If you're a Tennessee Titans fan it's basically assumed at this point that you have an opinion on the team's current backup quarterback, Vince Young--one way or the other.  Love him or hate him, think he's still got potential to assume the QB throne or think he's already on his way out of the league, Titans fans have been arguing amongst each other about where he stands going into the 2009 season.  And considering how little we saw of him in the 2008 season, during which he threw a total of 36 passes, a little extra is being read into his every movement during this pre-season.

Having said that, in my observation, Titans fans currently have a lot of reason to think that Young is progressing.  Granted, Young's stat line from the pre-season opener against Buffalo looked pretty bad (5 of 10, 39yds, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 rush attempt for 1yd) and the offense lacked any sort of rhythm with him at the helm, but there was little that could realistically be drawn from the performance.  At home against the Buccanneers, however, Vince was back to showing some glimpses of progress.

A handful of series in a meaningless pre-season game against second- and third-string defenses can't tell a casual fan too much about a player.  But here are some things to consider regarding Vince's performance over the weekend (9 of 14, 131yds, 1 TD, 0 INTs, 2 rushes for 9yds).  

One.

Perhaps one of the biggest complaints about Vince The Player, going back to his sophomore NFL season in 2007, is that he had "stopped running."  Many fans have voiced the sentiment that Vince no longer utilizes the tools that promised to make him one of the more dynamic and threatening weapons in the league.  Vince has looked hesitant to take off out of the pocket, to create on the fly, to improvise; at times, he has looked like he was being forced--whether by his coaches or by himself--to stand in the pocket and take sacks or force bad throws.  Additionally, following an injury to his quad against the Buccanneers in the 2007 season, questions began to rise regarding his ability to become explosive again.  

Albeit only a slight respite, Vince executed a dash more reminiscent of himself in 2006 than 2007. 

2nd and 13, 12:23 - 3rd quarter

Vince comes out under center, in a two tight-end, singleback set.  Tampa counters with a base 4-3 package, corners 2-3 yards off their receivers in man-to-man coverage.  At the snap, the corners turn and run with their men.  The TE and WR split out to the right are running deep patterns; the call here is to go deep with the ball and it is Young's first read.  TE Craig Stevens, lined up on the left side of the line, runs a drag across the formation, taking the right and middle linebackers with him.  After a delay, RB Chris Henry delivers a nice chip on the defensive tackle then runs a curl underneath, causing the ROLB to peel off of Stevens and back inside onto Henry.  Vince steps up, pumps to the right side and feels the pressure of the pocket collapsing from the right.  Without hesitation, Vince pulls the ball down and breaks to the left picking up 9 yards before being chased out of bounds by the ROLB and creating a far more manageable 3rd and 3.  In fact, a better chip by Chris Henry on the ROLB as Vince breaks the pocket and Vince goes one-on-one with a corner and probably picks up the first down.  The Good here is that Vince exhibits a good degree of his elusiveness and play-making ability by making an instant decision to escape and picking up what he can; he also makes a wise decision by taking it out of bounds and not exposing himself to unnecessary hits.  Whether Vince had a second or third read on this playcall is moot at this point as the pressure was on him and he did what was needed to make a positive out of the play.

Bonus points: Vince's physical and mental toughness has also been called into question by many as fans have become accustomed to Vince's melodramatics of rolling around on the turf after any sort of contact.  However, on the play above, Vince seems to pull up limp as he crosses the sidelines and grabs at his left hamstring.  But Vince makes his way back onto the field and into the huddle without looking for his replacement, without asking for trainers' or coaches' assistance.  It might stand as an indication that Vince gets what is at stake now and understands the game at the NFL level requires playing through a degree of pain.

Two.

One of the biggest complaints I have come across regarding Young's performance in the pre-season opener was how stiff the offense appeared under his control in the 2nd and early 3rd quarters.  Without sustaining any drives, the Titans' offensive series under Vince's direction terminated with one interception and three three-and-outs.  The one drive that resulted in points for the offense under Young was the result of a special teams fumble recovery at the Buffalo 37 yard line.  Meanwhile, the offenses displayed much better rhythm and execution under QBs Kerry Collins and Patrick Ramsey.  

Fast forward a week later against Tampa and Vince's offensive series execute much better, establishing rhythm and sustained drives.  Although his first time out on the field concluded with a three-and-out after failing to convert a 3rd and 6, Vince rebounded with a 38-yard strike to rookie Kenny Britt off of play-action to open up his second series (a drive of 8 plays ending with three points).  And although the offense struggled to put together a 2-minute drill to close out the first half and ended up punting, Young and company assembled a respectable 10-play drive culminating in a touchdown.  


Three.

However I have also heard nay-sayers criticize Vince's apparent progress and attribute it to a "dumbed-down, one-read, cut-the-field-in-half" version of the offense.  While there is a degree of truth to these claims and some evidence to back up this opinion, as with nearly everything you see in pre-season, you do not always see what you think you see.  

True, many of the throws attempted by Young in his quarter-and-a-half of play appeared to come off of just one look, implying Vince is being given one read to make and is expected either to make the throw or pull the ball and run.  Personally, I have some problems with stating that the plays were called as read-or-run as any type of a fact.  First, the fact that Young saw and threw to his first read does not necessarily mean that there were not secondary reads/progressions on the play.  All you can legitimately take away from these plays is that Vince recognized his first read and made the throw to his first read.  Taking it to the opposite extreme, one could argue that Vince has progressed so greatly at the QB position that he is now able to diagnose the proper pre-snap read and get the ball out to the correct man.  There is something to be said for this.

Picking up where we left off, in the same series in the 3rd quarter, following Young's 9-yard scamper, the Titans face a 3rd and 3 from their own 39 yard line.  Tennessee comes out with a four-wide look from the shotgun with Hawkins split wide right, Britt in the slot, Cook split right, and Williams split far left.  Tampa's defense is in nickle with all 11 men in the box; the corners are lined up in man coverage, with a linebacker on the LOS and the safeties 6-yds off the ball.  They are in nickle but expecting run.  At the snap, the nickleback breaks off of Britt and blitzes from the right side of the formation.  If Tampa drops into run-zones or stay manned up, the ball probably goes to Cook who runs a 5-yard curl underneath the safety.  But Vince, immediately recognizing the blitz, fires to Britt running a 4-yard out.  The ball is on time and is caught past the sticks--as long as Britt secures the ball, a defender could have dropped him on the spot and it's still a first down.  It turns out to be a nice pick up of 13 on 3rd and 3.  As simple as it sounds and looks, Vince makes the proper pre-snap read, seeing the body language of the nickleback turning into the LOS too early, probably tipping the defense's hand too early.  Otherwise, it's still an excellent reaction by Young to get the ball to the right man and throwing into the face of pressure.

Another reason to believe that Vince was not being given a read-or-run offense to run is that Vince had only two rushing attempts in the game, one of which coming as the result of pressure flushing him out of the pocket.  It is more likely that if all of the plays called for Vince to throw to the primary read or run it if it's not open that Vince would have ended his game with one of two things: more interceptions or more rush attempts.  As stated earlier, Vince finished with 0 INTs and only 2 rush attempts.  

Four.

Conceding what I would consider to be the worst-case scenario and admitting that most of the playcalls from last Saturday night were of a quick one-read-and-run nature, it still is not to say that Vince cannot make multiple reads or that he cannot begin learning to.  While this clearly is a concession that the expectations for a fourth year quarterback selected with the third overall pick are exceedingly low, I'll take it and be glad for it if it means Vince is really improving.  

An obvious example of this is the 3rd quarter 38-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Britt.  On this 3rd and 10 play, as the rush comes upfield, Vince moves up into the pocket.  With his primary read taken away from him on the right side (where the Titans had lined up three wide), Young clearly is about to take off and try to pick up the 10 yards needed for the first down.  However, just as he approaches the line of scrimmage, Vince--keeping his eyes downfield on his receivers--sees the safety and corner break off their deep assignments and attack the LOS.  Vince pumps, then throws on the run, delivering an accurate ball to Britt in-stride in the endzone for the TD.  Again, it's something that sounds and looks simple enough and the fact that it comes against mostly Tampa's 2nd- or 3rd-string defenders somewhat diminishes the difficulty level.  One is certainly welcome to make the argument that most safeties starting in the NFL won't bite up on the run that quickly and abandon their deep assignments to leave Kenny Britt so wide open.  But the significance of the play is not to be overlooked; fans have asked for Vince the Playmaker and on Saturday night he was in the building.

Looking at just the facts.

Reviewing just the facts, I came away from pre-season game two with several impressions regarding Vince's development as he continues preparing for his role as the #2 quarterback on the 2009 roster.  We can see that Vince is ready to be more decisive with his decisions to pull the ball and run.  There was little, if any, dancing around looking confused in the pocket last Saturday, and his decision to run the ball resulted in critical yards to set up a high-percentage third down play.  After pre-season game one, we the observers asked that the offense show some degree of rhythm, timing, efficiency, competency with Young under center; on Saturday we saw just that, as the offense produced 10 points in approximately a quarter and a half.  For a season and a half, we the observers have asked that Vince anticipate better, look more decisive with the ball and get it out quicker instead of waiting too long on a route to develop or for a man to come open.  On Saturday, we saw a Vince Young getting the ball out quickly, attacking defenses at soft-spots and picking up chunks of yards and making first downs.  And we the observers have asked since 2007 that Vince continue developing his potential as a playmaker, using his legs to set up plays for himself and for his offense.  On Saturday, Vince the Playmaker re-imerged for a quarter and a half.

He is still a work in progress, and I don't think you can argue that he is where you would hope for a fourth-year 3rd-overall pick to be be at this point.  But Saturday night the improvement was finally recognizeable.

CANTON, Ohio — Kerry Collins was sharp and Vince Young tentative for the Tennessee Titans in overshadowing Terrell Owens' debut for the Buffalo Bills.

With a little trickery and a solid performance by the Collins-led starting offense, Tennessee opened the preseason with a 21-18 win in the Hall of Fame game on Sunday night.

If this was the NFL's throwback weekend to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the American Football League, then this also resembled the Titans' quarterback situation at the beginning of last year. That's when Young got off to a terrible start and lost his starting job to Collins by Week 2.

Collins, already selected the starter, quickly began delivering on the faith the Titans put in him after being signed to a two-year $15 million contract this offseason.

He went 7-of-10 for 82 yards in producing two touchdown drives, one capped by reserve punter A.J. Trapasso's 40-yard run on a perfectly executed fake punt on the opening possession. Collins was especially efficient in going 3 for 4 for 49 yards on third down.

"I thought we got off to a good start," Collins said. "We executed our offense and played fast out there."

The same couldn't be said for Young, who took over at the start of the second quarter. In his first three series, Young was 1-of-5 for 13 yards and an interception, nearly dropped a shotgun snap and looked hesitant running the ball when he was easily caught from behind by rookie linebacker Nic Harris.

Young finally warmed up, and showed great touch in hitting Paul Williams for a 5-yard touchdown pass to convert third-and-2 to put the Titans up 21-3 late in the second quarter. The No. 3 selection in the 2006 draft still has a long way to go to regain his once-dominating form. In five series, Young went 5-of-10 for 39 yards, and a 1-yard run.

The Bills were sluggish and looked nothing like the better-prepared team, considering Buffalo opened training camp two weeks ago — a week ahead of the Titans.

The only offensive highlights were provided by Owens, who signed a one-year $6.5 million contract with Buffalo in early March, days after being released by Dallas.

On the field for only one series, Owens had two catches for 27 yards, including a 16-yarder on the second play from scrimmage. Trent Edwards hit Owens in perfect stride on a slant, and the receiver had the opportunity to score if not for a perfect tackle by cornerback Cortland Finnegan. The drive, however, ended when Edwards floated a pass intended for Lee Evans at the Titans' 7 and was easily intercepted by Cortland Finnegan.

"It's good to get the cobwebs out," Edwards said. "(The rhythm) is just what we are trying to find right now. ... We just can't turn the ball over."

Owens was greeted by chants of "T.O.! T.O.!" by the partisan Buffalo crowd that stayed an extra day after Bills defensive end Bruce Smith and team owner Ralph Wilson were among six inducted into the Hall.

Bills cornerback Reggie Corner scored on a 26-yard interception return off fourth-stringer Alex Mortensen, while kicker Ryan Lindell hit all three field-goal attempts, including a 52-yarder.

LenDale White scored on a 3-yard run on the Titans first-stringers' only other series, capping an 11-play, 73-yard drive.

In honor of the AFL, the Titans, who relocated from Houston, wore Oilers' throwback uniforms. The Bills wore their throwback uniforms, which feature the red standing buffalo logo on their helmets. And even the officials dressed for the occasion, wearing throwback AFL red-and-white striped shirts.

Tennessee players also wore No. 9 decals on the backs of their helmets in honor of former quarterback Steve McNair, who was shot to death in a Nashville condominium by his girlfriend, Sahel Kazemi, who then killed herself on July 4. The Titans will wear the decal for the rest of the season.

Why not Bud?

Wilson is deserving. He is the founding owner of the Bills and one of eight original owners of teams in the American Football League — the self-appointed "Foolish Club." He is celebrating 50 years in pro football.

Ditto for K.S. "Bud" Adams Jr. He is all that. And more.

(Let me insert a disclaimer here: I'm one of 44 members of the selection committee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As such, I can't divulge what goes on behind closed doors. Suffice it to say, however, that the debate can get pretty lively.)

It was a conversation between Adams and the late Lamar Hunt — a Hall of Fame selection in 1972, by the way — that led to the formation of the AFL. Adams and Hunt recruited others, like Wilson, to the fledgling league.

And while it was a meeting between Wilson and the late Carroll Rosenbloom, then owner of the Los Angeles Rams, that was instrumental in the merger of the AFL and NFL, Wilson points out that Adams and others were deeply involved in behind-the-scenes work.

"I don't think they really know what happened in the merger, who were the fighters, who weren't, who did what," Wilson said.

Along those lines, it was the manner in which Adams conducted business that helped get the attention of the more established NFL. He made a splash by signing two-time All-America and Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon away from the L.A. Rams in 1960.

"They were scared to death of Bud, the other league, because he beat them on Billy Cannon," said Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis.

After Cannon had signed with the Rams, Adams circled back around and offered him twice as much money. He also handed over the keys to Mrs. Adams' Cadillac to secure the deal.

"She wasn't too happy about that," Adams recalled.

Of course, there is a sticking point here. Adams moved his team from Houston to Nashville in 1997. Owners that relocate their teams tend to get the cold shoulder in this process.

Case in point: The late Art Modell has been shut out of the Hall of Fame, in large part because of lingering hard feelings over his decision to move his team out of Cleveland to Baltimore in 1996. Modell was a finalist in 2002 and a semifinalist in 2004, '05 and '06, but is not in the Hall of Fame.

Just the same, that didn't keep Davis out. He moved the Raiders from one city (Oakland) to another (Los Angeles) and, ultimately, back again. And he's in the Hall of Fame

Recently, there has been a willingness to consider those who laid the foundation for today's NFL. Often, the rhetorical question is asked: "Could you write the history of pro football without including his name?"

His words have spoken louder than his on-field actions.

Beginning with the Hall of Fame game tonight against the Bills, however, the Titans quarterback should be on display for the next five weeks.

It's a chance for Young to show just how much progress he's made since his difficult 2008 season. It could also provide his skeptics with more reasons to believe he hasn't come very far.

"There will be a lot of eyes, definitely a lot of eyes,'' Young said. "But I can't really think about that. I just have to go out there and play my game and stay relaxed and execute the offense. I need to show coaches I am reading the defenses like I am supposed to, making progress.

"I'm excited about it. There's no pressure, not at all. It's football, and I'm looking forward to playing.''

This time last year, Young was the unquestioned starter. His preseason stats — 29-of-64 for 290 yards, no touchdowns and one interception — were hardly dazzling. But who knew he would end up throwing more passes in the preseason than in the regular season?

The events of the regular-season opener and its immediate aftermath are well documented. The injured and dismayed Young didn't react well and wound up behind Kerry Collins the rest of the season, appearing in only two more games.

Now it's Collins who will spend much of each preseason game standing around on the sideline while Young and other reserves try to impress their coaches.

"I want him to have fun,'' Coach Jeff Fisher said of Young. "And go out there and lead drives and make good decisions and score points for us.''

Others believe there's much more to it.

Young's confidence is at stake. So is his job, and not just for this season.

Job evaluation

Over the next five weeks, Young has to hold off veteran Patrick Ramsey in order to remain the No. 2 quarterback.

Down the road, Young's contract comes into play.

It's a lot to invest in a player if you're not sure he can be your No. 1 quarterback. If Young is not showing improvement, the Titans could run out of patience with the player they made the third overall pick in 2006.

"From a business standpoint I'm sure you can say that it's important for Vince to play well,'' said Titans tight end Bo Scaife, one of Young's closest friends. "But I think it is more important for himself, to perform better for himself so he has that confidence back in him, take some of that pressure off that he puts on himself.''

Former NFL defensive back Solomon Wilcots, an analyst with CBS and the NFL Network, said words can hardly describe just how vital it is for Young to perform well in the preseason.

These games could serve as a jump-start, Wilcots said, or could set him even further back.

"Success breeds confidence. If he has success in the preseason his confidence will return,'' Wilcots said. "No one can tell me that his confidence hasn't been shaken, because anyone who has played ball and tasted failure knows the only remedy to that is success, and good positive moments on the field of competition brings it back.

"It's a huge preseason for him because he has to develop as a quarterback. And what he can't do is try and get out there and do too much. Don't try and impress anybody. Just read your progressions, deliver the ball, have good technique, good mechanics and read defenses and the rest will come.''

'He's been fine'

So far in training camp, Young has appeared more confident and more accurate throwing the football than in preseasons past. He's thrown fewer interceptions in practice.

"And his leadership, it has picked up,'' veteran receiver Justin Gage said. "You can see his confidence has picked up. He is a competitor and he is going to keep fighting. I think he has fought harder this year than I have seen him fight in the past few years.''

He said Young has improved in some areas — pulling the ball down and running instead of forcing a throw into tight coverage, and correcting mistakes within a day of making them — but hardly raved.

"He's been fine,'' he said.

As for Ramsey, Heimerdinger said the eighth-year pro has been making some "great decisions" and has a good feel for the offense. Heimerdinger and Ramsey worked together when they were with the Broncos in 2007.

The good news for Young and the Titans is they have five preseason games to figure it all out.

"We have to see him get back out there and make good decisions,'' Heimer-dinger said. "I don't know if I can put an importance on the preseason. I hope any time anybody goes out there they'll execute what we want them to do and produce how we want them to produce. It is not just him. …