Bomani Jones at ESPN’s PAGE 2 makes a compelling case for Vince Young as the 2006 Athlete of the Year. Hey, you won’t get any argument out of me.
Starting with Vince’s game-for-the-ages performance in the Rose Bowl on January 4th, and concluding with his 5th straight win as the starting QB of the Tennessee Titans in the final two months of the year — including four game-winning, fourth-quarter drives — all Vince has done is win football games:
The Rose Bowl is the prettiest feather in Young’s cap, but it’s just part of the story of Young’s 2006. It’s a tale of triumph, embarrassment and, for lack of a better term, redemption that speaks to the power of poise, perseverance and personality. And while the ink is still drying on the 2006 chapter of his story, it is clear that no one did more in the last 12 months than Vincent Paul Young Jr.
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The story begins in Pasadena on Jan. 4. Young led Texas to an epic victory over Southern California, ensuring his Longhorns will be remembered as one of the greatest teams of all time (No. 3, according to Richard Billingsley’s College Football Ranking System) and that Young will be considered one of, if not the, greatest clutch player in college football history.
There was so much more to Young’s performance that night than his eye-popping 267 passing yards and 200 rushing yards. He entered the game upset at his second-place showing in the Heisman voting, which was a landslide in favor of USC’s Reggie Bush. The Longhorns came into the Rose Bowl as 7½-point underdogs against a team expected to win an unprecedented third straight national championship and a place in the annals of immortality.
In addition to “just winning football games”, Vince has also spent the entire year prooving wrong and silencing his critics (yeah, I’m looking at you Merrill Hoge). I’m a huge fan of football, and I’ve watched Vince play every single game since he arrived in Austin — and he’s easliy the best football player I have ever seen play the game.
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VY is overrated. I’m sick and tired of hearing how great he is, and how he gets credit for wins that the defense actually earned. I’m sick of the whinny Austin and Texas idiots proclaiming him “the greatest ever”.
His stats are pathetic: 51.5% completion, 6.2 yds/attempt, 12 TDs,
13 INTS! 66.7% passer rating.
This sh*t won rookie of the year? What a joke. But Athlete of the year, the 25 I.Q. VY has all of you fooled.