By Mark Maske
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 10, 2006

NASHVILLE -- The Vince Young era, now two starts old, has been hatched amid chaos and controversy for the Tennessee Titans.

And losing, lots and lots of losing.

Little of that has been the doing of Young, the multitalented quarterback from the University of Texas chosen third overall in the NFL draft in April. But it all seems to be taking a toll already. He called his play "terrible" and "real bad" after his first professional start here nine days ago against the Dallas Cowboys, and he exited the locker room without speaking to reporters after Sunday's near-miss in Indianapolis in which the Titans led for almost the entire game but lost, 14-13, and dropped to 0-5.

"We've just got to believe in each other more," Young said after his first start. "I believe we've got to have more fun. I mean, I love this game so much it's ridiculous. I love it just as [much as] I love my mom. That's how I've got to get these guys to feel, like that. I've got to let these guys know, 'Hey, man, let's go, even though we're down.' That's when our competitiveness is supposed to come out."

Young and the Titans -- a team headed nowhere fast -- are a welcome sight for the Washington Redskins, who play them Sunday at FedEx Field. The Titans' quarterback situation has been in disarray since team officials barred veteran Steve McNair from working out at the training facility during the offseason, wary that McNair would hurt himself before his contract could be renegotiated. That led to a grievance hearing and McNair's unceremonious departure in a trade with the Baltimore Ravens.

McNair's backup, Billy Volek, was next in line to be the starter and keep the seat warm until Young was ready to play. But Volek and Coach Jeff Fisher clashed during the offseason, and the Titans signed veteran Kerry Collins just before the season and handed him the starting job. Volek since has been traded to the San Diego Chargers and Collins played pitiably in his three starts. Fisher told Young two weeks ago that he'd take over as the starter but persuaded members of the local media to keep the story under wraps until the day before the Cowboys game. That bit of subterfuge didn't help. Young threw two interceptions and the Titans lost, 45-14.

Young's first start was just another story line that day, lost amid the hubbub of wide receiver Terrell Owens playing for the Cowboys four days after denying an account in a Dallas police report that he'd tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication. The same afternoon, Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth kicked Cowboys center Andre Gurode twice in the head following a third-quarter play, once after Gurode's helmet had been knocked off, leading to a record five-game suspension being imposed by the league the following day.

But now, Young's development is the only story line left for the Titans this season. His NFL stock soared after his breathtaking performance for Texas when the Longhorns beat USC in last season's national title game, and he bypassed his final season of collegiate eligibility to enter the draft. He ended up being the first quarterback selected, ahead of Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler, also taken in the first round.

Some scouts and executives around the league rave about him as the NFL's next big thing, calling him a Michael Vick with passing accuracy. Others look at his unorthodox throwing mechanics and think he has a long way to go. The Cowboys, at least, were impressed. Coach Bill Parcells likened the process of readying his defense to face Young to preparing years ago to face former Philadelphia Eagles standout Randall Cunningham. Owner Jerry Jones called Young "among the top three or four competitors I'd ever seen in the draft," and added, "I'm glad he's not in our division. I'm glad he's not in our conference. He's very impressive."

Said Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe, a former top overall pick in the draft by the New England Patriots: "When you're drafted that high, by definition you're going to a team that struggled the year before. The big thing for a young quarterback when you're drafted that high is to be resilient, fight through the tough times and come out the other side. Sometimes it takes one year. Sometimes it takes three or four. But what will define him is how he bounces back."

Fisher said he thinks Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow has a "player-friendly" system that will speed Young's progress. Fisher insists that the Titans aren't giving up on this season by playing a rookie quarterback. He said he switched to Young because "we felt it was time. This team is his. We are going to move forward. We expect to see improvement each and every week, not only from Vince but also from the players that are surrounding him."

Young, like most rookie quarterbacks, is taking his lumps. He has completed only 24 of 50 passes for 218 yards in his two starts, with one touchdown and three interceptions. He threw for only 63 yards Sunday against the Colts but did score the Titans' lone touchdown on a 19-yard run.

The way of the NFL is that a prized young quarterback learns only by doing, by making his inevitable mistakes and figuring out how to avoid them the next time around. The school of hard knocks is the only way to go. But Young sounds impatient nevertheless.

"I've just got to get better each week," he said, "and try to turn this thing around. . . . I'm pretty much the future, so if I can go out there and learn from these different situations that are going on, it will help me get better as the season goes on. Once I start clicking, everything's going to fall into place. . . . It's going to come. . . . In the meantime, I've got to lead my guys. I've got to get these guys going since I'm that guy right now. I've got to get these guys going, whatever it takes."