Vince Young Remembers That He’s a Black Quarterback
July 6th-
In a recent interview with Esquire Magazine, Titans quarterback Vince Young expressed his opinions on his life and football future.
Looking ahead, the 2006 NFL Rookie of the Year and current back up to Kerry Collins spoke about coming to grips with the loss of his mentor, Steve McNair, his future finding himself enshrined in Canton and his hopes to become the second black quarterback to win a Super Bowl.
Wait a minute. Isn’t this the same Vince Young who two years ago when asked to respond to Donovan McNabb’s comments about Black quarterbacks being judged differently said:
“That is his opinion. I really feel like myself, black or white quarterbacks, we all go through something because that is the life of a quarterback. You have to be able to handle all the pressure and you have to be able to handle the losses and you have to be able to handle the media saying this about you. If you can’t handle it, then you have to get off that position and go play something else.”
One can surmise that during the short lived success Vince was experiencing at the time, he forgot that he was a black quarterback. Addressing that reality was way too much of a distraction at the time.
But now that he’s lost his job as a starter, viewed as mentally fragile (and deficient), and has been written off as a bust, he's come to the stark conclusion that he is indeed a black quarterback who now carries the history and experiences of former black quarterbacks before him as his personal source of motivation.
It’s funny how when one is down and out on their luck, blackness conveniently appears, and they suddenly see things a little clearer.
Reggie’s Ready To Carry The Load
Coming off a 2008 season where a knee injury limited him to nine games, New Orleans Saints Running Back Reggie Bush took precautionary measures to protect his surgically repaired left knee, keeping it wrapped yesterday afternoon during practice.
The 2006 Heisman Trophy winner required microfacture surgery on his knee during the offseason after injuring it last November against the Panthers. Not wanting to rush himself too quickly, the former USC Trojan said that he’s preparing himself to get back into football shape and getting his knee back to "carrying the load again."
Unless we're off somehow, punt returners and third down backs rarely have the term "carrying the load" tied to them. Reggie should be reminded that the term is typically reserved for running backs who are asked to do things beyond catching swing passes five yards within the line of scrimmage and aren’t inspired by Alvin Alley when asked to run between the tackles.
The last load Reggie carried was hitched on to his ex-girlfriends caboose.
**TPFSports little-back rankings**
1. Maurice Jones-Drew
2. Frank Gore
3. Leon Washington
4. Darren Sproles
5. Ray Rice (Will be a legitimate member by end of 2009 season)
Speaking Of That Caboose…..
We’ve heard a lot in the news recently about break ups featuring some star athlete and their just as famous girlfriends.
Reggie and Kim, Tony and Jessica are some of the popular names that have created the holy (un)union of sports news and celebrity gossip. The ofted cited diagnosis by some writers is that these break UPS may lead to break OUT seasons for these athletes, free of the distraction of keeping up with the Kardashian’s and Simpsons. But in trying to keep things clean here at TPFSports, let’s be real here....what makes what Kim or Jessica are equipped with any more distracting than any other woman’s equipment?
As we’ve seen with Governor Mark Sanford, a less than well known girlfriend or mistress carries just as much weight (We're not making fun of Jessica) as someone whose last name is Kardashian.
There’s no shortage of football players who week after week play with their wives and families sitting in the stands on one side of the stadium and their mistresses waiting in the wings on the other. It’s a burden many athletes carry going into and after the game, but somehow, we’re told that these athletes are only distracted when it’s tied to their media saturated girlfriend.
The nondescript Sahal Kazemi was brought to our attention after she took the life of Steve McNair. And it’s these unknown women who remain in the shadows that remind us that what they’re carrying is just as powerful as the Jessica’s and the Kim’s of the world.
NFL Players Union Set Commissioner Back On His heels
For the first time in the burgeoning battle between the NFL Players Union and the owners, Roger Goodell was put on the defensive, deflecting accusations by the Union that a labor dispute would result in the slashing of pensions and benefits for retired players.
This is first blow by the NFL’s Players Union in what is certain to be many back and forth exchange between them and the owners as the current Collective Bargaining Agreement is set to expire at the end of the 2011 season.
In May of last year, all 32 NFL clubs voted unanimously to opt out of the current CBA. Originally scheduled to expire in 2012, the owners used the option to end the deal a year early.
Addressing the concerns of the NFL Alumni and Fourth and Goal, an independent retired-player advocacy group, Goodell assured them that the owners have agreed not to reduce funding to retired players if a new collective bargaining agreement is not reached.
Ravens cornerback Domonique Foxworth, one of the youngest NFL players ever be voted on the NFL Players Association executive committee, cited those concerns in a recent interview, stating that retirees would see their benefits cut in half due to a possible work stoppage.
On the defensive, the commissioner states that these claims are unsubstantiated and never brought up in his meetings with NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith.
Question Mr. Commissioner. When was that last time you actually sat down with anyone from the Players Union? Were you too preoccupied working out in an empty gym in front of a NFL Network film crew in preparation of scaling Washington State’s Mt. Rainer? Or did playing judge and jury in front of the cameras over the future of Michael Vick take up too much of your time? You didn’t show up to the scheduled meeting last month with union reps on Capital Hill for a second round of Collective Bargaining discussions.
Maybe if the Players Union brings enough cameras to their next meeting, it will be the lure they need for the Commissioner to make an appearance.
The Boys Can’t Hide Felix
Doing everything in their power to prevent the media from reporting their new plays, the Cowboys asked the members of the press not to report any formations or plays the team is currently working on in practice.
Now……to what they were working on in practice. On Monday, the Cowboy offense featured both Marion Barber and Tashard Choice in the backfield, motioning explosive RB Felix Jones, who was lined up in the slot, into the backfield behind them.
Although the cat (Felix) was let out the bag, Cowboys fans should be excited over the innovative ways Cowboy coaches are attempting to incorporate Felix Jones into the offense. The former Arkansas Razorback was potentially on his way to becoming Rookie of the Year before tearing a ligament behind his left big toe last November, resulting in him missing the rest of the season. The explosive RB averaged 8.9 yards per carry before landing on the injured list, and with the departure of Terrell Owens, the Cowboys will find a way to make up for his absence by keeping the speedy Jones on the field.
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