QB Controversy Reversed

While the world celebrates the accomplishments of Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, the lights shine just as much on Kerry Collins and Vince Young. Only, for Collins and Young, it’s a different light.

Yep, the two Titans’ quarterbacks are battling in an old-fashioned quarterback controversy, but in reverse. Most of the time, a team studies two quarterbacks, grills them, tests them, to see which of the two good quarterbacks can become great. In this case, both failed at one time or another- while shining at other times- and they are being tested to decide which one of them can at least become adequate enough to lead the team out of the 0-fer column.

After three days of mulling, Tennessee Coach Jeff Fisher named VY the starter for this week’s match-up against Jacksonville, with the apparent aid of Titans owner Bud Adams. Adams openly stated that he wanted to see more of Young, the 2006 Offensive Rookie of the Year.

And while starting Young seems to be the best decision for the team (Collins sunk to an all-time low on Oct. 18 when he completed just 2 of 12 passes for minus-7 yards), let’s not forget that Young has seen his own share of downward spiraling.

In fact, the culmination of VY’s descent to the bench came against this week’s opponent in 2008. Young was picked off twice and sprained his knee in the season opener against the Jaguars. Not exactly what the Titans were looking for after a dismal 2007 season in which he threw only 9 TD’s and was intercepted 17 times. Furthermore, Young was quoted as saying after his rookie season in 2006 that he’d already thought about quitting professional football altogether.

But on the flip side, the majority of Young’s success has come with his team apparently left for dead. When he stepped in for Collins in 2006, the Titans were off to a 0-2 start, which extended two more games to 0-4. From there, VY guided the team to an 8-4 finish, just one win shy of a playoff berth.

At times, Young has shown the ability to become a true dual-threat quarterback. Of course, an emphasis will always be placed on his running legs, as he doesn’t seem to be able to consistently throw for more than 200 yards a game. But Young’s ability to escape pressure or run by design opens up a whole new playbook for a team that averages just 14 points per game.

Topping it all off for Young is the fact that his boss (Adams) has publicly campaigned for him to become the starter. So the job should remain in Young’s hands for the remainder of the season, and this should mark the end of Collins’s career as a NFL starter. Collins turns 37 at the end of the year, and he’s proven to be no Brett Favre. At best, Collins could prove to be a fairly decent backup, just not in Tennessee.

From where the Titans sit, it’s VY or bust. If Young can’t take this second chance as a gift and run with it, then Tennessee must look to free agency or next year’s draft.  Neither of those options seem as appealing as watching the man who single-handedly won the 2006 Rose Bowl and National Championship with the University of Texas, in one of the most dominant performances ever in any sport.

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