Written by Chris O’Dell
It wasn’t long ago that the Tennessee Titans endured one of the most embarrassing losses in NFL history. After losing to the New England Patriots by a score of 59-0 in mid-October, the Titans franchise was in complete disarray. The 2009 season looked all but over for the blue-and-white.
Then following the loss that put Tennessee at a lowly 0-6, Titans head coach Jeff Fisher made headlines at a recent charity event in Indianapolis — and not for good reasons. Fisher took off his jacket to reveal a Peyton Manning Colts jersey (the Titans division rival), then uttered the now infamous words, “I just wanted to feel like a winner.”
The franchise was at an all-time low and looked to have nothing left to salvage in the 2009 season. However, that all changed when Titans owner Bud Adams uttered the soon-to-be infamous words, “I want to see Vince Young play.”
The former Texas Longhorns star quarterback broke into the NFL with instant success back in 2006. Young took over a 0-4 Titans team that had been led by veteran quarterback Kerry Collins. Then, as a rookie, Young finished the season with an 8-4 record, won the Rookie of the Year Award and even found himself flying to Hawaii to play in his very first Pro Bowl. Young seemed destined for greatness in the NFL.
However, after a 10-6 season his sophomore year in the league, Young began to take criticism from the fans and media. His career was spinning out of control before the hammer fell at the beginning of the 2008 season.
During last year’s season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Young threw two costly interceptions and was greeted with boos from the Tennessee home crowd. Then after an injury during the fourth quarter, Kerry Collins took over the quarterback position and won the game for the Titans.
After the game, rumors began to fly that Young was asked to reenter the game against the Jaguars but refused to go back in because of the boos he received. News bulletins soon began to irresponsibly report Young had gone missing, was mentally unstable and might be contemplating suicide.
Despite refuting any possible suicide attempts, Young lost his starting job to a more experienced Collins. The “game manager” Collins led the Titans to a 13-3 regular season record before getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Baltimore Ravens.
Starting the 2009 season, Titans fans and head coach Jeff Fisher seemed sure Collins was a better option at quarterback than Young. Many experts believed Young would be off the Titans’ roster before the 2010 season began. However, Young had other plans for his career.
With a 0-6 record with Collins under center, the Titans’ owner stepped in and made it known he wanted Young to get another chance. The team announced the quarterback change following its bye week and Young ironically started his first game in nearly a year and a half against the Jacksonville Jaguars (the team he last started against in 2008).
Young has now started five games under center this season and has won all five contests. The former Longhorns great is 9-0 in his last nine starts in the NFL and has the Titans thinking playoffs after a 0-6 start.
During Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals, Young orchestrated an 18-play, 99-yard touchdown drive that started with just over two minutes remaining in the game and the Titans trailing by four points. Young capped the Elway-esque drive off with a 10-yard touchdown pass on fourth and goal as time expired. The pass gave Young a career-high 387 yards passing on the day and kept the Titans’ playoff hopes alive for at least one more week.
During the five-game stretch, Young is averaging more than 200 yards passing per game while completing 63 percent of his passes. The Houston, Texas, native has accumulated a 4-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio and has also rushed for more than 150 yards and one touchdown on the ground.
No. 10 is playing with an incredible amount of confidence and has his teammates thinking anything is possible. With each win and each impressive performance under center, Young is proving all his critics wrong. As long as Young keeps playing the way he is, who’s to say the Titans can’t beat anybody in the league right now?
In fact, if Young can lead the Titans to a victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, the Titans would most likely finish the season 10-6 and with a 10-game win streak at hand.
If that happens, we might soon see a repeat performance of Young’s 2005 Rose Bowl dominance, in which he single-handedly led the Longhorns to a National Championship over the USC Trojans. Besides, it was Young himself who stated earlier this year that he would be the next black quarterback to win the Super Bowl and would someday be in the Hall of Fame. It might have seemed crazy at the time, but then again, Young’s entire NFL career has been unpredictable and crazy.
