Chokelahoma

Take a ride in your nearest time machine to January 2006. Vince Young had the world in his grasp having just won a national title by defeating a two time champion* (we all know what the asterisk is for) with a pair of heisman trophy winners. ESPN had coined the 2005 USC Trojans as the greatest college team of all time. Reminiscent of how the New England Patriots 18-0 team was the greatest NFL team of all time until they also lost their last game of the season.

Vince proved he was not only the best player on the field in Pasadena that day but he elevated his draft position to an obvious top 5 and interesting number one overall if the Houston Texans had decided not to invest another fruitless season on David Carr. Everyone knows the story of the Tennessee Titans selecting VY with the #3 pick and owner Bud Adams’ grin of approval on the choice. In-vince-able won rookie of the year honors and won 10 games the following season but then amid injury and off-field psychological issues was benched for Kerry Collins and many wondered if Young would ever be the same.

Unforgettable Game Winning Drive

On fourth down, with time expiring Vince Young finishes off an impressive drive with the game winning score. Matt Leinart drops his head knowing that all he could do was watch as the superior sportsman wills his team to victory. The passion, the excitement, pure exhilaration but this wasn’t the 2006 Rose Bowl, this was last Sunday in the NFL. Vince Young’s Titans and the Kurt Warnerless Cardinals led by Matt Leinart. Once again the former heisman and USC standout was over matched and outplayed by the guy who just has “IT”. The score was a result of a jaw dropping 99-yard drive to end the game. Vince, often criticized for not being a pocket quarterback, finished with 387 yards passing including the game winning touchdown toss.

Will Leinart ever beat VY?

How did this happen?

Vince Young was thrust into the starting role again after Kerry Collins and the anemic offense lost the first 6 games of the season. Bud Adams all but demanded Jeff Fisher give Vince a second chance and how it has paid off. Young has won an incredible 5 straight making the Titans the first team to ever win 5 in a row after losing the first 6. He has dominated the division knocking off the Jags and the Houston Texans and faces the undefeated Colts next Sunday. No one man can win in the NFL without help and the young quarterback has received just that. Chris Johnson, in his second season, is running like a wild mustang and is a legitimate MVP candidate. Yet after reviewing his numbers even he has played better with Vince at the helm. Defenses have to account for VY’s running capabilities and cannot stack the line to stop Chris Johnson, a problem which didn’t exist with Kerry Collins doing his best impression of a live oak.

Will the Titans make the playoffs, the odds are still against them since they would probably need to win out and end the season 10-6. But at 5-6, they have the same record as the Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins and New York Jets and are only one game out of a wild card slot. And of all those teams, only the fans in Nashville are optimistic about the remaining schedule.

Maybe the world isn’t ready to believe in Vince Young, but I can’t wait to see what he does next.