Just a few weeks ago, the Tennessee Titans were a lifeless 0-6 with all kinds of question marks surrounding their underachieving team. At the all-important quarterback position, veteran Kerry Collins was jettisoned to the bench, giving way to the much-maligned Vince Young.
With the Titans seemingly headed in the direction of double-digit losses and a possible high draft selection in 2010, many were contemplating the plausible scenario of the franchise spending a first-rounder on an aspiring QB such as Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow or Jimmy Clausen.
In the immortal words of Lee Corso, “Not so fast, my friend!” The Titans have improved to 3-6, putting a dent in the team’s dreams of having a top-five pick. As for the QB position, #10’s “Vin-aissance” is making some believe that he could still be the team’s franchise signal-caller moving forward.
Aside from Chris Johnson’s amazing exploits and an opportunistic defense, Vince Young’s stellar play has also been one of the key factors in the Titans’ three-game winning streak. In three starts, VY has accumulated an impressive 99.3 QB rating, while throwing for 507 yards and two touchdown passes. Most importantly, VY has avoided the turnover bug for the most part, tossing only one INT in his three starts.
In addition to his solid stats, VY has been doing the little things that were mostly absent during his last go-around as starting QB. His willingness to sacrifice his body on a block for Chris Johnson against the Bills last Sunday is an illustration of VY being a leader out there on the gridiron.
Vince also looks a lot more comfortable as a pocket passer. Against the Bills, Vince calmly faced a Bills’ blitz and delivered a strike to Nate Washington for a score. In years past, there is no doubt that VY would have probably panicked and relied on old faithful a.k.a. his legs to try to get the first down. However, Vince’s willingness to stay in the pocket is an indicator of the QB’s maturity and improvement as a passer.
Of course, despite the excitement around VY’s seemingly-improbable comeback, we should temper our enthusiasm a bit. Let’s see if Vince can keep up his stellar play in the remaining games of the 2009 season.
However, if Vince does continue his solid performance, there’s going to be some interesting decisions to be made in the 2010 offseason. The front office will have the tough task of choosing between making VY the guy moving forward or spending a first-rounder on another potential franchise signal-caller.
Decisions, Decisions!
I’ll toss this one out to you guys to debate: Has Vince done enough to secure his stature as the team’s present and future QB? Or should the team still spend a first-rounder on a future QB in the 2010 draft?
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