How do the Titans make their team even worse? Start Vince Young

on 10 31, 2009

The Titans are 0-6, Kerry Collins is 36 years old and playing poorly, and Vince Young was going to be the face of their franchise, so they should start him right? I disagree. While all of these things are true, another perhaps harder to face truth should bring the Titans to their senses. Vince Young is more done than Kerry Collins. Sure he’s ten years younger than Collins, but he has shown time and again that he cannot throw accurately, possesses almost no leadership skills at the NFL level, and at times has been a distraction off the field.

Still you could say, well at least see what he can do, what do the Titans have to lose? What they have to lose is the team’s spirit. Benching Kerry Collins means that the front office and coaching staff have scrapped the year with ten games left to play. It means that they don’t believe the guys in the locker room have anything left to give this year. By keeping Kerry Collins in, the Titans have a better chance at winning and maintaining the relationship between player and coach. By installing Vince Young the Titans have effectively waived the white flag.

Additionally since the Titans are 0-6 they likely will be picking at the top of next year’s draft. In all likelihood since neither Collins nor Young seem to be the answer at quarterback, The Titans will be looking to draft a highly touted rookie signal caller. If you plan to bring in a rookie face of the franchise, it doesn’t make sense to install Young now. Do you really want to risk alienating the players by putting Young in the game? Do you really need to see if he can be adequate for the next ten games, only to replace him next year? It doesn’t make sense.

The Titans are not as bad as 0-6, although they got trampled by the Patriots and generally have not played well this year. They have some talent. Chris Johnson is an explosive young running back, Kenny Britt looks like a talented young receiver, the offensive line had multiple pro bowlers last year, and the defense is much the same as last year’s excellent unit (minus a very good player in Albert Haynesworth albeit). To place Young at the head of this team is to tell them that the remaining games aren’t worth winning, and that the coaching staff doesn’t believe the team can win them anyway.

In his career Vince Young has completed 57% of his passes (not good) and accrued a rating of 67.8 (really not good). His touchdown to interception ratio is an abysmal 22 to 33. In addition, what he does give you, his athleticism, is surely not the same as when he played his rookie year. He has been sitting on the bench for two years now, has suffered an emotional collapse, and is not used to the speed of NFL football.

Collins has been bad, but at least he can complete some passes and run an offense. Playing Vince Young will divide the locker room, create confusion, make the team worse, and throw off the skill players and offensive line that will have to adapt to the more scrambling style that Young brings.

Change is not always progress, and sometimes progress can’t be seen in terms of pure wins and losses. The Titans have a chance to get better by keeping Kerry Collins in, and maturing for next year. If they want to see things get even worse though, by all means, put in Vince Young.

Other awesome content to check out: