Vince Young faces the media and denies he's depressed

September 11, 3:53 PMSports ExaminerPaula Duffy

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I hoped for better but I'm not surprised at what we got. Vince Young met with the press on Thursday for about 15 minutes. Here are the salient points:

1) He was not depressed but merely "down" for half a day.

2) He is committed to the game of football.

3) He didn't realize he had to let his mother know where he was.

4) He just needed some down time to deal with the injury.                                                                                   

5) He was tired of seeing messages and getting calls from well meaning people and thus he left his cell phone at home when he left.

6) And the big one, the media went overboard.

A couple of days ago, Richard Justice, the fine columnist for the Houston Chronicle wrote about the coping mechanisms Young had at the University of Texas and how life is very different in the NFL. Justice said that folks in Texas can see that Young hasn't found replacements for his coach Mack Brown and others who helped him get through what the young man thought were the tough times at college.

Jason Whitlock, the outspoken Fox Sports writer, has put another spin on the story. Whitlock's take is that Young's been coddled and told that he could be a big time quarterback in the league without becoming more of a pocket passer. He believes that without learning the more traditional technique, Young is bound to fail.

He mentions the similarity between the struggles of Michael Vick and Young's current problems on the field. He uses Donovan McNabb as the example for Young to emulate. McNabb weathered awful fall out from his critics for changing his style and was able to withstand that pressure with a good support system.  Whitlock is not surprised that Young came from a fatherless home and as much love and comfort as his mother has been able to give him, it is apparent that something is missing.

I think that Young's meet and greet with the press accomplished one thing. We now know that he can face a microphone during a very difficult time, defend his manhood and still not speak ill of his mother. As for the rest of what ails him, well that will still be waiting for him the next time he faces these pressures.