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Young Should Be Number One

By bobbyjim45, Section NFL
Posted on Mon Jan 16 2006 at 11:03 PM EST
More on: (all tags)

Reggie Bush had an amazing collegiate career. He was a walking highlight reel for his 3 year stay at USC. He helped the Trojans in getting their first two national titles, one of which was a split. He won the Heisman, joining a highly exclusive group of the best college players of all time. So naturally, who was standing on the sidelines when the game was on the line in the Rose Bowl against Vince Young's Texas Longhorns? Reggie Bush. Who was out single-handedly tearing down the legend that was the USC Trojans while Bush was taking a break? Vince Young.

I'm not saying that Bush is a scrub. I'm just wondering how many teams with the #1 pick would want take a guy who doesn't play when the game is on the line, or who tries to lateral to a guy who hasn't touched the ball all season after a brilliant 50 yard run. Reggie Bush has electrifying speed and he has moves on top of moves, but will he be a better player in the NFL than Vince Young? I doubt it. Although he should make the most of his touches, he will likely be a guy who takes around 15 carries per game, something like Brian Westbrook in Philly.

Meanwhile, Vince Young has the potential to tear it up in the big show. Fast, strong, powerful and clutch are only some of the adjectives that can be used to describe this guy. He has a build like Daunte Culpepper, and speed close to that of Mike Vick. Oh yeah, he also has an extremely accurate and powerful throwing arm. While his throwing motion may look a little awkward, it is fact that he was third in the nation in quarterback rating, well ahead of more traditional passers like Matt Leinart, Jay Cutler, and Brady Quinn.

Both players had very good collegiate careers and based on that, a team with the #1 pick that was weak at running back and strong at quarterback would probably have to take Reggie Bush and hope that he can handle getting 20-25 carries a game. However, the Texans are not in that situation. Many people aren't aware that the Texans actually have a very good running back by the name of Domanick Davis. Davis has three years of experience and is only 25 years old. In his rookie season, Davis gained 1031 yards on the ground in 14 games. In 2004, he gained 1188 rushing yards and 588 receiving yards in 15 games. This season he managed 976 rushing yards and 337 receiving in only 11 games. He missed some games during the season due to a nagging knee injury. After doing the math, you can figure out that he had 88.7 yards per game this year. That is 9th in the league and ahead of some pretty big names such as Cadillac Williams, Warrick Dunn, Willis McGahee, LaMont Jordan, and Stephen Jackson. Houston also drafted Verrand Morency last year who showed some glimpses of being a good player in Houston's last game of the season against San Francisco. He ran for 83 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. He also reeled in 4 catches for 46 yards. The Texans also have another nice compliment in the backfield in 4-year veteran Jonathan Wells. While Davis was hurt in weeks 15 and 16, Wells rushed for 173 yards and 2 touchdowns on 39 carries. Houston has a solid tandem of running backs and their problem has nothing to do with the quality of these guys.

However, it could be time to give up on the David Carr project. While Carr had a decent year in 2004, he seemed to revert back to his old form in 2005. He threw for only 2488 yards and played in all 16 games. Those yards got Carr to 19th in the league, behind both Donovan McNabb and Kurt Warner who had far less pass attempts. Carr's 60.5 completion rating got him 17th in the league and his 77.2 passer rating was only 21st. These numbers don't help Carr's case for being a franchise quarterback for any team. Why would the Texans pass up a chance to take a potentially great quarterback such as Vince Young?

While Reggie Bush is a very good running back and has the speed and the moves to become a good player in the NFL, the Texans need to address their needs. David Carr is clearly not the answer for Houston. Granted, he did get a lot of sacks and maybe Houston should spend some picks and some free agent cash on offensive linemen, but Carr isn't helping anything. I'll admit that I was one of the ones on the Bush bandwagon before the Rose Bowl, but after seeing Vince Young dominate and Reggie Bush choke, I don't see how Houston could take Reggie instead of Vince. The Houston Texans management needs to finally step up and make a move for the right player.

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Young Should Be Number One | 6 comments (6 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

some things (#1)
by BrewCrewFan on Mon Jan 16 2006 at 7:21 PM EST

You left some facts that go against Young. Number one, Carr's stats and rankings were actually very considering he did in fact have the worst offensive line in the whole league. Number two, college career doesn't mean anything so you shoudl definately say why you think Young is capable of succeeding at the next level and quote some scouts or writers on it.

Nice job (#2)
by Cellar Dweller on Mon Jan 16 2006 at 10:29 PM EST

bobby, this is a good column, you supported your arguments well. Front page material here.

However, I don't agree with you. The Texans should not take Young because they have invested heavily in David Carr. We don't know what Carr would be able to do if he wasn't getting sacked 60 times a year. Without addressing the O-line, Vince Young would ostensibly be in the same position as Carr - face up on the turf.

Young has some mobility - so does Carr. Young can throw the ball - so can Carr. Young is accurate - so is Carr.

I'm not saying Young won't be better than Carr, I'm saying that they have similar skills and the Texans have already invested 4 years in Carr. What do you do with Carr if you draft Young? You can't sit Carr on the bench, and you won't get fair value for him in trade.

If I'm GM of the Texans, I'm shopping the pick because I don't need Reggie Bush either. I'm looking for picks, picks, picks. I need 2 first rounders, a second and a third! I'm going to build up my O-line, and get some depth. Teams are salivating over Young and Bush, and since I'm set at their positions I'm robbing the draft bank!

The best move the Texans made was firing Capers. If they hire Kubiak, that's a good move. He's been coaching winners, and in a winning organization his whole career. He's an offense guy coming from an offensive team to a team in need of offense. That's how you pick coaches.

Lastly, Reggie Bush is going to be amazing in the NFL. Please don't forget that 30 yard TD run two quarters after that ill-gotten lateral. And, Bush is over 200 pounds. Why do folks think that's too light to be an every down back in the NFL? Barry Sanders carried no more than 205 pounds for 1,500 yards per year, for 10 years.

Westbrook could be an every down back if he had a coach that wasn't so in love with the pass, and who knew how to draw up running plays. Look at Warrick Dunn.

Good story (#3)
by IUfan62 on Mon Jan 16 2006 at 10:52 PM EST

firstly i'll start by saying this is a good article but i disagree with both of you. If it was any other team besides the Texans, i would take VY. Just 'cause he's flat out amazing and will be in the NFL. And could go down as one of the most clutch players of all time. But I think the Texans should trade down to get wicked D'Brickshaw Fergeson. The Texans have David Carr at QB; talented. And they have Domanick Davis; also talented. Both of them are talented players and are almost at the same level. Why would you replace those good young players with other good young players. Their pick has maybe the highest value of an draft pick ever. They will be able to trade for an O-linemen AND get D'brickshaw which will help the Texans protect their QB AND help create holes for Domanick Davis. If the Texans want to improve their team they must get some o-linemen. The Texans need to trade down. It's the smartest thing to do. But that's not sayin' much.

[ Parent ]

o-line (#4)
by bobbyjim45 on Tue Jan 17 2006 at 3:00 PM EST

while it is absolutely true that Houston needs some help on the offensive line, there is a player in this year's draft that has true superstar potential. vince young looks like a faster version of donovan mcnabb or daunte culpepper. the best thing for houston to do would be to take vince, then trade carr for some help on the line and also grab some help during the rest of the draft. you can get some great players over the course of the last 6 rounds. even though carr could be a decent player in the right system, nobody can say that he is anywhere near being as talented as young. although young is unproven at the pro level, we at least know that he can deliver when it's on the line in a game like the Rose Bowl. Carr is completely unproven on a major stage as he hasn't really played a major game in his pro or college career

[ Parent ]

: I agree about Young (#5)
by Cellar Dweller on Tue Jan 17 2006 at 3:20 PM EST

bobby, I couldn't agree more about Vince Young. He is and will be dynamic in the pros. But, Carr has very little trade value, he won't get much on the market. No one's going to give you a quality offensive lineman for Carr. They think he's damaged goods. But, Carr has shown that he can play well, he needs protection.
You can't just say trade Carr, draft Young, and worry about the offensive lineman later. Who's going to play qb in Vince Young's rookie season? It's not like he's going to an established team. You don't want Young getting beat up as rookie (like Carr did). Remember even McNabb, Culpepper, Vick, etc... didn't play much and get beat up as rookies.
It's hard to learn the offense when on the run every other time you dropback. The smart move for the Texans is to improve many positions and add some depth. They can only do that by getting 4 picks for the first pick. Remember the Texans were 7-9 in 2004. Carr played well, passed for over 3,000 yards.
To draft a rookie and throw him in the fire means another 3-4 years before they are competitive. Young should be the number 1 pick. But the Texans should not be the team drafting number 1.

[ Parent ]

comment (#6)
by JDWC on Tue Jan 17 2006 at 7:21 PM EST

Texans - Trade pick for picks, bolster O-line
Saints - Vince Young
Titans - Matt Leinart
Jets - Reggie Bush
Packers - Ferguson
J.D.

Young Should Be Number One | 6 comments (6 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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