IS TAKING DOC TO SEE THE DOC
BETHLEHEM -- Michael Vick sees Vince Young, the quarterback the Eagles apparently are signing to a one-year deal, as the victim of some "tough breaks" since being drafted third overall in 2006 by the Tennessee Titans.
The NFL Network reported early this morning that Young had reached agreement with the Birds to replace traded QB Kevin Kolb as Vick's backup.
Young, 28, was released by the Titans yesterday. There was some confusion about whether the waiver process had been observed, but it turned out that under the new CBA, as a veteran with four years vested, Young was not subject to waivers.
"You see a lot of guys in this league who have some inconsistencies in their career, but they're able to change it down the stretch," Vick said after a teaching-paced Friday morning practice.
Vick said he knows Young. As a QB who benefited from a fresh start with the Eagles, Vick hopes to provide Young something similar.
"I look forward to having him in here, I look forward to working with him and making him a better player," Vick said. ""It's going to be a positive effect. I think Vince'll mature as a player, I think he'll get better as far as understanding what this offense is about. I think it'll help him, long-term."
Young has had an up-and-down pro career that includes two Pro Bowl berths and numerous benchings. Young entered the NFL with a widely criticized sidearm throwing motion and unquestioned athletic ability.
He has not seemed to react well to scrutiny and criticism in Tennessee. Vick was asked about that.
"We all have a problem with booing, trust me," Vick said. "We all hate getting booed. It's just part of the game. You've got to take the bad with the good."
Of the available backup types on the market, Young certainly has the most upside, and as a starter, he is 30-17.
Young has said he thought about retiring following his rookie year, even though he made the Pro Bowl.
"It was crazy being an NFL quarterback. It wasn't fun anymore," he said several years ago. Young later said these remarks were overemphasized. In 2008, he reportedly became distraught and depressed after having been booed.
Last season, he threw his shoulder pads into the crowd and had a loud confrontation with then-coach Jeff Fisher, when Young wasn't sent back into a loss to the Redskins, after leaving the game with a torn flexor tendon in his right thumb. The Titans eventually decided to part ways with both Young and Fisher.
The Kolb trade Thursday left second-year QB Mike Kafka as the Birds' only NFL-level QB behind Vick.
Les
Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News
since 2002.
Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les
only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no
penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite
what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News
from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much
lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their
two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
E-mail Les at bowenl@phillynews.com
and follow
him on Twitter.
Paul
Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982.
He has spent most of his nearly 3 decades with the paper covering the
Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a
selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre
and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo started his career in Texas,
working first for the Midland Reporter-Telegram (1976-78), and then for
the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas
Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually was
boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose 2 sports coats to
blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley,
a University of Oklahoma grad who still hasn’t gotten over
that Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State 5 years ago, have 2 terrific
daughters -- Allison, 28, who is an attorney in South Jersey, and Amy,
25, who works in administration for a professional baseball team.
E-mail Domo at PDomo@aol.com and follow
him on Twitter.
Download our iPhone/Android app for even more Birds coverage, including app-exclusive videos and analysis. Get it here for iPhone or here for Android.
 | Join on Facebook |
