Titans camp report: More mature Young ready to lead
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young is feeling so good these days, all the heartache and turmoil seemingly behind him like a missed tackler, that he can actually find a silver lining in not having 2,000-yard rusher Chris Johnson for most of the offseason.
"With C.J. not here, it allowed us to focus on making the passing game better," Young said. "We know we can run the football. But we have to be better throwing it than we've been. When he wasn't here, it gave us more time to focus on that. It really helped."
Johnson sat out most of the Titans offseason work in a contract dispute. That's OK. They know what they can get from him. They need to find out how much more they can get from Young.
A year ago at this time, Young's career looked darker than the two black diamond studs he wore during our chat. He was on the bench, behind veteran Kerry Collins, his supposed star career fizzling out before it ever really got going.
The run-around quarterback with the amazing athletic ability went into the 2009 season on the bench, Collins the man leading the offense. That Titans team was supposed to be a good one, but it opened 0-6, Collins got benched, and on came Young.
All he did was lead the Titans to an 8-2 record down the stretch and in the process put off those who were calling him a failure. He didn't allow the "T" to get put onto the end of that dreaded word players hate:
B-U-S-T.
That isn't to say the Young detractors have disappeared. To be honest, I've been one of his biggest in large part because he didn't put the work in early in his career and he didn't seem to grasp NFL passing-game concepts.
You can only get by so much with athletic ability, even a player as physically gifted as Young.
I told Young I was one of his critics his first couple of seasons. His response?
"I understand why," he said.
Maturity came through in that answer. And that's what you get from this new-and-improved Young. I'm not sure he will ever be the prototype quarterback, but his resurrection from the football dead seems to have changed him. A lot.
"I've learned a lot the past few years," Young said. "I've learned what it takes to be a quarterback in this league. You have to be in that playbook all the time. I'm much more comfortable with the offense now. That's what you see."
Young and the playbook weren't too cozy for his first couple of seasons. He got by on athletic ability alone when he started 28 games the first two seasons in the league in 2006 and 2007, winning Offensive Rookie of the Year the first season and leading the Titans to the playoffs the second.
Despite the success, there were times Titans coaches privately bemoaned his lack of work ethic. That's why when he lost his job to Collins in 2008, nobody inside the organization was too shocked.
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Young opened that 2008 season as the starter, but he was booed in the opener for much of the game and actually told the coaching staff he didn't want to go back into the game after an interception. Later, there were reports of a suicide attempt when he was supposedly missing for four hours. He was actually at a bar eating wings with the late Steve McNair.
But that's how things roll for Young. He's a high-profile player who seems to always be in the spotlight, good or bad.
"I've been through so much in my life, long before I got here," Young said. "They used to call me "Crack baby" and stuff like that. I can handle this. This is the easy part."
Young lost his job, but he didn't lose his will. Collins led the Titans to a 13-3 record in 2008, but he struggled last season. Young got another chance. And when he did, he was ready. He looked more like the mercurial quarterback who led Texas to a national championship with his arm and his legs.
"That's because he spent that 2008 season watching and studying and putting the time in," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. "He's been around here the entire offseason, and it's made him a better player."
Young said he never doubted he would get another chance.
"That thought never crossed my mind," he said. "I knew I could play in this league."
Young threw 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions last season. But his completion percentage of 58.7 was the lowest since his rookie season. That has to be higher. To help with that, the Titans are emphasizing the check-down throws. He has never had a good touch on those types of throws, often missing potentially big plays with his inaccuracy.
Watching him practice here against Arizona this week, he seemed to be better adjusted to making those throws. The only problem was he seemed to check it down way too much.
This is still Johnson's team. Fisher is a run-first coach. He has been that way since taking over this team 16 years ago, making him the longest-tenured coach in the league.
For the Titans to make a move in the division, Young has to throw it more -- and better. They have to get the eighth man out of the box. Yet when I asked Young if he planned to run less himself, he smirked.
"That's what I do," he said. "I'm a run-pass threat at quarterback."
Young's teammates sure seem to like what they see from their quarterback.
"What do I see different in Vince?" Johnson said. "Nothing. He just got his chance to show what he could do. He's the leader of this team."
Tight end Bo Scaife was Young's teammate at Texas. He saw him up close when he was the golden star of Austin. He knows him as well as anybody, which is why he was there for his friend when Young was on the bench.
"He would tell me he's going to get his job back," Scaife said. "Not if he got it back, but when. That's how confident he was. He went through some tough times. But he's matured. You have to in this league."
There is no doubt that this is a different Vince Young. Those days of leaving the work behind to live the fast life are over. Those days of worrying about every little thing people were saying and getting crushed in the onslaught of expectations seem like a long time ago.
He certainly seems at peace with himself. And maybe now those expectations might be met. Maybe he'll become better in the pocket. Maybe he will allow the reads to develop more, rather than just take off and run.
"We're going to be good on offense," Young said. "We will be. You'll see."
As Young was readying to walk away, I asked him one last question: What lesson that you've learned would you want to pass on to younger players?
"I've learned how to be patient," Young said. "That's what I would tell any other young player going through what I went through. Be patient. And make sure you know that playbook."
