Young has good day against Rams

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Young has good day against Rams

By JIM WYATT • Staff Writer • August 6, 2008

Those looking for fights and trash talk went to the wrong field if they watched the Titans offense work against the Rams defense on Wednesday at Baptist Sports Park.

All of the fireworks took place on another field, where the Titans defense worked against the Rams offense.

Those looking for some encouraging signs from Vince Young, however, went to the right place. In an up and down training camp for the Titans quarterback, Wednesday was a big up.

“It’s that competition. That’s the thing I’ve found out about Vince is that when the lights go on, he thrives for competition,’’ tight end Alge Crumpler said. “He made some great throws, and we spread the ball around and did some things well.’’

Over the course of two practice sessions, Young completed 49 of 63 passes with only one interception. At one point in the afternoon practice he completed nine consecutive passes, and 12 of 13.

Although many of the completions were made in 7-on-7 and 1-on-1 drills, when the completion percentage is usually high, Young was also effective in team drills.

“I was very pleased with his production today, his improvement,’’ Coach Jeff Fisher said. “He was decisive and made plays. He had no preparation whatsoever as far as their defense is concerned and he was making good plays. What he did just shows his improvement, but he has to keep going.’’

The Titans and Rams practice twice again Thursday before meeting in their preseason opener Saturday night at LP Field.

Through the air

Crumpler was one of Young’s favorite targets in both practices. The veteran caught the ball close to the line of scrimmage and also got open downfield.

Receivers Roydell Williams, Justin Gage, Biren Ealy and Lavelle Hawkins played well, although most of Hawkins’ catches came on throws from Kerry Collins. Tight end Bo Scaife also showed up regularly.

Young’s best throw of the day: a 40-yard bomb to Williams in the morning practice. His worst: a pass intended for Brandon Jones that was intercepted by Rams cornerback Justin King.

“It was good. It’s a lot of hard work,’’ Young said. “But I want to continue to get better.’’

Offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger, who used the coach-to-quarterback device in the morning practice, was also pleased.

“I thought he shuffled in the pocket well. He was going to the right spots with the ball,’’ Heimerdinger said. “And I thought he threw the ball well.’’

While many of Young’s throws were short- to mid-range flicks of the wrist, he was accurate when he aired it out. Rams safety Corey Chavous, a former Vanderbilt star, broke Young’s streak of nine completions in the afternoon session by deflecting a pass. Young was 22-of-27 in the morning, 27-of-36 in the afternoon.

“I am impressed with his poise. He has good arm strength,’’ said Chavous, an 11th-year pro. “Just like in college he takes what the defense gives him, and it’s just a matter of him getting on the same page with some of their new acquisitions. He seems to be doing that, at least in the practices where I went against him.’’

Overall offense

Heimerdinger wasn’t as thrilled with the team’s work in the running game, at least in the full-padded morning session.

With banged-up LenDale White held out, rookie Chris Johnson and Chris Henry got most the work behind the first team line, and Quinton Ganther was busy too. Heimerdinger said he didn’t spot many creases to run through.

The running game seemed to improve in the afternoon session, however. Johnson made some nice runs, as did fullback Ahmard Hall.

“The best thing about today is we saw some different fronts, some different looks and some different coverages, and that is why you bring someone else in,’’ Heimerdinger said. “I thought we did fine. I didn’t think we were going to get a trophy for practice anyway.’’