Jeff Fisher has lost his security blanket for a while.
The Titans coach revealed that Kerry Collins could be out “several weeks” because of his ankle injury. Vince Young has battled an ankle injury of his own, although he looked spry on Sunday after replacing Collins at halftime.
Jay Glazer of FOX reported that Young missed rehab treatments on his ankle during the Titans bye week, although Young disputes that report. NFL Network’s Mike Lombardi confirmed the report, and went a step further.
“The feeling in the Titans building is that he is extremely unreliable. His work ethic will need to improve if he is going to turn his career around,” Lombardi wrote. “Young has not endeared himself to teammates, who know the real story about his work ethic. He did not even try to work out before Sunday’s game, just accepting his number two status.”
Ouch. In a way, Young’s effort after replacing Collins proves Lombardi’s point. Young’s numbers weren’t great, but he moved around well and made defenders miss while breaking out a spin move on one rush. It sure looked like he could have started, but he didn’t. Why?
Young, who will start on Sunday against the Redskins, has earned a lot of praise for turning his career around. His play has certainly improved. It appears he still has to work on some of the same maturity and leadership issues he faced two years back.