the fan with the huge expectations. Fans will panic and maybe Fitz will as well.

I just think that if you give a guy a 60-million dollar contract and you put all your eggs in one basket for this year, Fitz should just come in as the unquestioned guy without having to worry about getting the hook. We say all that now because we are a happy bunch now, but things can change quickly. Just have him do it by himself for this one year. If it doesn’t work, start again next year with a new QB. Just have faith in the guy without having the feeling that someone is about to pull the rug out from them.