National Football League

7 Points: Don't buy in on Vince Young

Published Nov. 15, 2009 2:04 p.m. ET

foxsports

Point 1: Some people think Vince Young has put it all together in Tennessee. He hasn't.

A couple of weeks ago, the media and the fans were buzzing about 49ers quarterback Alex Smith after an impressive stint in relief of Shaun Hill, nearly bringing San Francisco back from a large deficit against the Texans. Smith was handed the starter's role while optimism spun out of control that he had finally found his groove.

Since then, he's 1-2 as a starter, including a narrow 10-6 win on Thursday night over the Bears in which he passed for just 118 yards. He has thrown three touchdowns against five interceptions and has been sacked 10 times.

It's likely many of those same people who had high hopes for Smith a few weeks ago are now wondering why he's not playing like he did against the Texans.

It's because Alex Smith is still Alex Smith — a quality, second-string quarterback.

So now that the Titans are 2-0 with Vince Young as their starter, voices are being raised hailing his return, questioning why coach Jeff Fisher didn't switch to Young before Tennessee had dug itself deeply into an 0-6 hole.

The answer is simple. Vince Young is still Vince Young — an inconsistent performer who is at best a second-string quarterback in the NFL.

Though some are blinded by the euphoria that winning brings after a six-game losing skid, here are some facts from Young's performance over the past two weeks. He has completed 73 percent of his throws, but has moved the ball through the air an average of only 149 yards per game and thrown one touchdown pass. He has run the ball 17 times for an average of 2.6 yards per rush, scoring once.

Pretty mediocre stuff, to put it nicely.

And to reinforce the fact that he hasn't shaken his inconsistency at the position, check out these stats. Young is completing nearly 77 percent of his throws in the first half against just 44 percent in the last 30 minutes. When the team has a lead, he's completing nearly 85 percent of his throws, but just 38.5 percent when the Titans trail in a game. Worse yet, he's completing just 45.5 percent of his third-down passes.

Those trends don't bode well for the Titans, as they show Young is at his worst when the leader of the offense is needed the most.

The Titans' victories have come at the expense of two very inconsistent teams — the Jaguars and the 49ers — who have a combined record of 8-9. Tennessee takes on the Bills this weekend and could nab a third victory in that game. But then the Titans face Houston, Arizona and Indianapolis on consecutive weekends — which will likely be the stretch where the wheels will more visibly fall off of Young's current bandwagon.

Point 2: The Colts have plenty of reasons to try to unload safety Bob Sanders, but it's not likely to happen until 2011.