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Footballguy
Saturday, 07/28/07
Young gets his message across
Notes, cheers show Titan QB desires lead role
By PAUL KUHARSKY
Staff Writer
As the Titans trickled into Baptist Sports Park on Thursday and Friday, each player found an envelope in his locker.
Each envelope contained a letter from Vince Young.
The second-year quarterback thanked teammates for backing him during an NFL offensive rookie of the year season that concluded with a Pro Bowl appearance, and expressed how good he felt about the Titans moving forward.
"It was a good way, without getting up in front of the team and taking that forum, of getting in everybody's head and just giving them that word of encouragement," veteran defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch said. "I think it meant a lot."
Young was the headliner as the Titans held their opening practice of training camp Friday afternoon.
He clapped animatedly. He scolded himself after one overthrow and put his hands on his helmet after another miss. He smiled after connecting with Courtney Roby on a perfect deep ball down the middle. He went out of his way to chat with receiver Justin Gage after throwing to someone else on a scramble.
After the 90-minute session, Young seemed very loose.
"I know I'm more comfortable. I know I'm a little bit more ahead on the offense, so that helps me out," Young said. " … Last year I was more quiet. I was watching. Now I'm more relaxed. I know what's going on. I know what coach expects."
Altered approach
When he looks back at Young's rookie year, Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow said he tried too hard to jam a round peg into a square hole.
This time around, Chow said he's changed his thinking about the man who wears No. 10 in at least one significant way.
"We've got to fix it to match what 10 can do for you because 10 can do an awful lot of good things," Chow said. "The progressive-type reads … I think now we're more into coverage recognition and then knowing where to go after you recognize the coverage."
Translation: Provided Young can identify the configuration of a defense and the position of a key defender or two as he takes the snap, he'll automatically know where the ball should go.
It's a change strong safety Chris Hope said he already can tell is putting Young in better position to succeed.
"His ball comes out real fast. When you have a quarterback doing that, he's pretty much got a good pre-snap read of what the defense is in and from his coaching he knows where the opening is," Hope said. "That's what makes Peyton Manning so good. He reads those defenses and he knows where the stress of the defense is, so he goes for the easy throw.
"With the athleticism of the receivers in this league and the arm strength of the quarterbacks, if they make the easy throw, there is a high-percentage chance of them catching the ball. It's a smart move. It's only going to make Vince more dangerous."
Foes get defensive
Chow said he expects defenses to treat Young much differently this season than they did in 2006.
"People understand him now, they're not going to let him run around," he said. "So if they're not going to let him run around, he better throw some completions."
To do so, Young knows he will need to heed Chow's instructions.
"Every day he preaches, 'Read this free safety, watch what he's doing, he's going to tell you where to go,' " Young said.
With veteran Eric Moulds added to a group of young receivers, Young now has an option who brings size and a physical style.
Meanwhile, Young is still working on developing his own style.
Tabbed by so many as a natural-born leader, Young scored his first points of the season with his teammates through the mail.
"I feel like his leadership role has definitely picked up," said tight end Bo Scaife, who talked with Young about the letter before it was distributed. "I think he's more comfortable saying what he feels and reaching out to everyone on the team, offense and defense.
"He definitely feels like he has more power, being a leader and being able to express his opinion to everyone."
Young gets his message across
Notes, cheers show Titan QB desires lead role
By PAUL KUHARSKY
Staff Writer
As the Titans trickled into Baptist Sports Park on Thursday and Friday, each player found an envelope in his locker.
Each envelope contained a letter from Vince Young.
The second-year quarterback thanked teammates for backing him during an NFL offensive rookie of the year season that concluded with a Pro Bowl appearance, and expressed how good he felt about the Titans moving forward.
"It was a good way, without getting up in front of the team and taking that forum, of getting in everybody's head and just giving them that word of encouragement," veteran defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch said. "I think it meant a lot."
Young was the headliner as the Titans held their opening practice of training camp Friday afternoon.
He clapped animatedly. He scolded himself after one overthrow and put his hands on his helmet after another miss. He smiled after connecting with Courtney Roby on a perfect deep ball down the middle. He went out of his way to chat with receiver Justin Gage after throwing to someone else on a scramble.
After the 90-minute session, Young seemed very loose.
"I know I'm more comfortable. I know I'm a little bit more ahead on the offense, so that helps me out," Young said. " … Last year I was more quiet. I was watching. Now I'm more relaxed. I know what's going on. I know what coach expects."
Altered approach
When he looks back at Young's rookie year, Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow said he tried too hard to jam a round peg into a square hole.
This time around, Chow said he's changed his thinking about the man who wears No. 10 in at least one significant way.
"We've got to fix it to match what 10 can do for you because 10 can do an awful lot of good things," Chow said. "The progressive-type reads … I think now we're more into coverage recognition and then knowing where to go after you recognize the coverage."
Translation: Provided Young can identify the configuration of a defense and the position of a key defender or two as he takes the snap, he'll automatically know where the ball should go.
It's a change strong safety Chris Hope said he already can tell is putting Young in better position to succeed.
"His ball comes out real fast. When you have a quarterback doing that, he's pretty much got a good pre-snap read of what the defense is in and from his coaching he knows where the opening is," Hope said. "That's what makes Peyton Manning so good. He reads those defenses and he knows where the stress of the defense is, so he goes for the easy throw.
"With the athleticism of the receivers in this league and the arm strength of the quarterbacks, if they make the easy throw, there is a high-percentage chance of them catching the ball. It's a smart move. It's only going to make Vince more dangerous."
Foes get defensive
Chow said he expects defenses to treat Young much differently this season than they did in 2006.
"People understand him now, they're not going to let him run around," he said. "So if they're not going to let him run around, he better throw some completions."
To do so, Young knows he will need to heed Chow's instructions.
"Every day he preaches, 'Read this free safety, watch what he's doing, he's going to tell you where to go,' " Young said.
With veteran Eric Moulds added to a group of young receivers, Young now has an option who brings size and a physical style.
Meanwhile, Young is still working on developing his own style.
Tabbed by so many as a natural-born leader, Young scored his first points of the season with his teammates through the mail.
"I feel like his leadership role has definitely picked up," said tight end Bo Scaife, who talked with Young about the letter before it was distributed. "I think he's more comfortable saying what he feels and reaching out to everyone on the team, offense and defense.
"He definitely feels like he has more power, being a leader and being able to express his opinion to everyone."
