Young is maturing into solid talent for Titans
By Bill Coats
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
08/09/2008
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Despite earning rookie-of-the-year honors from several national outlets and being named to the AFC Pro Bowl squad, Vince Young seriously considered quitting football after the 2006 season.
"All of the fun was out of it. All of the excitement was gone," Young told NFL.com. "All I was doing was worrying about things."
Shoot ahead to January 2008, after Young returned to the University of Texas — where he'd led the Longhorns to the national championship in January 2006 — to continue work on his degree. When he walked into his psychology class for the first time, he was given a standing ovation.
Much has changed for the Tennessee Titans' third-year quarterback, the No. 3 overall selection in the '06 draft, since he arrived in the NFL as a raw rookie long on athletic ability and short on technique.
"That first year was definitely tough," Young recalled. "We were 0-5 and there were a lot of different things going on. But how we changed as we finished that season and how we've been building on that each year ... it's going to be good."
The 6-foot-5, 233-pound Young replaced veteran Kerry Collins as the full-time quarterback in Week 4, a 14-13 loss to Indianapolis. The Titans, the Rams' foes tonight in the preseason opener for both teams, went 8-4 the rest of the way, including a six-game winning streak.
Young's numbers didn't rattle the record books: He completed 84 of 157 passes (51.5 percent) for 2,199 yards and 12 touchdowns, with 13 interceptions. Uncommonly agile and quick for his size, he ran for 552 yards on 83 carries and scored 12 times.
But he was wildly erratic with his throws, and his passer rating of 66.7 was well below the league average. Titans coach Jeff Fisher was committed to the youngster from Houston, though, and Young began rewarding him last season.
LEADERSHIP QUALITIES
He boosted his completion percentage (62.3) dramatically, hitting on 238 of 382 tries for 2,546 yards. Young's TDs (nine) dropped, his interceptions (17) increased, and his rushing yardage dipped by 157 yards.
Still, he made large advances as a team leader. "Not just a leader on the field or a leader in the huddle," noted center Kevin Mawae, a 15-year veteran, "but one of the guys that knows without a doubt where everybody's going to be on the field and anticipating what the next plays should be."
Despite a thigh injury that kept him out of one game and bothered him nearly all season, Young guided Tennessee (10-6) into the postseason with wins in four of its last five games. At 24, he became the youngest quarterback in franchise history to start a playoff game.
"Vince is a guy that's willing to learn, and to me, that's a huge part of being a quarterback," Collins said. "He loves to win and will do anything it takes to win. He's always trying to get better."
The Titans prospered last year mainly because of a stout defense that ranked fifth overall in the NFL. Their offense was out of alignment: Tennessee was fifth in the league in rushing but just 21st in passing.
In the offseason, the brass made it a point to get Young some help. Tight end Alge Crumpler and wide receiver Justin McCareins arrived via free agency. In the draft, the Titans took running back Chris Johnson in the first round, tight end Craig Stevens in the third and wideout Lavelle Hawkins in the fourth.
Fisher also hired a new offensive coordinator, veteran Mike Heimerdinger. His influence on Young has "been significant," Fisher said. "Everything about Vince's game and playing the position has improved. As we improve around him, we'll get better."
LEARNING ON THE JOB
Among other things, Heimerdinger is helping to guide Young's maturation as a pro. "I'm starting to understand as I get older, (I need) to study the game a little bit more," Young said. "It's helping me out on the football field; it shows a lot."
Collins, heading into his 14th season, would agree.
"Just the way he carries himself, the way he approaches the game, the way he's reading defenses," he said. "As you play more and more, there's nuances that you pick up, and there's confidence that comes with picking up the things that you learn. I see him taking big steps."
Steps toward becoming one of the top quarterbacks in the league, Mawae maintained. "I think if it's 15 or 20 steps to becoming a great quarterback, he's taken about 10 of those right now," Mawae said.
So impressive are Young's natural talents, wide receiver Justin Gage noted, that they can be distracting.
"When you have a quarterback of that caliber, a guy that can throw the ball, a guy that can run just as good as anybody, it's exciting to see and watch," said Gage, a former University of Missouri star. "Sometimes it gets you in trouble, kind of watching him instead of doing your one job."
Said Mawae: "He's a competitor more than anything, and ... when you mix that with a guy that has the ability, it can be very dangerous. He expects to be great. And that's how great players are made."
