Don Banks delivers the best non-Jim Wyatt breakdown of how Vince Young lost the Titans' executives, coaches and eventually the owner who had hand selected him back in 2006. Really though, it's this bit that makes this article a must-read, because you'd absolutely have to agree that there's something very wrong with your franchise QB being at that stage of development at the end of his 5th NFL season (hat-tip to WinnipegTitanFan13 for getting this one in the fanshots):
A source told me the vast majority of Titans players had grown frustrated with Young's repeated maturity issues, and he still hadn't progressed to the point where he could seamlessly call plays in the huddle, or commit himself to the work and preparation required of an NFL starting quarterback. Adams was made aware of how widespread the rest of the locker room felt hamstrung and held back by Young's lack of development.
"The fact that he still has a hard time calling plays in the huddle, that's a problem for us," a Titans source said. "There's not indifference here about Vince. There's some serious animosity. A lot of guys would want out of here if he came back. Everyone knows he's the guy who's supposed to drive the car, he's supposed to be our leader. But he doesn't do the things you have to have your quarterback do. Guys can't trust him. Even after all this time. It had to start with not having No. 10 back here."
Vince Young's comments to Wyatt were certainly honest, even to the point of revealing a good bit of what Vince Young doesn't get that he doesn't get. He's almost certainly right that for most of his time Jeff Fisher didn't trust him, and as the picture becomes clearer it sounds like Fisher had every reason not to trust Vince. I'm sure his PR person had a vicious facepalm moment when he/she heard VY describe running away after the Washington blow-up as "That's just me". If that's just Vince, then he's got no shot at getting back in the saddle in the NFL again. Like I said on MCM Radio last night, it would take something absolutely remarkable for Vince Young to mature fast enough and far enough to realize all of his potential, but we've seen Vince do a number of remarkable things over the years. The one thing we can all agree on though is that it wasn't going to happen here no matter what happens with the coaching staff.
Thanks to gramsey for the facebook status update that gave me today's title. Now, jump!
Informed of the news via the media just like the rest of us, Titans players had a range of reported reactions that spanned from 'no comment' to sad, but most of the ones who would talk agreed that the decision to move on without Vince is probably in the best interest of both sides. Given the struggles we now undeniably know Vince had with the playbook, and the emotional instability, I'm sure most of his teammates support VY because they feel bad for the guy, but they've got to be tired of the see-saw performances we've seen while waiting for Vince to finally grow up.
On a more productive note, Paul K considers a bevy of possible landing spots for Vince. How crazy would it be if VY ended up playing for Pete Carroll in Seattle?
Retired NFL All-Pro Pro Bowl QB Trent Green weighs in on the VY announcement:
"This is a move you have to make," Green told NFL Network Wednesday. "Whether you’re talking about an organizational standpoint or from the other guys in the locker room, the two things you want from your starting quarterback are stability and consistency.
"In the five years Young has been in Tennessee, you haven’t had either of those. He’s had up and down performances on the field, and a lot of instability off of it."
Jim Wyatt finally clears the air (somewhat) on the missed meetings story that was supposed to explain why Fisher yanked Young against the Steelers. What happened is pretty much exactly what we thought, and what Jasoon La Canfora reported a few months ago, with one exception: When Wyatt went to Fisher to confirm the reports Fisher covered for VY and denied that those things ever happened. Basically, Wyatt is leaving it open to speculation about whether the leak came from the coaching staff or some disgruntled players.
David Boclair picks-up on a conversation we've had in the comments recently: if the Titans defense wasn't giving up so many points, Marc Mariani wouldn't have had enough attempts to break the franchise return yardage record. But as it happened, he got a record number of return attempts. Mariani had a phenomenal year and deserves all of the credit he'll get, but I'd certainly hope he doesn't get nearly as many chances next year!
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