Young Will Have to Earn Back Starting Job

Jeff Fisher made it clear today that starting quarterback Vince Young will have to get things straightened out before the team hands him back the keys to the offense.

"Yeah, but he's got some work to do, obviously," Fisher said. "He has to put some things back in perspective, and first and foremost, has to get healthy."

Fisher wouldn't go any further in explaining what he meant, but both the Nashville City Paper and the Tennessean reported that he was hinting that Young will have to get his mental focus back on football before he can return to the starting lineup.

That should be at least three or four weeks away, as it will take that long for his knee to heal. Whether his pysche will recover as quickly is not nearly as certain.Young's mother didn't do a whole lot to help Titans fans feel sorry for Young with quotes in the Tennessean today:

"What would you think, if you were tired of being ridiculed and persecuted and talked about and not being treated very well, what would you do? What kind of decision would you make?'' Felicia Young said. "He may not want to deal with it (all), but you have to get to that point before you make that decision first.

From the Youngs' perspective, it may seem like he's being ridiculed and persecuted, but from the standpoint of an outside observer, it sure seems like he's gotten no worse treatment than the average young NFL quarterback, and as Adam Gretz pointed out, being in Nashville has meant in many ways that he's gotten off easier than most NFL QBs. Many Steelers fans were booing Ben Roethlisberger the year after he won a Super Bowl, while Donovan McNabb has gone to five Pro Bowls and is still one interception away from the wrath of Eagles fans. With Young, he was hearing some boos at the end of a game where he was stinking up the joint, that's the normal life of an NFL quarterback, it's part of the contract, along with $58 million.

If there is good news for the Titans as a whole, it is that this will probably affect the team less than most NFL teams. After the fiasco that was the Pacman Jones' situation, Young's struggles seem very tame. The bigger problem for Young will come if backup Kerry Collins plays well over the next month. When Young was just struggling physically, it was easy to make proclamations about how he was the franchise QB who had to start. But sitting Collins for Young makes a whole lot less sense if it isn't clear that Young is fully focused on football.