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As the Titans Turn- VY at Houston on MNF

Posted by TaylorTRoom on November 19th, 2009 under Football

Hard to believe that this will be Vince’s first game back in Houston since his rookie year.  He was hurt in 2007, and benched in 2008.  He left as a conqueror in 2006, and returns as a guy trying to save his career in 2009.

Has there ever been a player who has been as misunderstood?  There is so much contradictory info out there.  He has a career passer rating of 70.1, which is below average.  He has a career win/loss record of 22 – 11, which is above average.  But wait, the Titans are a great team- look at last year.  But wait again, even including last year, since 2006 the Titans are 13 – 13 when Kerry Collins  starts. 

Remember how people said the winning in 2006 was due to Travis Henry and Pac-man?  They don’t say that anymore- both players are available to any team that wants them.  Somehow, Albert Haynesworth was responsible for the wins in 2007, and Kerry Collins in 2008 (note- how come you hear whispers that Haynesworth’s performance dropped in 2009 because he got his payday, but the same is never suggested about Collins?).

Fisher never wanted Vince, and the Titans have never had an OC who wanted to work with him.  That’s no surprise.  NFL OCs are hired for the offenses they bring, not their ability to adapt to players.  Putting in college plays does nothing to advance their careers.

There are better places for Vince.  I would have loved to see what Shanahan or Kubiak could have done with him.  Look at what they did with Jake Plummer.  They turned him from a journeyman into a pro-bowler, leveraging his middle-aged legs and average arm strength into a dominant offense.

But he went to Tennessee, because the NFL’s worst meddling owner saw an opportunity to tweak his enemies.  He melted down in the 2008 season opener, reacted badly to being pulled, and his entourage acted even worse.  His coach (who, by the way, only had a job because Vince saved it in 2006) lost all faith in him.  Vince, somehow, crazily, actually seemed to get some good advice from somebody, and kept quiet and buckled down.  In 2009, it turned out that Kerry Collins is still Kerry Collins, and Vince is getting another chance.  Is he wiser?  Is he a better QB?  We’ll find out.  We do know that in his last 10 starts, including that crappy playoff game in SD where his OL and WR corps were all out, he is 8 – 2 with a passer rating of 84.2.  In his last 7 regular season starts, he is 7 – 0 with a passer rating of 87.9.

The Texans are 4.5 point favorites.  Vince will have to play well for the Titans to win.  If he does, and the Titans do win, things will become uncomfortable for the Texans again.  They will also become very uncomfortable for the Titans, because the coach still doesn’t want him.  Will Vince agree to a contract restructuring to stay with the Titans?  Remember- one thing we know about this guy is that he can hold a grudge.

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39 Responses

  1. uthookem said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 8:20 pm

    Great point on the grudge.

    I imagine the desire to win the national championship in the Rose Bowl pales in comparison to how Vince feels about this game.

    I for one think he will make it happen.

    Hook ‘em!

  2. chuck nevitt said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 8:30 pm

    this can’t end well for the Texans…

  3. maninblack said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 8:48 pm

    I hope Vince gets the hell out of there when the season is over. The question is what would be out there. When I look at the league there is a bunch of crap. I see Miami, Cleveland, Buffalo, Carolina, and Sna Fran as possibilities. Ugh.

    Any other thoughts?

  4. Mike Cook said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 9:45 pm

    Miami could be very intriguing for him. They obviously like to get creative on offense, but teams don’t typically log jam the QB position (Henne, Pennington, P. White). However, I’d love to see what they do with him.

    Even stronger than his grudges is his loyalty though, if he bonds with the teammates and makes a nice run with them he just might stick around. Most importantly, if he believes the fans want him and are behind him he’ll have a very hard time leaving. I hope so badly for a coaching change at the end of the year. He has the talent around him for the most part. CJ is a top 3 back in the league, the receivers can actually catch now and the defense is flawed but solid. If only they had a coach whose offensive philosophy didn’t severely eschew creativity and adaptation to talent…

  5. SpiralOut said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 9:47 pm

    There’s a REALLY simple solution to all of the Tennessee Titans’ problems.

    At the end of the season, regardless of how far the team has come, fire Jeff Fisher. End of story.

    The guy has it out for Vince and, if rumors are to be believed, never wanted him in the first place. Fisher won an in-house battle with Reese and has been making the personnel decisions ever since Vince got to Nashville. It’s resulted in a bunch of shitty players barring Mike G. and Chris Johnson. Fisher actively campaigned to get Collins back and was at the forefront of the swell idea to pay him $15 freaking million bucks for 2 years w/ an $8.5 million signing bonus. He’s also the guy that, at 0-6 with Collins throwing for -7 yards against the Pats and being all around horrible, said Kerry gave the Titans “the best chance to win.” Oh, and then he did that whole SUPER HILARIOUS (see: terrible crass and stupid) stunt of putting on Peyton’s jersey and saying he “wanted to feel like a winner.”

    Mike Heimerdinger is a good offensive coordinator who has done a great job adapting the offense to fit CJ/Vince these past three weeks. The Titans are running the freaking option with a ridiculous amount of success right now. The option! Dinger has wanted to be a head coach for a long time and him and Fisher have been having it out on the sidelines ever since Vince took over.

    Fire that mediocre, mustachioed, moron and promote Dinger to HC or bring in another guy who can mold the offense around Vince and CJ’s skills. Fisher will probably get immediately hired by some idiot like Jerry Jones and that team will immediately become the most boring team to watch in the NFL as Fisher plays each game like field goals net 20 points instead of 3. They’ll struggle to break .500 most years and if they do ever make the playoffs they’ll crash and burn in the first round every time.

    Meanwhile, Vince and CJ will be lighting it up and taking the Titans to the Super Bowl.

  6. Mike Cook said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 9:49 pm

    Another thought, Favre ain’t getting any younger. And a backfield of VY, Peterson, and some sets with Percy Harvin back there too sound very intriguing. Roll out Harvin, and you’ve also got Berrian, Rice and Shianco to catch passes. The offense isn’t for Vince, but once Favre is gone I have no doubt he could beat out Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels. I don’t know a ton about their offensive strategies though, they could be like the Titans more than I know, just with better receivers…

  7. Woody Bombay said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 10:40 pm

    maninblack,

    As a Cowboys fan I hate to say this, but I think SF would be great for Vince. They need a good QB to be a really good team in a very weak division.That shit could blow up.

  8. bob said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 11:08 pm

    There is only one brilliant offensive mind that’s proven he can get the most out of Vince. They need to fire Fisher and hire Greg Davis.

  9. bighornfan32 said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 11:17 pm

    If Miami isn’t held down by Henne or Pennington’s contracts I could see them going after him, and I for one wouldn’t mind it. Add VY and a good wideout and I could see Miami doing some damage with Ronnie Brown, Ricky and that good OL.

  10. TaylorTRoom said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 4:51 am

    “Most importantly, if he believes the fans want him and are behind him he’ll have a very hard time leaving.”

    From reading the Tennessee boards and newspapers, most of the fans and local media want Vince gone. They all thought Collins was the way to go, and have given up on Vince.

    True story- I work with a Titans fan, from Tennessee, who still has season tix despite living in DFW area now. Somebody asked him, “Do you like Vince now?”

    He said, “No.”

    I said, “Y’all should release him, then, and draft that Notre Dame QB.”

    He scowled. I continued, “Your choice isn’t between Vince and some, unknown, good QB. Your choice is between Vince and Kerry Collins, and next year, maybe some rookie or journeyman.” He then said something about wishing it hadn’t been brought up.

    Truly a bad situation.

  11. Atomic Balm said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 8:10 am

    “There is only one brilliant offensive mind that’s proven he can get the most out of Vince. They need to fire Fisher and hire Greg Davis.”

    bob, if only you could get Bud to stop giving the ‘double bird’ to fans long enough to listen to your brilliant idea, our football world would be a better place.

  12. UTIceberg said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 8:11 am

    Vince needs to finish out this year and go someplace else. Fisher won’t get fired this year (likley in part b/c of VY getting him just enough W’s), so he really needs to go somewhere he can get a fresh start.

    And on that note, I hope Kasey Studdard and Kyle Shanahan get the win this weekend. I think they need it more than VY does at this point. And they are as good of guys to root for as anybody.

  13. texasholdem said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 8:40 am

    I would love to see some classic Vince with a last second or complete blowout win against the Texans. My hatred of the Texans has never wavered since they decided not to draft him. The stupidity of not drafting Vince is the equivalent of the Rockets drafting Sam Bowie instead of Hakeem.

  14. Tex said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 8:57 am

    I don’t buy the argument that VY will stay if he bonds with teamates and fans. He made it clear when he declared for the NFL draft early that where he plays football is an economic decision. With that in mind, choosing between restructuring his contract in TN, and presumably taking a pay cut, or going elsewhere for greater dollars (or equal to his current contract) will be supported by his agent/entourage and a no-brainer for VY.

  15. BatesHorn said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 9:07 am

    Personally, I just want to see VY win it all, mushroom stamp Fisher, then get a big contract with somebody who will value him.

    I fear instead that he’ll win just enough to resusitate his career, then Dan Snyder will overpay him and he’ll get caught in the giant vortex of suck of Redskin land.

    I have similar nightmares about Colt.

  16. Roach said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 9:21 am

    Note to Tom Cable, Jim Zorn, et al trade for VY and Michael Vick. I’m sure you could get both of them for next to nothing. Put in a Florida style option offense and start kicking ass. Clinton Portis could get his belt back with VY as the QB. If the wildcat is successful in the NFL with Ronnie Brown as QB then VY can mop up the league. Instant ball control offense with big play capability that teams are not used to preparing for.

    Please NFL show a bit of imagination. I grow weary of the various versions of the west coast offense run by 40 year old QB’s. and teams with 2-6 records.

  17. BatesHorn said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 9:24 am

    Clinton Portis will get his belt back by inventing a time machine and getting 3 years younger.

    Although going to practice occasionally probably wouldn’t hurt.

  18. Roach said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 9:46 am

    Practice were talking about practice. Not the GAME.

  19. Lark 47 said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 10:25 am

    People jokingly toss around the idea that the Titans could win 10 straight under Vince. Look, that’s unrealistic for any QB on any team, but he’s back, isn’t he? He’s the motivated Vince Young, the kind that dropped 60 on opponents by the end of the third quarter. This is the Vince Young who harnesses his anger to destroy opponents and humiliate doubters. I just finished watching a 2005 season video (”Texas Passion” on youtube), and I am still as mesmerized by #10 as I was when the NC game took place.

    Any disaffected Titans fan can lick ‘em. If they don’t take him back in Nashville, he’ll just find a way to make them pay in the future. I hope he tears it up against Houston.

  20. Doperbo said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 10:53 am

    The passer rating over the last three is nice but it still undervalues a QB like Vince’s ability to move the chains. I know you have that data Taylor (or maybe it was Eric or Huck) because I’ve seen it.

    I hope VY detonates the Texans next week. Demeco whining about this game 4 years from now would be fine with me.

  21. nimrodxi said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 11:20 am

    @Woody

    I too think SF would be a great fit for VY, especially because of what Singletary could do for VY as a man.

  22. TaylorTRoom said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 11:38 am

    Yeah, Doperbo, but I didn’t want to get into a discussion of his mobility. It’s set now. Vince will be judged by how well he passes the ball in the NFL. Besides, he’s 26 now. His top end speed and maneuverability is going to start fading. To prosper in this league, he’s going to have to get better throwing. Luckily, he’s showing signs of doing so. I still think the best place for him is on a Shanahan or Kubiak team.

  23. HenryJames said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 11:48 am

    CTJ tells me that in retrospect the Mario Williams pick was the correct one for the Texans.

  24. Donny Boudreaux said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 12:12 pm

    http://podcast.sportsradio610.com/kilt2/2072085.mp3

    (audio link)

  25. Doperbo said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 12:27 pm

    CTJ told me he thought we played hard in the 2001 Big 12 Championship and was pleased with the effort.

  26. uthookem said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 12:45 pm

    Houstonians are up in arms about this game, and radio asshats are calling it a “must-win” for the Texans…this is going to be fun.

  27. srr50 said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 12:49 pm

    CTJ told me he thought the Colorado fans were the most knowledgable and thoughtful fans in the Big 12.

  28. magnusbleuveigner said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 2:00 pm

    Texasholdem,

    I don’t think one can actually equate Sam Bowie to Mario Williams. I love VY and wanted them to take him, but at this point they made the right move.

    I want Vince to absolutely go nuts Monday, but I want the Texans to win a nail-biter. I was at the 2006 game and was pulling for the Titans although I’m a Texans fan. I’ve never heard a stadium go silent like it did when Vince broke off that 40 yarder in OT.

    I’m also a 49er fan so VY going there would be awesome. Singles would be an excellent figure for Vince to emulate and also, they have some weapons. I think the offense is pretty vanilla, and that’s a good thing for him. Get the run game going, then let VY hit Vernon Davis (who actually does in fact play football for a living) then take a shot every now and then to the villianous Mikey Crabs.

  29. Sugarpants said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 2:11 pm

    I guess Frank Okam isn’t worth rooting for.

    From what I’ve seen fans in Tennessee are about 60/40 in favor of Vince. There were tons of signs in the stadium after 0-3 calling for VY to be put in the game. There are a few critics on the boards, but it seems like there are a lot more supporters these days.

    His problem was turnovers and there’s nothing that gets people (fans and coaches) upset more than giving the ball away.

  30. ghostofagroundgame said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 2:29 pm

    VY can do better than Nashville. An undercurrent to this year’s Titans, and one that shouldn’t be forgotten, is that VY is playing on Bud Adams’ direct order. VY success = Fisher credibility undermined. Based on the interviews I have read the entire Titans locker room — particulalry Chris Johnson — have unequivaocally credited VY with the team’s turn around. Fisher, on the other hand, has put it on the defense finally getting healthy, etc., but never on VY. One of them goes at the end of the year. My money is on Fisher.

  31. Homesick Alien said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 2:59 pm

    TaylorTRoom. I like you.

    You! Are my number one! Guyyy!

  32. Homesick Alien said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 3:08 pm

    SpiralOut, you can be my number two guy.

    A lot of win in this thread.

    Hadn’t ever considered Heimerdinger replacing Fisher. That’s an idea with legs. Crazy legs. Crazy Vince Young legs.

    It solves two problems at once: 1) Mustache, and 2) Vince having to re-learn a 4th OC’s offense.

  33. Homesick Alien said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 3:18 pm

    Vince in San Francisco would melt my brain.

    I seriously wouldn’t know what to do with myself in that situation.

    And as much as I hate to admit it, that could be an attractive situation for him. Californians, better than most outside of Texas, understand what VY is capable of. There is a talent on the offensive side of their ball, just not at QB.

    Miami is also intriguing, but I’m not sure it’s for Vince. Vince and Parcells would be one of the most interesting pairings ever. Part of me thinks it would be brilliant because Parcells, much more than most coaches, figures out what makes his guys tick. He would get to know Vince and would understand what would and wouldn’t work. This gives me optimism.

    But Parcells tolerates celebrity QBs with a high propensity for INTs like they were a leak at a Nuclear Plant.

    It would either result in multiple Super Bowls for both or the end of Vince’s career. I’m not sure which.

    I’ve always considered Seattle to be an interesting potential destination for Vince. Mora was Vick’s coach when they went to the NFC Conference Championship, so I assume that Mora would be in favor of Vince running and would understand the benefits thereof.

    Seattle has some nice skill players, but I think their line may be in shambles. I don’t think Hasselbeck has a whole lot left.

    The one thing that is an absolute certainty is that Vince’s next coach *HAS* to want Vince and believe in him.

    The fact I think Brad Childress does not and would not is the only thing that keeps Minnesota from being a sterling locale.

    Priority list for Vince’s next destination:

    1) Head coach/offensive coaching staff who covet him, desire him, and will support him
    2) Good OL; nothing can wreck a QB like a crap OL
    3) Strong offensive skill players, especially WRs; all he needs is one real war-daddy
    4) Great defense
    5) Fanbase that’s not already poisoned against Vince
    6) Vince can has new agent/entourage?

    Finally, what’s the opinion out there about Houston as a possibility? Plenty of question marks abound where Matt Schaub is concerned, as far as I’m concerned. Concerning concern.

  34. Confused and Dazed said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 3:36 pm

    From what I saw last night, Henne is a quality young QB and, despite the Widcat, is the Dolphins’ man for the future.

    SF is a great idea because their QB play sucks a mop, they have a very good and getting better Oline, a helluva back in Gore, and Crabtree and Vernon Davis, who has developed into one of the best combo blockibg and cathcing TE’s in the league, for him to throw. Their defense is also young and improving with Lewis as an emerging superstud.
    Someone else also said it above, but having an African American male mentor in his life like Singletary could also be possibly the best thing to ever happen to Vince.

  35. magnusbleuveigner said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 3:53 pm

    You mean Willis not Lewis right? He’s emerged by the way. Dude’s the best linebacker since Ray Ray in his prime. Don’t think you meant Michael Lewis.

    As far as VY replacing Schaub, not in a million years. VY is not suited for that passing game at all. That, and Schaub and Kubiak have been performing the standing 69 since Schaub got here. My only complaint about Schaub is that he, like Colt, is good for one “what the fuck was he thinking” throw a game. Well that, and he’s been hurt quite a bit in the past.

  36. ghostofagroundgame said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 3:58 pm

    Oh yeah, Schaub makes at least ine crazy, fear-based throw per game. That — and this may be play-calling — but the Texans seem to run some Greg-Davisian slow developing out routes which require a 30 yard horizontal throw to gain 3 yards. Schaub makes that throw look like a pick-6 damn near every time. Colt makes that same throw a lot — or he did early in the season. Recently his two or three inexplicable passes per game have been over the middle. Which is preferable.

    But I agree — VY is all wrong for the Kubiak offense. He belongs in Seattle. It’s the best fit. Although I’d be interested to see what he could do in San Fran.

  37. uthookem said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 10:33 pm

    VY in San Fran…might make me move back to Mountain View…hook ‘em!

  38. Magnus Bleuveigner said:

    November 21st, 2009 at 6:57 am

    The more I think about VY in SF the more the blood flow increases to my swinger. I know it’s two different scenarios, but remember how Steve Young was done after the USFL and Buccaneer fiascos? Sweet redemption is in the cards.

  39. Derick Caluya said:

    December 29th, 2009 at 2:03 pm

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