Young shows poise

Yup, poise is what it was all about last night, as Texas knocked off USC and their 32-game unbeaten streak. Vince Young had more of it than Pete Carroll. I'm not sure what the dictionary definition of "poise" is, but it in football it is reflected in a certain professionalism. You stay calm and make the big plays when you need them. Of course, Joe Montana was the master of this.

I remember thinking about mid-way through the third-quarter, and especially after Texas missed a short field goal, that USC could probably beat the Houston Texans because they had more poise. They looked like the closest thing to a professional team that I had ever seen in the college ranks. Then it came unraveled.

The first signs of it I think were when I noticed the USC defensive players flapping their arms to get the crowd involved. This is strictly a bush league move - and I know the pros even pull this shit. (Plus in this case, it's barely even ethical as the national championship game should not be a home game for USC.) USC clearly couldn't stop Texas on its own, so it was grasping. The USC, offense, however looked good. They made great halftime adjustments and were rolling. And after Texas missed that field goal - well I didn't see how they were going to catch them.

Then came 4th and two from mid-field with 2 minutes and change left in the game. Granted, USC's defense, as stated earlier, clearly could not stop Texas, so going for it was maybe not the worst decision, although trying to pin Texas deep and make them go 90-plus yards - remember, they needed a touchdown - wouldn't have been a terrible decision. Especially, by a guy the announcers had called some sort of defensive guru - that's a crock.

Let's get to Pete Carroll. Remember, Pete Carroll preceded Bill Belichick as head coach of the Patriots. Within two years of Carroll's departure, Belichick had the Patriots winning the Super Bowl. Why is this all so significant to me? When the Patriots hired Carroll in 1997, I remember wishing that the Bills had picked him up. Levy was getting ready to step down, or had just stepped down, and Carroll was a hot defensive coordinator with the 49ers. The Bills went this Wade Phillips, which in my opinion (and I'm about the only one) was not such a bad move - without the "Music City Miracle," it may have been the Bills instead of the Titans giving the 2000 Rams all they could handle - and Carroll went to the Patriots, where he failed, I guess, being dismissed after three mediocre seasons and by all accounts losing the respect of this players. (At the time I was also of the opinion he had gotten a raw deal with the Jets a few years earlier when he went 6-10 and got dismissed after one year and Richie Kotite came in and led the Jets into the cellar very quickly. (For details on Carroll's pro career, try this link.)

The rest as they say... well, you know how stellar Carroll has been at USC. But, his decision to run LenDale White on fourth-and-two was terrible. Yes, White had been chewing up the yardage up the middle early in the game, but by that stage Texas was keying on the middle and had proven on a couple previous carries that they could stop White. Carroll went back to the well once too often - a classic choke move - and paid for it. Plus, he had the Heisman trophy winner, Reggie Bush, who looked like he was starting to heat up, on the bench. On the bench! The Heisman trophy winner on the most crucial play of your season. Another choke move. Being caught up in the ephemeral and missing the big picture...

Carroll blew it and while he will remain a great college coach, word is he is a great recruiter and he has built a heckuva program, he is still no Nick Saban when it comes to Xs and Os.

Anyway, Young, who carries himself with the calmness of an assassin proceeded to carve up the USC defense - just like he did Michigan in the Rose Bowl last year. There was now showboating, just good solid football. And his waiting until 4th down to run it in was genius. USC absolutely could not stop his running. I wondered why on third down he would throw that pass over the middle that got knocked down. But on 4th down he came through. Tucked it in one more time and cruised into the end zone.

Whether or not Young will make it as a pro is a whole 'nother question. I kind of think the field might be too small for him, or he may need a very forward thinking coach. The NFL is just not set up for running quarterbacks because the damn linebackers are so fast. The NFL is set up for cerebral quarterbacks like Leinart, who "manage" games. The headsets in your ears and all that stuff. Young is a throwback - a giant version of Doug Flutie. Randall Cunningham is probably the closest thing the NFL has seen, and Young is way more poised and stronger than Cunningham was. I guess you could compare Young to McNabb, so maybe someone can mold him into a good pocket passer like McNabb. I just hope he turns out better than Michael Vick - who is not made to play the "West Coast" offense. Anyhow, we can discuss all this when the draft come up. I don't see how Young can pass it up now after that performance. He's ready. What else does he have to do in college?

More later.

Ralph