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NFL Truths: Don't get too excited about Young yet

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Jason Whitlock

Jason Whitlock writes about the sports world from every angle, including those other writers can't imagine or muster courage to address. His columns are humorous, thought-provoking, agenda-free, honest and unpredictable. E-mail him or follow his Twitter or become a fan of Jason Whitlock on Facebook.

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Updated Nov 25, 2009 1:16 PM ET
     
 
Dear Jason: I'm just writing to wish you Happy Holidays and say your NFL Truths are what I'm thankful for this holiday season. Sincerely, Roger Goodell 10. I liked what I saw from Vince Young on "Monday Night Football," but it's way too early to suggest Young is headed for success or that Jeff Fisher was stupid for sitting him the first six weeks. Young needed to be benched. He needed to be humiliated and humbled. It was the only way to get his attention. Vince Young did one thing Monday night that I did not like. In his immediate postgame interview on the field with Suzy Kolber, Young did not credit his teammates for his and the Titans' success. This was a small error. But it's an indication of where his mind is. Vince Young believes he was done wrong by his critics and perhaps Jeff Fisher. He's wallowing in victimhood and looking for an I-told-you-so moment. I hope I'm wrong. I hope Young understands the mistakes he made and what he has to do to build on the success he's enjoying now. He's never going to be a guy who puts up huge passing numbers. That's fine. If he avoids turnovers and moves the chains two or three times a game with a scramble, he's a winning quarterback. He threw for 116 yards and rushed for 73. What I liked best about Young on Monday was his comfort in the pocket. He has accepted the challenge of being a pocket quarterback. His body language was good, too. A teammate dropped a beautiful downfield throw and Young did not react negatively. He stayed positive and moved to the next play. That's leadership. The intangibles — leadership, courage against the pass rush, timely scrambles and avoidance of turnovers — are what can make Young a long-term winner in Tennessee. If he can get and keep his mind in the right state, he'll prove his critics wrong and make us all eat crow without having to say a word. Oh, and he needs Chris Johnson to stay healthy and continue to carry the team. 9. Is Peyton Manning the new Brett Favre?
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I can't enjoy Manning's play because the broadcasters overhype everything he does. He threw two picks and the Colts scored 17 points in a close victory over the Ravens, but the broadcasters still managed to scream about Peyton's role in Indy's 10-0 start. Uh, Indy's defense won Sunday's game. The Colts defenders repeatedly bottled Baltimore in the red zone. The late-game pick of Prop Joe Flacco sealed the game. 8. Is comparing Jay Cutler to Jeff George fair to Jeff George? My man Jeff George spent the infancy of his career playing for the Robert Irsay-led Colts, teams coached by Ron Meyer, Rick Venturi and Ted Marchibroda. George then bolted to Atlanta and played for June Jones and the Atlanta Falcons. Meanwhile, Cutler has worked for the Mike Shanahan-coached Broncos and the Lovie Smith-coached Bears. Shanahan and Smith have Super Bowl rings and a Super Bowl appearance on their resumes. My point is George walked into a dysfunctional situation in Indianapolis and handled it poorly. Cutler created dysfunction. 7. When are coaches going to figure out it's stupid to challenge the spot of the ball unless there is amazing, clear-cut evidence? John Harbaugh tossed away the upset I predicted the Ravens would pull on the Colts by challenging a spot late in the game. He'd already wasted a timeout just before the challenge. Basically it cost him two timeouts for the refs to say there wasn't nearly enough evidence to move the football and deny the Colts a first down. If the Ravens hold onto those timeouts, they had a damn good chance of moving back into field-goal position on their last drive. If the Ravens have those timeouts, Ed Reed doesn't attempt an ill-fated forward lateral at the end of the game. The Ravens have now lost to Cincinnati twice, Minnesota, New England and Indy. Baltimore is quite possibly the best 5-5 football team I've ever seen. They've lost five games by an average of four points. Losing close games consistently against good teams is an indication that games are being lost on the sidelines and headsets.
6. Let me update you again on why Brett Favre should be strongly considered for the league MVP. He has the highest QB rating in the league, seven points higher than Drew Brees and 10 points higher than Peyton Manning. Favre has thrown 21 TDs and just three INTs. Brees is 22-9 and Manning is 21-9. Favre is 40 years old. He skipped the offseason, joined the Vikings a few days before the start of the season and pissed off the whole sports world. Favre is the sportsman of the year. 5. A little more than a month ago, rookie head coaches Rex Ryan and Josh McDaniels were the toast of the league. Now they sound like a couple of blowhards. Ryan is whining about being disrespected because the Patriots threw the ball late in a blowout victory. And McDaniels is getting in shouting matches with San Diego linebackers before kickoff. The Jets are 4-6 after a 3-0 start. The Broncos are 6-4 after a 6-0 start. What's the lesson? Football is a game best coached with a humble spirit at all times. Much like golf, the game constantly humbles you. In an immature lust to give his team swagger, Ryan opened the season verbally challenging the Patriots and a Dolphins linebacker. Now Ryan wants to cry about the Pats throwing the ball up 31-14. That's a Mitch Bade move. McDaniels might want to spend his free time before kickoff counseling Brandon Marshall, Denver's star receiver who got in a shoving match with teammate Knowshon Moreno. 4. You don't center the ball for a 49-yard field-goal attempt with 8 seconds and a timeout. Houston coach Gary Kubiak needed to be lit up on "MNF." I'm a huge fan of Mike Tirico and Ron Jaworski. Tirico is the best play-by-play man working today. Jaworski is an informed cheerleader for the NFL. I like his shtick. Why is Jon Gruden mimicking Jaworski? The "MNF" booth doesn't need another blind cheerleader. Gruden was the tough-guy head coach who had no problem telling players exactly what he thinks. He's a coward on "MNF." He refuses to criticize anybody. Would someone please let Trent Dilfer and/or Tom Jackson call "MNF?" Dilfer has the tools to be a broadcasting star. He belongs in the booth. He's opinionated and fair. He's what Sean Salisbury wanted to be. Gruden says nothing. He moves his hands a lot and tries to have more enthusiasm than Jaws. Kubiak's decision was a joke. When a kicker attempts a field goal longer than 44 yards, he swings his leg a touch harder, which makes it much easier to yank the kick. Houston receiver Andre Johnson is 6-3, 225 pounds, perfect dimensions for slant pattern in that situation. The play would take five seconds tops. Gruden commentates like he's never coached a football game. It's easy to bully players when you have all the leverage of being a coach.

3. There are five coach-of-the-year candidates: Marvin Lewis, Sean Payton, Jim Caldwell, Norv Turner and my pick, Brad Childress. 5. Caldwell: The Colts always start hot. Caldwell stepped into a moving car and kept it on the road. He'll have to get to 15-1 or better to earn my vote. 4. Turner: I'm not normally a Norv fan, but you have to give him his due. The Chargers started 2-3 and have now won five in a row. He's done it without LT or Shawne Merriman having big years. 3. Lewis: The loss to the Raiders took a lot of shine off Marvin. But sweeping the Steelers and the Ravens still might be the most impressive feat this season. 2. Payton: If the Saints beat New England, which they won't, I'll show more love to Payton and Brees. I'm still not convinced. I got burned last year or the year before jumping on the NO bandwagon. Not this time. 1. Childress: The guy made a fool of himself leaving practice to pick up Favre. Childress was right. We were wrong. I'm a Vikings homer until further notice. 2. Many of you have noticed I've been silent on Charlie Weis throughout this season. Oh, I'm going to unload on The Great Weis Hope and his groupies. I'm just waiting until it's all official. As quiet as I've been, The Great Weis Hope's groupies have been just as quiet. No one has e-mailed me this year blaming Charlie's failure on Ty Willingham's recruits. I wonder why? 1. We'll see how this plays out the final six weeks of the season, but no rookie coach has shown more growth throughout the season than Kansas City's Todd Haley. It could be that Haley had more growing up to do than any of his peers. Whatever the case, he's shown remarkable willingness to remake himself. He opened the season coaching like Bobby Knight. He's settled down, and his team appears to be responding. You can e-mail Jason at BallState0@aol.com or find him on Facebook at facebook.com/jasonwhitlock.

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