Vince Young Is Rookie Of The Year. End Of Discussion.

So I returned from a triumphant Titans road trip yesterday, and I was awash in Christmas spirit along with a victory buzz from the Buffalo game. Once again, Vince brought along his bag of magic dust to sprinkle on the field at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo and the Titans emerged victorious with a 30-29 victory. If you are interested, we had a running photo journal of our trip from a cellphone camera which documented our adventure- view it here at Buffalo Soldiers. Yes, we do like our Jager and Guiness. And Yes, limos are the only way to go to a Bills game. Sorry Buffalo, but that place is a dump. Despite the surroundings I did meet some decent Buffalo fans at the game who were downright respectful of the Titans, and most especially Vince Young.

Which brings me to the title of this post- why Vince Young is the hands-down-no-brainer Rookie of the Year. If you hadn't heard, there is an NFL analyst at ESPN named Merril Hoge who doubts Vince and his abilities in ways that defy logic. Despite the heroics Vince continually displays, Merril continually grasps at the shortening list of deficiencies that Vince has like a dying man choking on his last breath.

Here is a post with a great video from the AOL/NFL Fanhouse as to why Merril can't seem to let go of his illogical hatred/jealousy of Vince's abilities. Watch the videos as the author puts together clips of Merril saying Vince can't do something, and then a clip of Vince doing exactly that. Merril needs to buy a clue, or get a new job because Vince is making him look like a complete idiot, which apparently was not all that hard to do.

As far as the Rookie of the Year discussion, I think you can make decent arguments for a number of rookies this year. Maurice Jones-Drew is having an incredible run, Demeco Ryans has been terrifying offenses and putting up pro-bowl caliber numbers at Linebacker. Reggie Bush and Marques Colston are putting up great offensive numbers and wreaking havoc in the NFC. Devin Hester is the most dangerous return man in the game (besides Pac-Man of course).

But the main argument for Vince is the simple fact that he just wills his team to WIN GAMES. He is the undisputed leader of the Titans, a title which none of the other rookies could claim about their respective teams. When he got clocked running out of bounds in the Giants game earlier this year, every single player on the Titans rallied around him afterwards and began making plays on both sides of the ball.

The fact is that there are things about Vince that make him so valuable to a team that simply don't show up statistically. During the Buffalo game, I watched Vince on the sideline a few times talking up his offensive line, or going over routes with his wide receivers while listening to each of them. He was also cheerleading the defense as if he was on the field with them. He shows poise during high pressure situations that we in Tennessee have begun to call his fourth quarter heroics "McNair-Esque". And we have seen enough of those from Big Mac to know what we're talking about. Vince is everything and more he was cracked up to be in the lead up to the draft, and as a Titan fan I can't imagine a more exciting player that we could have drafted.

The one stat I will use though is this: In his 12 starts, Vince has led his team to FOUR FOURTH QUARTER comebacks. And he did this by literally putting the team on his back. As good as the other candidates are, none of them can claim to have single-handedly led their teams to victories in the fourth quarter the way Vince does.

Vince Young should be Rookie of The Year because he WINS FOOTBALL GAMES.

Bring on the Patriots.