Vince Young Clears The Air, Again…

Before we get started, I want to apologize for being out of pocket for the last few weeks. It’s been a long, slow off-season, so bear with me until we get to training camp. I know you’ve been breathlessly awaiting a new post, so we’ll get to it.

In case you haven’t seen the Vince Young ESPN E:60 interview with Michael Smith, here it is above. In it, Smith asks VY about the series of “incident(s)” last fall that spiraled his season out of control, his comments that he made on a Baltimore television station last week about wanting to be traded and his prospects for starting for the Titans again. Really nothing new to see here, but I thought VY actually carried himself quite well. He said all the right things for the most part (“I want to remain a Tennessee Titan” “I want to work hard to get my starting job back”, “I don’t want nothin’ handed to me”, yadda yadda yadda…), but I do have to question his timing a bit on this one.

I mean, why not have this conversation in January after the season? Hell, why not come out and address all of the allegations thrown your way (refusing to re-enter a game, quitting football, suicide, etc.) pretty soon after the bottom fell out in September?

And now, a week later, VY is answering questions again. Talking to reporters after minicamp practice on Wednesday, Vince explained why he did the E:60 interview:

"“I really needed to get (things) off my chest and get it out of the way, because everybody has their opinions of the situation,’’ Young said. “Every time I say something it is always going to get … blown out of proportion so I just have to live with it. That is the life of Vince and I just have to live with it.’’ – The Tennessean"

First off, referring to yourself in first person is stupid. And I’m not just singling out VY; I’m talking to all of you professional athletes, musicians and Ricky Hendersons. Stop it. Seriously. Secondly, and more directly, just stop talking about it Vince. The more you keep bringing it up again and again, the less you can get back to learning the playbook (fingers crossed!) and trying to win that job back that you keep talking about.

This is the year that will decide the fate of Vince Young with the Tennessee Titans. If he shows no progress on the field and is and complete mess off of it (let’s not forget his shirtless, Patron-gulping club appearance and how he “made it rain” at that Nelly show), then the Titans aren’t paying that big contract kicker next year. If (big if) Vince gets another opportunity to play again (not a big if with an immobile, 36-year old starting quarterback) and he shows some progress an ability to lead this team once again, things may get very interesting next off-season. Personally, I don’t think that would be a bad problem to have.

What do you all think the fate of VY will be in Tennessee? Will we see him start at QB for the Titans next year or is he already as good as gone?