I don't know how it is with the rest of America, but for me, Sunday evenings are like living the movie "Saw," -- you know that your best days (the weekend) are behind you and that in a matter of a few short hours you will have to endure five days of pure torture.

Almost every Sunday night, I would meander around my apartment recycling the phrases "Do I have to go to work tomorrow?," "Should I quit my job?," "What the heck did I do with my weekend?," and "I hate my life." And at those moments when I was about to snap, my old roommate would bring me back into the realm of the relatively sane with seven simple words, "Hey, you want to play some Madden?"

Now, my Roomy and I would have some epic battles on his Game Cube. Looking back, we were pretty evenly matched. I wasn't much of video-gamer, but I knew football, while he wasn't much of a sports fan, but he knew video-games. He's a Falcons fan; I'm a Bears fan which meant Michael Vick verses Brian Urlacher.

No kidding, I would say that during the first 50 games of our series, our record against each other was probably 25-25 (give or take). But after those 50 games, Roomy zeroed in on my glaring weakness -- I, like the NFL, had no answer for Michael Vick when he left the pocket.

You see, we used to play Madden 2004, and if you will recall, Vick was the cover-boy on that edition. It's no secret that Madden has this tendency of "beefing up" their cover-boys, but in 2004, I think the game makers went a little overboard. For goodness sake, they replaced the No. 7 on the front of his jersey with a big "S."

So for the next 20 games (and coincidentally, my last 20 games), it was Vick rolls out left and runs for 30 yards, Vick rolls out left passes to Alge Crumpler for 20 yards, Vick rolls out left touchdown! It's not like I didn't know what was coming. I would do everything possible to stop Vick, contain with the defensive ends, line slants, overloads, dime defenses, corner blitzes, but nothing worked.

Here's the point, watching Vince Young against USC in the Rose Bowl last Wednesday night was like watching a real life video game. Look at his numbers 200 yards rushing, 267 yards passing, 30 of 40 passing, 467 yards total and 3 touchdowns -- who outside of cyberspace throws for 75% completion and accounts for 467 total yards?

Those numbers are absurd on the Pop Warner level let alone Division I-A football and he got them against "one of the greatest teams in college football history." The only difference between Young and a Vicktendo is that instead of going left, Young did most of his damage going right.

On the game winning fourth and five, who didn't know Young was going to run option to the right? I knew it, every player on Texas and USC knew it, everyone in the stands knew it, the cheerleaders knew it, hopefully even Pete Carroll knew it, but it didn't matter. USC had no answer for Vince Young.

So let's take a minute to pay homage to an unreal championship performance by discussing Vince Young's past, present, and future.

The past: college. If Heisman voting took place today, is there any doubt that Young would have won? But just to be fair, until the Rose Bowl, Reggie Bush was the most exciting player in college, and he did end the season with some spectacular games (see UCLA). Young, conversely, had so-so performances to end the season. If I'd been given a vote, I would have gone Reggie Bush, Young, and Matt Leinart just like everybody else.

Ah, but what a difference a National Championship Game makes. Post-Rose Bowl, Young is the best player in college football. Not only has he proven himself as a big gamer, he's given himself nothing left to win, except say the Heisman. No doubt in my mind, deciding to turn pro is the right decision for Young. Obviously the risk of injury and millions of dollars are incentives to leave, but here is the real reason he should go: Vince Young's game will not get significantly better if he stays.

The biggest knock on Young's game is his unorthodox throwing motion and his questionable accuracy. Sure if he stays in college another, he'd be able to spend the year working on his mechanics, but do you really expect Texas to change their offense and become a pro-style passing offense? When the season roles around, Mack Brown and Texas will obviously play to win, and what better way to win than Young roll out right and run, Young roll out right and throw, Young roll out right, touchdown!

Moreover, in the pros, there are linebackers who run as well as Young, he will have to develop as a passer to succeed. Young has proven that he is head and shoulders better than everyone else in Division I-A football; how will beating up on these guys another year make him better?

The present: the NFL Draft. The top-four picks in the 2006 NFL Draft belong to Houston, New Orleans, Tennessee and the New York Jets, respectively. As much as we like the story, "Texans Draft Local Hero," it's not going to happen. It's pretty unlikely that Houston is ready to give up on David Carr (even though I think he stinks).

That leaves New Orleans, Tennessee and the New York Jets. The Saints will be looking for quarterback and could go with either Young or Matt Leinart. Odd man out will be taken by the Titans, who'll be looking for an heir to Steve McNair, or the Jets, who are not sure about Chad Pennington. So at worst, Young will be the fourth overall selection in the Draft.

As nuts as this sounds, if I'm a quarterback, I wouldn't mind going to New Orleans. They have the supporting talent, at least in the skills positions, and the fans of New Orleans will embrace him. I'm not sold on the direction of the Titans franchise. A few years ago they were Super Bowl contenders, but after a couple of poor seasons, they seem like a team with no plan.

The Jets have major question marks at the skill positions. Laveranues Coles is adequate, but not spectacular, and as great as Curtis Martin has been, no one knows how he'll come back from his first major injury.

So, for his sake, let's hope Young likes Cajun food.

The Future: The Pros. Will Young be a good pro? I'm going to say yes with one huge caveat. The most important quality a quarterback on the pro level must have is accuracy. Although Young went 30 of 40 against USC, let's face it, the USC defense isn't exactly the '97 Wolverines. In fact, they were a below average defense at best.

Even the passes Young did complete were not 'tough" throws? A lot of 10-12 yard hitches, no long completions, no "treading the needle" type tosses. His yards per attempt (a common indicator of accuracy) was only 6.7, which is not good at all. Sure, he will have his feet, but like Vick, he needs to develop his passing efficiency in order to excel in the NFL.

With that said, let me ask this question; what quarterback coming out of college doesn't have to improve his accuracy? And let's not forget this fact, quarterback is the only position in football where a player is judged on wins and losses, and against the toughest opponents Michigan (2004 Rose Bowl), Ohio State and USC ,Young has learned to lead his team to victories. And that is Young's greatest asset, even greater than his legs, is his ability to win.

Come April, you're going to hear a lot of numbers for players. Scouts have this tendency to reduce prospects to number for height, vertical leap, speed in the 40 yard run, reps on a bench, etc. Scouts are just fascinated with numbers. Hopefully, they won't forget the numbers 41-38.

Even more, I hope I can make my old roommate remember the numbers 200, 267, and 3 -- those are what I'm going to lay down on him when I trade Young to the Bears in Madden 2008. But then again, maybe not. Those numbers are too ridiculous even for a video game.