According to ESPN.com, the Titans will start Vince Young at quarterback this Sunday against the Jaguars. Young will replace Kerry Collins, who is 0-6 this season as a starter.

This move is long overdue. I’ve been writing for weeks how Young isn’t the answer, but Jeff Fisher had to do something because Collins just flat out couldn’t move the offense. Nobody should expect Tennessee to magically turn around its season now that Young is under center, but maybe he’ll give the team a spark.

The next thing Fisher should do is scale back the playbook and exploit Young’s athletic abilities. For Fisher and the Titans, now is about winning games and not trying to develop Young as a passer. So if that means he only attempts 15 passes and runs the ball 10 times, so be it.

It’s time for Young to prove everyone wrong. Obviously Fisher doesn’t have a ton of confidence in his abilities or else he would have been starting over Collins two weeks ago, so now it’s up to Young to produce. He showed in his rookie year that he could win in the NFL, so now he needs to rekindle some of that magic and win a couple ballgames to prove that he can be a starting quarterback in this league.

These next couple weeks are crucial for Fisher and Young. Winning is the only thing that will help them retain their current jobs, or at the very least ensure that they will find employment elsewhere.

Titans’ owner Bud Adams is getting even more vocal about his desire to see quarterback Vince Young start over Kerry Collins this week.

From the Nashville Tennessean:

In the past week the 86-year-old owner has been more direct, according to sources familiar with the situation. Adams wants the change now.

Adams and Fisher could not be reached for comment on Monday night.

At his weekly press conference earlier in the day, Fisher was non-committal when asked if Kerry Collins or Young would start this week, citing competitive reasons. It was the first time this season Fisher did not immediately say Collins would remain the starter.
This isn’t really anything new because Adams went on record a week ago that he’d like to see Young play. But if the report is true and Adams is getting more direct, the situation is starting to become interesting because it could play into whether or not Fisher is retained at the end of the year.

One would imagine that Fisher is on the hot seat after the Titans’ brutal start. If the owner wants to see more of Young, but Fisher sticks with Collins and the team continues to lose, will the long-time head coach been shown the door for not granting the owner’s wishes.

Young isn’t the answer, but he could at least provide a spark for a lifeless team. At this point, Fisher should be willing to try just about anything to earn a win and if that means starting Young, then so be it.

Gerardo Orlando of Cleveland Scores wonders whether or not Ohio State should bench highly touted sophomore quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

As an Ohio State fan, it’s hard to imagine watching Pryor play quarterback for two more seasons. The Buckeyes are loaded on defense, and they have a solid offense as well, even with a mediocre offensive line. All they need right now to compete is a quarterback who can hit open receivers and avoid turnovers. They don’t need a Vince Young or even a Troy Smith. Put Craig Krenzel on this team and the Buckeyes are competing for a national championship. Instead, we have the Terrelle Pryor train wreck, and an excellent defense is being wasted.

Pryor chose Ohio State because he wanted a program that could help him develop as a future NFL quarterback. That seems like a pipe dream now. The kid needs to focus on just being a competent college quarterback.

What should Tressel do? Would sitting Pryor help? Tressel needs to consider this if Pryor continues to turn over the football. He owes it to the other players on the team.

In the meantime, short of benching Pryor, Tressel needs to rethink what he’s trying to do on offense (the issue of Tressel calling the plays will be addressed another time). We can see he’s already tried to incorporate the option more into the offense, but we’re seeing that Pryor’s instincts aren’t much better there. Perhaps with practice he’ll get better, as the option at least plays to his running ability. Tressel should toss aside a good chunk of the playbook and go to a much simpler offense. Focus on running the football, the option, and other Wildcat-type plays, and have Pryor make much simpler throws that play off the running game. Dig up old tape from Oklahoma and Nebraska from the 1970’s, or even most of the Woody Hayes years. Keep it simple until the kid shows he can handle more.

Buckeye fans often get frustrated with Tressel’s conservative play-calling, but opening up the offense is not the solution here. He has to pull things back and start over. And, if Pryor can’t cut it in a simpler offense, then Tressel will have to make a change.

Well said. I could get into all of the things Pryor is currently struggling with, but the article does a nice job going into detail about the sophomore quarterback’s issues with arm strength, accuracy, mechanics, pocket presence, decision-making and leadership.

I find it interesting that Pryor was between Ohio State and Michigan two years ago and he might have been a better fit for Rich Rodriguez’s offense than Tressel’s. Not that Pryor has run the option well at OSU, but at least Rich Rod could have exploited Pryor’s running abilities.

That said, hindsight is always 20/20. If Pryor isn’t cut out to be a collegiate quarterback, then Ann Arbor wasn’t going to solve his issues.

According to a report by the Nashville Tennessean, Titans’ owner Bud Adams wants to see a little more Vince Young and a little less Kerry Collins.

“I have been wanting him to play Vince Young more because Collins has been having his problems out there,” Adams said. “I just think we need to find out how well (Young) can do. If you don’t play the guy and lose all your games, it is hard for you to see what he can do if he is not playing.

“Vince has won a lot of games for us. But Jeff is the one making those decisions; they are playing for him.”

If you read the entire article, Adams does a nice job of venting his frustrations but not making overly dramatic statements. He doesn’t like the way the Titans have started the season, but he’s relying on the coaching staff to make the football decisions, which he should.

I’ve been writing for weeks how the Titans should give Young a shot under center. He’s not going to magically turn things around for Tennessee, but he might give his team a shot in the arm and get them to at least be competitive. Watching Collins and the rest of the Titans play in New England yesterday was pathetic.

Fisher needs to do something, even if it doesn’t wind up panning out in the end. He can’t possibly think that the team that took the field yesterday gives him the best chance to win and if he does, then more losing is ahead for the Titans.

Titans head coach Jeff Fisher stated on Sunday night following Tennessee’s loss to the Colts that Kerry Collins will remain his starting quarterback for the time being.

From Rotoworld.com:

Collins was pulled for Vince Young late in the game, prompting cheers from the home crowd. “We were three and a half, four scores down,” Fisher said. “The game was a little out of hand, and when games get out of hand, either way, you play your backup.” Fisher may reconsider during the Week 7 bye. Downgrade Titans receivers for the rest of the season.

There’s nothing about this decision that I like. The Titans are 0-5 with little hope of turning around their season and yet Fisher refuses to make a change in efforts to light a fire under his lifeless team.

Young isn’t the answer, but Collins can’t move the chains right now and that was once again evident last night. He continues to struggle to with the intermediate to deep throws and while his decision-making hasn’t been good, his accuracy has been his because issue.

I understand if Fisher didn’t want to give up on the season, but Kerry Collins doesn’t seem like the horse you want to throw your life savings on when you need one big score. Young isn’t that player either, but if I’m the Titans I’d rather see what I have with him because I already know what I have in Collins.

A year after starting 10-0 and earning the AFC’s top playoff seed last year, the Tennessee Titans have crumbled to a 0-5 start in 2009. And outside of keeping things close against the Steelers in Week 1, it’s been an ugly 0-5 for Jeff Fisher’s team.

In the Colts’ 31-9 win over the Titans on Sunday night, it was again evident that Kerry Collins can’t lead Tennessee’s offense. When his offensive line didn’t give him time to throw this year, he stumbled into sacks by moving backwards in the pocket. When they did give him time, he was off the mark and inaccurate.

The Titans can no longer line up with an opponent and go toe to toe with them. They simply don’t have enough offensive firepower to keep up with how many points their defense is giving up, so Fisher needs to start getting creative. If Collins can’t move the offense, then Vince Young needs to start.

Fisher and his coaching staff obviously doesn’t think Young gives the Titans the best chance to win or else he’d already be starting. But what do they have to lose at this point? If Young gets his confidence back, he might light a fire under the rest of Tennessee’s offense and inspire his team not to quit on the rest of he season. If he flubs, then he flubs and the Titans will continue to drudge through what is turning out to be a lost season.

At one point, the Titans thought Young was going to be their quarterback for a long time. His mental collapse last year was unfortunate, but at some point Tennessee needs to move past that and see if Young will ever be the quarterback they thought he would once be.

It’s good that Fisher went to Young in the fourth quarter tonight, but Vince deserves a chance to take first-team reps in practice and prepare for a defense as a starter. As Young showed by picking up a first down on a third and long, he can make things happen with his legs and at the very least keep the chains moving. He’s still going to make mistakes, but Collins has made his fair share to start the year so you might as well roll the dice with the more athletic Young.

Fisher needs to realize that his 2008 team isn’t coming back. The wily veteran quarterback that led his team to a 13-3 record has aged about 10 years and is playing with a lack of confidence. It’s time to go back to Vince Young.

If the Tennessee Titans were to make a list of the problems they’ve had this year, Kerry Collins wouldn’t be in the top 5. A horrid pass defense, the inability to convert third downs, and turnovers would be near the top. (All three were on full display on Sunday as the Jaguars crushed the Titans 37-17.)

But the Titans need a spark and at 0-4, it might be time for Jeff Fisher to go back to Vince Young, who played himself out of the starting lineup following a mental breakdown in the opening week of 2008.

Young won’t solve all of the Titans’ issues, if any of them. Even if he did play well, the secondary still has massive issues and Tennessee would have to cut down on the turnovers. But he might be able to keep the chains moving with his legs and give the Titans an opportunity to sustain drives.

Collins has proven in the early going that he can’t keep the offense on the field, particularly in the first half. That has allowed opponents to get their offenses on the field and take advantage of Tennessee’s problems in the secondary. In the last two weeks, the Titans have found themselves down by 10 or more points in the first quarter because of turnovers or the offense’s inability to pick up first downs.

Again, Young won’t be a cure-all, but Fisher has to do something because the players look like they’re quitting on the season. And for a team that started ’08 10-0, there’s just no excuse for that.

- FANHOUSE has the details about Cyborg’s TKO victory over Gina Carano. TONYBLOGS has the video.

- DEADSPIN describes the chaos at a Saints’ preseason game when there was some…um…confusion over the new tickets.

- PRO FOOTBALL TALK reports that the Titans’ owner plans to pay Vince Young big bucks. That’s right…big bucks.

- SHUTDOWN CORNER comments on the addition of Jon Gruden to MNF. Things are looking up.

Vince Young recently sat down with Esquire magazine and in the interview, he set some lofty expectations for himself and his football career.

From AOL Fanhouse:

I don’t know when I’ll start again. But I will be the next black quarterback to win a Super Bowl. And I will be in the Hall of Fame.

Does it count if he wins a Super Bowl as a backup?

I like a player who sets a goal and then goes after it. The problem is that Young is currently stuck behind Kerry Collins and his future with the Titans is up in the air after proving that he’s a mental midget last season.

Young certainly has the athletic talent to succeed in the NFL, but does he have the mental makeup? Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks don’t feel the heat in pressure situations and when things start to go awry, they’re usually the coolest customers. Does any of that fit the description of Young?

I like VY and I’m hoping he earns (key word: earns) a starting role again someday. But he has long odds to win a Super Bowl as a starter and even longer odds to be in the Hall of Fame.

Nice ambition, though.

In his latest edition of “Monday Morning Quarterback,” Peter King wonders aloud why no team has signed former Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks this offseason. King sought the opinion of former player Warren Sapp, who, as always, was ready and willing to share his thoughts on the subject.

“I’ll tell you the real reason,” his friend Warren Sapp said over the weekend. “Because it’s not the same for the veterans anymore. The NFL doesn’t need us. In this NFL, the old vets don’t factor in. The kids don’t listen to nobody. Nobody! My last year in Oakland, I’d try to talk to some of the kids. Tommy Kelly, Terdell Sands. But they had no interest. I thought the ghosts in that building were so valuable, but none of the young guys cared. Once in a while, one of the old legends would come in the building, or make a trip. Jack Tatum would be around, and I’d say, ‘You know who that dude is? You know how he played?’ And the kids would be like, ‘Nah, I don’t care.’

“The game’s different now. Look at Vince Young. Why wouldn’t he listen to Kerry Collins? I’m sure Vince thinks, ‘Nobody’s been through what I’m going through. Nobody’s been through my kind of pressure.’ Are you kidding me! Kerry Collins, fifth pick in the draft, has all the ups and downs, gets benched, makes those racist comments, has the alcohol problems, moves from team to team, comes back, has success … Vince Young should suck up all the knowledge Kerry Collins has to offer! There’s no better role model for him.”

I have heard that Collins went out of his way last year to try to help Young when the struggling quarterback was having his quasi-breakdown. Young had no interest. Maybe Sapp’s on to something. If he is, it’s a sad commentary on the kids of the NFL. I remember being in Tampa last year to do a story for SI on Brooks playing Adrian Peterson and the Vikings, and I thought at least one of the young linebackers, Barrett Ruud, tried to siphon off Brooks’ knowledge.

“I always wonder during games, ‘How Derrick get there so fast?’ ” Ruud said. “Then I’d watch the tape, and I’d see he started running to the spot before I would have, because he just knew his keys and he knew the tendencies of the offense better than anybody else.” But I also heard that while Ruud was a willing listener, the other young ‘backers weren’t.

In the specific case of Young not wanting Collins’ help last year, that could have been because VY was embarrassed about his situation. I know if I was embarrassed about a personal situation I wouldn’t necessarily be ready to talk about it to everyone — especially if they weren’t a family member or close friend.

But in general, Sapp is probably onto something, although I don’t think this only happens in the NFL. That just comes with the territory of life. Younger people always think that they have all the answers and it usually takes a little adversity to convince them to seek the advice of those who have already been through the ringer a few times.

It would be nice if every rookie sought the advice of veterans and didn’t repeat the mistakes of those before them. But the reality of the situation is that everyone has to live and learn from their own mistakes. Collins probably wouldn’t be the man he is today if he hadn’t gone through what he did a few years ago. Maybe Young will take what happened last year and turn it into a positive going forward.

I will say this though, it would be nice if younger players respected those who came before them a lot more than they do now. Everything is always, “me, me, me” in professional sports and I’m sure younger players could learn a lot from the way legends played before them.