Titans’ QBs a three-pronged horror show

By Connor Byrne  |   Tuesday, September 12, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Tennessee Titans
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The more the merrier? Not for the Tennessee Titans. Currently, the basement-dwellers of the AFC South possess three different quarterbacks; it's just too bad none of them are any good at this point.

The Titans' three-headed monster of awfulness at the position features Kerry Collins, Billy Volek and Vince Young. In its 23-16 loss to the Jets last weekend, Tennessee had a chance to utilize two of those players, Collins and Young.

The 30-year-old Volek, who was originally listed as the starting QB throughout the offseason, suddenly lost the job to Collins, a free-agent signing just two weeks ago. After barely even having time to acquaint himself with the Titans' playbook or offensive personnel, the 33-year-old Collins was inserted into the team's starting lineup for the opener. The 12th-year man from Penn State's performance was one of unmitigated disaster, as he managed to complete just 17-of-38 pass attempts for 223 yards and a pair of interceptions.

Early in the contest, the confused Collins was pulled in favor of Young, the Titans' first-round pick from April's draft. Unfortunately for the third overall pick and national champion from the University of Texas, he, too, struggled. That's obviously understandable, since Young came from a totally different offensive system in college and needs to get used to Norm Chow's scheme in Nashville. The 6-foot-5, 233-pounder completed a solid 3-of-4 passes but also tossed a horribly underthrown interception. Thereafter, he was pulled from the game for good.

When the Titans face off against the scary defense of the San Diego Chargers this weekend, it's hard to imagine things won't be even worse. Collins, who will start, has openly stated that he'll be better in Week 2, but that seems just about impossible. After all, look at what Shawne Merriman and friends did to the Raiders' offense on Monday night.

Merriman and Luis Castillo (among others) were in the face of Oakland's relatively mobile quarterbacks, Aaron Brooks and Andrew Walter, all night, sacking them a combined nine times. Unfortunately for Collins, he moves with the speed of a 100-year-old tortoise. In other words, he's pretty much doomed in this game.

Before everything's said and done in the Titans' second game of the year, expect to see either Volek or Young at some point. If Collins doesn't perform poorly, he'll likely be knocked out of the action with an injury by the Chargers' swarming defensive unit. Prepare to look away, Tennessee fans, because it could get ugly.

--Got feedback? Connor J. Byrne responds to readers' comments and questions each day: cbyrne@realfootball365.com.

Get more on the Tennessee Titans at RealFootball365.com.
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