Titans QB Young sees fourth-quarter playing time vs. Lions

Nov 27, 2008 - 10:53 PM DETROIT (Ticker) -- Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young played for the first time in nearly three months during the fourth quarter of Thursday's 47-10 rout of the Detroit Lions.

Young, sidelined by a knee injury since the season opener, replaced Kerry Collins with just under nine minutes remaining in the Thanksgiving Day contest.

A former Pro Bowler, Young quarterbacked the Titans' last two drives of the game and completed his only pass attempt - a 54-yard screen to fullback Ahmard Hall.

"I'm glad for our team that we were able to get up to that position," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. "It's good to see (Young) back out there again."

The brief performance was a positive step in what has been a disappointing season for Young, who suffered a sprained knee against Jacksonville on September 7 and did not play in Tennessee's next 10 games.

"(Young) came in the huddle and said 'Hey, haven't seen you guys in a while,'" Titans running back LenDale White said. "Vince is there for us 100 percent. He understands what's going on right now, but the thing is in this game it's only one play away.

"No matter what happens, it's still Vince's team. He's going to be the guy here for a long time."

While recovering from the injury, Young faced widespread scrutiny concerning his commitment to football and made headlines September 8 when Titans coach Jeff Fisher contacted Nashville police due to concern for the quarterback's well-being.

Young, who was booed by home fans during the season-opening win over the Jaguars, insisted later that week that he was mentally stable and committed to the Titans.

However, the 25-year-old Young has been relegated to a backup role behind the 35-year-old Collins, who has led the Titans (11-1) to the best 12-game record in franchise history.

Selected third in the 2006 draft following a stellar career at the University of Texas, Young has struggled as a passer in the NFL.

In 31 career games, Young has completed just 57 percent of his passes and has thrown 32 interceptions against just 22 touchdowns. He showed more accuracy last season, completing over 62 percent of his attempts, but had just nine TDs with 17 interceptions.

Young burst onto the scene in 2006, when he was named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year. He was named Tennessee's starter in Week Four that year and led the Titans to victories in eight of their final 11 games.

Although his passing skills repeatedly have been criticized, the athletic Young is an accomplished scrambler; he has averaged 5.4 yards per carry and has 10 rushing touchdowns in his career.

Young also has been a proven winner throughout both his professional and collegiate careers. Over the last two-plus seasons, the Titans are 18-11 in games started by Young, who led Tennessee to the playoffs last year.

Young ended his legendary career at Texas by carrying the Longhorns to a thrilling 41-38 upset of Southern California in the BCS championship game following the 2005 season. The Houston native accounted for 467 yards of total offense in the game and ran for the game-winning touchdown with 19 seconds remaining.