Vince Young Can't Resuscitate the Titans, Tennessee Looking for Season's Killer

(Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images)

Someone charge the paddles, stat. The Titans' organization appears dead and in severe need of resuscitation.

But at least we have one question answered. Maybe.

Down 31-9 at the end of the fourth quarter, Vince Young finally entered the huddle for the Tennessee Titans and did very little.

He handed off a few times, ran for a first down, and almost threw two picks in three failed passing attempts as the Tennessee Titans ran their record to 0-5, effectively ending any hopes they may have harbored of making the post-season this year.

No word yet on whether this move will be permanent. But if the Titans go 0-6—or rather, when—against New England next week, it may as well be.

For all you Vince Young Kool-Aid drinkers out there, I don't think I am being overly harsh and judgmental about your savior. This game may not be any indication of his ability to make this team competitive, but next week, or whenever he plays again, will tell the tale.

I've seen this storyline before, but I'm going to save that for another rant later: just too much to put in a recap of an awful game.

So enough about poor Vince; he's just trying to make a buck, right? He is as much as canonized in Texas, so it is understandable that he would be a little confused, even ticked off, by the treatment he has received since throwing what amounted to a preschool tantrum last year and getting his butt benched.

What is really ailing the Titans, now that it appears they might (or might not) have figured out their quarterback problem?

It's not the turnovers, although Alge Crumpler may need extra protection around town for a while. He keeps dropping balls and he is going to be persona non grata in Nashville.

It's not the interceptions, although Collins is minus-one on touchdowns vs. interceptions this year (but if you count the one he ran in, and I do, he is dead even).

It's not the running game, although Dash sure could use the Smash from last year. Maybe LenDale White should pack the weight back on.

Let's look at the numbers again, shall we? I realize we have been over this before, but maybe, just maybe, if we go over it again, I can get you to see what I see.

Of course, that usually doesn't work with my sometimes intractable teen-agers, either, but hey, you can't fault a guy for trying.

Offensively, the Titans ranked 21st overall last year, with 176.2 ypg through the air and 137.4 ypg on the ground, putting them 27th and 7th respectively.

This year they are ranked 10th overall, with 221.5 ypg through the air and 137 ypg on the ground, ranking them 16th and 6th respectively.

I don't know what math everyone else is using, but all of those numbers—with the exception of .4 yards rushing, so I'm not gonna split hairs—look like improvements over last year.

What about points, you say? Well, let's look at those too.

Last year, the Titans averaged 23.4 points per game for the entire season. Through the first five weeks they averaged 23 points per game, this year a mere 16.8. So that must be the problem, right? Collins and Co. can't punch it into the end zone!

Not so fast, partner.

Let's look a little deeper. While the Titans obviously scored more points last year than this year, there is a glaring omission in the comparison: the points differential.

Last year the Titans scored 115 points through their first five games while holding their opponents to 56. That's a positive differential of 59 points.

This year?

The Titans have scored 84 points, while their opponents have scored—are you ready for this?—139.

I'll let that sink in for a minute.

Okay, have you caught your breath yet? Yes, that is a negative differential of 55 points, almost the exact number of points that they held opponents to last year.

Even more appalling, they have given up 83 more points this year than last year, almost the exact number of points they have scored themselves this year.

It's almost eerie how it is working out, ain't it?

This is not, I repeat, NOT a Kerry Collins problem. True, he has had receivers drop more passes than nearly every other quarterback in the league this year.

In fact, after the game against Indy, he probably leads all quarterbacks in the "receivers dropping perfect passes" department.

This is not a Chris Johnson problem. Young Mr. Johnson is showing no signs of a sophomore slump, even having such a stellar game against the Texans

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?