A thought on Vince Young not entirely based on the Wonderlic...

With the Saints signing of Drew Brees, the Raiders are now more than ever poised to select a quarterback with the 7^th pick in the draft. A lot of recent mock drafts have been pointing to Davis siding with Vince Young.

Initially this scared the hell out of me. Everything about Young seems to point to bust. The weird throwing motion, the low Wonderlic scores, and hiring his family attorney instead of an established NFL agent were all the actions of a man who isn’t in total control of his life. Even the meteoric rise after the Rose Bowl seemed to be too much hype too quickly, with scouts and fans a like using one game to scout a multi-million dollar investment by some lucky team in April.

But as I started to read some of the articles about Young, I’m becoming more optimistic. What was Rich Gannon besides a weak-armed quarterback who could run, threw sidearm and won a bunch of games? That family attorney isn’t exactly Master P, having negotiated NFL contracts in the past and having a grasp of team financial situations. And Ryan Leaf scored a 27 on his Wonderlic test.

But even though Vince Young could be a great QB someday, who’s to say he’s going to be great? Even the people who have been following Young his whole career say he could be great or flame out. He at this point is still a huge risk, and one I don’t think the Raiders need right now.

Count me as the first person to officially endorse Joey Harrington as the next quarterback of the Oakland Raiders. I admit I am biased, being an Oregon Duck (Quack Quack Quack, bitches), but I have watched enough Joey Harrington to know that he could kill a small child with that arm (and not just by shattering his dreams, if he’s a Lions fan), and that a lot of his problems in Detroit were because his receivers were the NFL equivalent of David Spade. Always around, but never really seeming to being doing anything productive.

His first year he started as a regular quarterback, but around mid-season he cracked after too many balls hit the fingers of his tight end. Even this year on Thanksgiving, his first interception his receiver fell down, and you could just see him thinking, “Here it goes again.” This is a player with a lot of talent, enthusiasm, and drive, and who was just completely beaten by the situation in Detroit. He looks like a perfect fit for the Raiders.

First he would be pretty cheap, great for team on the edge of the salary cap. He is the strong armed quarterback Davis would literally kill for (I have pictures, don’t ask, but let’s just say Lamonica didn’t come cheaply cheap). And having Moss and Porter, two proven NFL receivers, would really help his confidence, assuming the offensive line can hold up this season. Even if the defense is terrible, a year of 42-40 loses would give us a franchise quarterback and something to build on.

Or if he fails he can come back to Eugene and he, Luke Ridnour and Luke Jackson can do Masey Auto Commercials. Git-R-Done! (Ughhhhh, I have to go wash my hands, that felt dirty.)