According of Wes Hodkiewicz of the Green Bay Press Gazette, the Packers have signed quarterback Vince Young to compete for the backup job with Graham Harrell and B.J. Coleman.
Young was drafted 3rd overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2006 NFL Draft out of Texas. Young won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 2006, as he threw for 2,199 yards and ran for 552 yards. The following season Young led Tennessee to the playoffs.
After getting injured and being benched in 2008, Young came on in 2009 to win eight out of his 10 starts after the Titans started 0-6 behind Kerry Collins. He threw for 1,879 yards, 10 touchdowns, seven interceptions and had a 82.8 passer rating. Young finished third in the NFL Comeback Player if the Year award as well.
In 2010, Young was having another good season in Tennessee with 10 touchdowns to 3 interceptions with a 98.6 passer rating until he suffered a torn flexor tendon in his right thumb. Young had an altercation with coach Jeff Fischer in the locker room following the injury and stormed out. He was the released next offseason.
As you can see, Young had some level of success in Tennessee. He was 30-17 as a starter in Tennessee, which is certainly nothing to sneeze at. I personally believe that Fischer never wanted Young in Tennessee to begin with and never treated him with the respect that he deserved.
I would take Young to win a game for the Packers right now over Harrell and Coleman if Aaron Rodgers got hurt. Young has great arm strength and mobility. Accuracy, decision making and intelligence were what was holding him back from being a great quarterback. He has certainly won a lot more in the NFL than either Harrell and Coleman and has a lot more talent.
It will be a challenge for Young to learn the Packers' system so quickly, but if anybody can teach him with such little time it is Mike McCarthy. The West Coast offense best suits Young's game and is a very good fit for him.
I do not buy at all that Young was brought in solely to help them in practice to prepare for Collin Kapernick and Robert Griffin III in the first two weeks of the year. Young was brought in to compete for the backup quarterback position because they are unsatisfied with their current options, as they should be.
Coleman looked awful in the Family Night Scrimmage, as he threw two horrible interceptions. They were the same mistakes that he was making last year. While Coleman has the tools to be an NFL quarterback he might never be refined enough.
Harrell is the opposite of Coleman in that he makes good decisions with the ball, but he does not have all the skills necessary to make every throw. He looked terrible in the preseason last year and inspires little confidence if the Packers ever needed to call on him to win a game. ''
The Packers have risked nothing by bringing Young in. If he has nothing left or can't learn the offense he can easily be cut. If he is remotely close to the quarterback that he was in Tennessee he would be a better backup than Coleman or Harrell.
Young's last two stops in Philadelphia and Buffallo did not end well for him, but maybe now that he has had a year to clear his head he might be more mentally ready to play in the NFL again. If there is anybody that can get the most out of Young as a player and a person it is McCarthy. The reward of bringing Young in is much greater than the risk, so Ted Thompson made a very wise decision to give Young a shot.
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