If you're a Titans fan, and you watch any amount of ESPN's football coverage, you've probably made note of the enormous hate-on that Merrill Hoge has for Vince Young. At the time Young was drafted, Hoge was convinced that Vince Young would be an NFL failure, and that's fine. It's Hoge's job to predict who will be good and who won't, and if he predicted that Young would fail, his worst possible crime would be being wrong, and there's nothing wrong with that. No one alive can predict NFL success with 100% (or even 75%, really) accuracy, so, hey, no big deal if Hoge was wrong about Vince Young.
As time has passed, though, and Young has made play after play in the NFL, Hoge seems hellbent on continuing his Vince Young hatred. It's one thing to say, "Hey, anyone can succeed for a few games, but I'm still not sold on Young as a great future quarterback," but that's not Hoge's style here. Hoge is outright aggressive in his criticism of Young; almost as if he's trying to cause Young to fail with his words. It's somewhat disturbing to watch.
Every analyst is wrong about something, in fact, wrong about a lot of things, on a regular basis ... and because of that, I feel like they generally take too much criticism from the public. But Hoge, this time, has earned it every bit of it. Not because he's wrong, but because he seems so mean-spirited about it.
And here's the full version of Jaws and Hoge's conversation on NFL matchup. Major props to Ron Jaworski for noting how personal it seems to be with Hoge ... and I think Jaws is right about that. It has become personal with Hoge. He was so adamant in his criticism of Young before the draft, that he now feels like his own reputation is at stake, and he resents Vince Young for threatening it.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
12-07-2006 @ 8:35PM
Rob Larson said...
Vince Young is the MAN. Almost all quarterbacks have the same physical tools--confidence,rhythm and poise seperate them. I simply have neve seen anyone with intangibles in football like he has, seemingly able to will his team to victory.
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12-07-2006 @ 9:19PM
Scott said...
Vince Young singlehandedly won the college football national championship and is currently leading an incredibly young NFL to a potentially winning season in his rookie season.
What did Merrill Hoge ever do?
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12-07-2006 @ 9:27PM
jthutmd said...
why listen to a moron there are dozens of them using the media to vent their personal views so what ? let them rant till they drop over. GO VINCE GO !!!!!!!
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12-07-2006 @ 11:14PM
jason said...
Actually, Hoge was pretty mean spirited before Vince began to play regularly. He seemed bent, in a personal way, on making sure no one drafted Vince. I've never seen a sports analyst go after another athlete with such a vengence as Hoge has Vince unless they had ripped their QB or been arrested for shooting someone come to think of it - not even in that case.
But Hoge can continue to make his comments, it just makes him look more foolish each week.
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12-07-2006 @ 11:26PM
carla said...
I thought I was the only one that noticed that Merrill "hates" on Vince; it's disgusting.
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12-08-2006 @ 7:31AM
Tim Burns said...
Merrill Hoge is a tool. I like Jaworski & used to go out of my way to watch NFL Matchup, but Hoge makes it unwatchable. I want to feed him to Mark Cuban's Cheetah.
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12-08-2006 @ 9:51AM
Carl said...
Merril Hodge must have lost his ass when he bet on USC vs Texas for the national champs.
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12-08-2006 @ 9:54AM
Lamanzer Williams said...
you hate to think of it being racial but this idiot leaves little room for anything else. in a league where a running qb is so much harder to defend, the bottom line is winning and the titans are on their way with a full off-season and full training camp reps as the starter we will see. also just slap jeff fisher and mr. reese in the face merril, publicly
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12-08-2006 @ 9:55AM
BKS37066 said...
Thank friggin' God (and mjd) for this post! It's pathetic, and boderline creepy how much Hoge really does seem to hate VY! This is a proud franchise that has spent a few years in the cellar, and now that we have a bright spot Hogey wants to pinch off a stink-dragon all over our parade!
I say nay... though, I watch NFL Matchup every single Sunday now with anticipation for the day Hogey either 1) apologizes 2) disappears 3) VY shows up and the set and embarrasses him with astounding displays of unfair VINCEYOUNGERRY!
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12-08-2006 @ 10:00AM
Lewis said...
man up Merill, there's no dishonor in being wrong but there is in being a hater! Most if not all QB's have struggled early on in their careers. The Titans are doing nothing different than the Steelers did for Big Ben. They hid him and put him in situations so that he could succeed. All teams should do this with young QB's until they catch up in the learning curve
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12-08-2006 @ 10:30AM
Frank said...
Merrill, It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game. Now suck it up.
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12-08-2006 @ 10:33AM
gMAN said...
who cares
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12-08-2006 @ 10:37AM
Charles Rice said...
If Merrill Hoge and his so called football "expertise" can't see the talent that Vince Young is, then he's a fool. This kid continues to prove the naysayers wrong. He singlehandedly put Texas on his back against Matt Lienert and Reggie Bush to win a national championship and now in his rookie season in the NFL has taken down the Manning brothers two weekends in a row. Give it up Merrill, admit you're wrong and move on. Your continued negative tirade has you looking silly. Vince, like his on field opponents, is making you look unprepared and in fact real dumb about right now.
Charles Rice
Houston, Tx
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12-08-2006 @ 11:20AM
Ace said...
YOUNG is a bust !!! Especially being selected so high in the draft. Young is nothing more than a Ryan Leaf thats had a good game or two. Look at the stats Young's not winning these games. The running backs are running for nearing 200 yrds in the wins...Young does nothing. The Titans have ran the ball 13 straight plays that shows that the coaches dont even trust Young. Watch and you'll see, YOUNG IS A BUST!!! Another Kordell Stewart ( actually Kordell is MUCH BETTER ) Akili Smith (however you spell it) Tommy Frazier, Ryan Leaf, Danny W. (well he's better than Young TOO!) but you get the message...YOUNG IS A BUST...
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12-08-2006 @ 11:21AM
jeff said...
first of all vince young didnt win the title by himself, he did have the help of multiple all american linemen in front of him. second hes still a run first guy who cant throw down field with any consistency, look at the td-int ratio. the guy doesnt lose the football games the defense keeps them in and hes the greatest thing since sliced bread its really pathetic
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12-08-2006 @ 11:42AM
Jack said...
As a die hard New York Giants fan, I have to give credit to vince young...he may become what everyone thought Michael Vick was going to be....watch out world....and thank God the Giants won't play him again for a while....(still sobbing in my beer)
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12-08-2006 @ 11:54AM
bill said...
Hoge could not carry Vince Young's cleats. He should resign and live out the rest of his pathetic life in obscurity.
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12-08-2006 @ 12:27PM
Ed Slawinski said...
It is still too early to tell how Young will pan out in the NFL. He looks really good but one season is not indicative of a great career. Look at all the analysts that say Michael Vick is a great quarterback. The Falcons lost to the Lions this year. These analysts are all out to make a name for themselves. All of it is hype and opinion. I say we all cool our jets for a season and see what happens. Oh, Mc Nab was supposed to be a great quarterback and he never really made it either. It is all hype to get us to watch on Sunday. Remember, running quarterbacks never make it in the NFL.
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12-08-2006 @ 1:25PM
David said...
Who the hell is Hoge?????? He couldn't handle it in the NFL and tried to sue the same team that supported him one 100%... Loser
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12-08-2006 @ 1:36PM
Ed M said...
ESPN needs to get rid of idiot analysts like Merrill Hoge & Michael Irvin & bring in someone who is both knowledgable & objective. It's way too early in Vince Young's career to be that critical. His team is winning & though he may not be lighting up the stats, he's not making the mistakes a lot of rookies make that cost their team wins.
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