Why Vince Young's Success Is Bad News For Raider Fans

After taking an extended break from writing about Raider football, I've decided to come back because there is something that has struck me as somewhat urgent. Before I go into what I think is somewhat urgent (sounds like my "cautiously optimistic"), I'd like to offer up an explanation as to why I've been MIA for so long.

Writing, like drinking to some and eating to others, is a therapeutic way to get what's bugging me off my chest. Week after week, I'd leave the Coliseum or peel myself away from the television with anger, despair, helplessness, impotence, and rage going through my head. My first instinct was to scream, cuss, and just destroy things in my house.

Why? Well, when you've been watching Raider football for well over 25 years, and when you've been overly optimistic year in and year out, those types of feelings tend to take hold. My solution? Take some of what I learned at San Diego State University (Morrison and Schilens were my classmates!), and just go off on people that way.

No, JaMarcus Russell isn't going to read it. Heck, how could I expect him to if he doesn't even read that playbook. And no, Mr. Davis isn't going to read this. He's too busy wrecking our beloved franchise to care what a peon fan has to say. Still, it was a way to get over the frustration of what is now Raider football.

Now, on to the title of the article. We've all seen the resurgence of the Tennesee Titans over the last five weeks. After starting the season 0-6, they've roared back to life with five straight wins. The architect of this resurgence? Vince Young.

Yes, that Vince Young. The one who led Texas over USC for the national championship. The one who started off his NFL career going 8-5 with a six game winning streak mixed in there.

The same Vince Young who lost his starting job to Kerry Collins and then made the headlines with news about a Vince Young "suicide watch". The same Vince Young who had game stats that looked a lot like JaMarcus Russell's.

Some of VY's stats included: 78 yards passing with an interception, 6 of 14 for 42 yards, and 14 of 23 for 110 yards and 2 INTS. Vince Young's final numbers that season were 2,459 yards passing with 9 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.

Why is this bad news for Raider fans? Well, it's no secret that Mr. Davis has compared Darius Heyward-Bey with some of the NFL greats who had a difficult time catching the football early in their careers. Would it surprise anyone if Davis started making comparisons between JaMarcus and VY?

Davis is a sucker for history. Again, Heyward-Bey with Jerry Rice? Or how about Tom Cable is the Raiders coach because he thought Cable would repeat what Gruden did when he beat the Chiefs and kept them out of the playoffs before the Raiders went on their three division championship run. Cable beat the Bucs and kept them out of the playoffs, and so Davis hoped that would lead to a Division title.

As JaMarcus has struggled to do anything right this season, don't be surprised if Davis starts looking at Young's stats and gets reassurance that JRuss is the quarterback of the future. The biggest difference between the two? Young prepares, cares, and comes in at his ideal weight. JRuss, well, that's been well documented.

What does this mean for Raider Nation? It means that we're destined to suffer a couple more seasons with Russell as our starter. It means that Davis, again a sucker for history, is destined to suffer the same fate that he suffered when he made Marc Wilson the starter. Davis doesn't learn from history, he teaches it. It's too bad because the Wilson lesson would sure save a lot of pain for Raider Nation.