Why Does Merrill Hoge Hate Vince Young?

Almost a month ago, a post on Deadspin.com referenced a You Tube video from the preseason in which ESPN analyst Merrill Hoge tore apart the performance of Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Vince Young (sadly, the video is no longer available, but there are plenty of others), going so far as to say, “The Titans are stuck with Vince Young for the next three years, and they can’t get rid of him, no matter how much they obviously might want to.” I repeat: this video clip was initially recorded during the preseason, before Vince Young had ever played a meaningful game as an NFL quarterback.

Since then, Young has shown himself to be, in many ways, a solid performer at the position; he’s still just a rookie, so we shouldn’t rush to pass final judgment, but he has definitely demonstrated a knack for making exciting plays and leading the team to victory. After twelve starts, Young has entered into the conversation for Rookie of the Year, joining an outstanding first-year player class that includes New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush and wide receiver Marques Colston, and Chicago Bears kick returner Devin Hester. Young probably won’t win – that’s some pretty tough competition he has to deal with – but the fact that he has, as a rookie quarterback, put himself in a position to be considered is impressive.

Since then, Hoge has continued to make it his life’s work to tear down Young, with matters coming to a head following Monday Night Football on ESPN on Christmas Night. Hoge once again jumped into the discussion with both feet, responding to a suggestion that Young might be the Rookie of the Year by asserting that he didn’t deserve the award because he has only played twelve games (which is incorrect, since Young has played fourteen, but we’ll give Merrill a pass and assume he meant Young has started twelve games), and it should really go to a player who has played in fifteen games. Conveniently, only one serious candidate, Bush, meets that qualification, so we should probably just go ahead and put his name on the trophy right now. (Hester has also played all fifteen games, but he’s in the running solely for the fact that he has had a great year returning kicks, which for me is the equivalent of a closer winning a major award – in order to do so, he has to seriously outdistance all other contenders. As good as Hester has been, he hasn’t done that.)

This isn’t really about whether or not Merrill Hoge is right or wrong about Young’s legitimacy as a Rookie of the Year candidate – I happen to think that Bush would not be a bad choice, one of the top two players on my ballot – but about the fact that in order to get his point across, he resorted to an absolutely terrible argument – not even Cal Ripken would agree with Hoge’s implicit assertion that games played is the most important statistic in football – that actually takes attention away from the fact that, in choosing Bush, he was making a completely acceptable decision.

If Hoge wanted to make a case against Young, he could have chosen any number of inadequacies in the young quarterback’s game: his low rating (69.7, third worst among qualifiers), his unimpressive touchdown-to-interception ratio (12 TDs, 11 INTs), or his completion percentage (52.6, last in the league). The fact is, Young has a Rookie of the Year candidacy because of his leadership and his ability, first showcased nationally in the BCS championship game last year, to make the big play when needed, usually with his legs. He is also developing a reputation as a winner; the Titans started out 0-5, with Young sitting on the bench for most or all of the first three. Since he assumed the starting role, they are 8-4, including six wins in a row (that’s the third best streak for a rookie quarterback all-time, although it must be noted that Chicago’s Kyle Orton is second with eight straight last season).

Bush, on the other hand, has struggled in the Saints running game for much of the season, but has emerged as a multi-level threat, spelling primary back Deuce McCallister for 5-15 carries a game and hauling in 86 passes from Drew Brees (good for seventh in the league). He has more receptions and total yards than Colston, though the receiver has more receiving yards and more touchdowns. It’s a tight race, one that will probably come down to the voters’ perceptions of the three front-runners: how Young’s leadership compares to his statistics, how much Bush is punished for not living up to the (impossible) hype that surrounded his entry into the league and how much extra credit Colston deserves for rising from a seventh round pick to a primary option in the Saints offensive system.

Whoever ultimately wins, one thing should certainly happen at ESPN: someone should take Merrill Hoge aside, tell him to stop letting whatever personal issues he has with Vince Young cloud his judgment, then teach him how to construct a reasonable argument.