Houston Native Vince Young Returns

Very few players have taken a more circuitous path during four NFL seasons than Vince Young. After the completion of a storybook career at the University of Texas, topped-off with a national championship for the ages, Young was on a meteoric rise to stardom after his first NFL season. The precocious rookie took over the helm for a suddenly moribund Tennessee franchise and almost led them to the playoffs in 2006 after a disastrous 1-5 start.

Young concluded his scintillating rookie campaign with an Offensive Rookie of the Year Award coupled with a trip to the Pro Bowl. Young’s progress waned during his sophomore season but the Titans were still good enough to reach the playoffs with a 10-6 record.

But after rocky start to open the 2008 season, Young’s career took a precipitous fall from grace during the first game of the season. Young allegedly refused to re-enter the game after being booed mercifully by the Tennessee crowd. Young did return to action but was hurt later during the game. Backup Kerry Collins finished out the game and would soon replace Young as the starter for the remainder of the season.

There were also reports lingering that Young was so distraught after that game that he languished into a deepened state of depression, injecting fear into some close to the young QB that he might have been on the verge of causing harm to himself. The events of that saga still remain unclear to this day, but the Titans stormed to a league’s best mark of 13-3 under Collins leaving Young relegated to the bench.

Erratic play and injusries hastened a 0-6 start of the 2009 season for the Titans, forcing enigmatic Titans’ owner Bud Adams, to demand that Young be inserted back into the starting role. Now the Titans have won three straight games with Young back under center, setting up what could be the most anticipated match up ever at Reliant Stadium on Monday night.

Though Young has ignited a charge into the team, its MVP candidate Chris Johnson, who has the entire league singing his praises, and will no doubt keep the Texans’ defensive coaching staff working overtime to slow him down. The second year running back from East Carolina is on pace to rush for nearly 2000 yards this season.

Johnson tore the Texans’ defense to shreds during the earlier contest between the two teams earlier this season, rushing for 197 yards and two touchdowns. He also added nine catches for an additional 87 yards and a touchdown.

Young’s confidence is now at an all time high. Plus, he’ll be even more motivated by the fact that home in Houston was where he was hoping to stay after being bypassed by the Texans’ brass during the 2006 draft. Young then took out his revenge in tantalizing form, as he raced through the middle of the field to lead his Titans to an overtime victory during his Reliant Stadium debut .To further heighten the humiliation that game, there was a deafening roar of the crowd cascading though Reliant Stadium as though it were a Texans’ player who had scored on that majestic play and won the game.

“Man, I never want to hear that sound again,” linebacker DeMeco Ryan said this week. “I never want to hear that sound when somebody else scores in our stadium. And I'll do everything I can to make sure it doesn't happen.”

Young is basically auditioning to establish himself as the long-term answer at QB for the Titans. His salary balloons to over 14-million dollars next season and there are rumblings that the organization might be willing to look in another direction if he doesn’t clearly demonstrate that he does have the physical tools to become a consistent downfield passer and possess the emotional stability to lead the organization for years to come.

Young does have his detractors, but has managed to compile an impressive 21-11 record as a starter in the league. There are few Hall-of Fame caliber QB’s who can boast such success after 32 career starts.

The Texans are good enough to win this game on Monday, but taking the Titans lightly could be dangerous. A loss would place the Texans at 5-5 and basically nullify any plausible chance of earning a playoff berth.

More importantly, a loss could bear catastrophic repercussions to the team psyche. This is a game that they can ill-afford to lose. Texans’ fans would never let them live it down. It could also be the beginning of the end for the Kubiac regime as well.

As the mercurial wide out Terrell Owens says “get your pop corn ready.” This could be a Monday night showdown for the ages.