subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Sun, Jul 05 2009 

Resources

print this story   Print this story
  Post to del.icio.us

Published September 11, 2008 11:09 am -

Young's behavior troubling


Tim Dahlberg
The Associated Press

On the opening page of his official Web site, there’s a photo montage of Vince Young looking nearly as invincible as Superman. Football in hand, you get the feeling about the only thing he can’t do is fly.

Inside, just past the link to the nearest store selling Vince Young sausage, ribs and brisket, is a spot to download posters of an imposing No. 10 complete with these words of encouragement:

“Believe in yourself.”

Good words to live by, if only life were that easy.

Young once believed in himself, believed so strongly that he won a national championship for the Texas Longhorns with one of the greatest performances ever seen against USC at the Rose Bowl. Down late in the game, he drove his team to two touchdowns, closing both out with scrambling runs into the end zone.

NFL scouts weren’t too excited about his passing motion, but the idea of a big quarterback who could elude defenders, run at will and throw with accuracy made them believe, too. The Tennessee Titans made him the third overall pick in the 2006 draft, and he rewarded them with a spot in the Pro Bowl in his first season.

Everyone was a believer then. But somewhere along the slide to mediocrity, the beliefs have been shaken.

Now it’s hard to figure out what to believe with Young.

The official word Wednesday out of Nashville was that nothing was wrong with him other than a sprained left knee that will keep him out of three or four games. There was scant mention that coach Jeff Fisher was so worried about his quarterback’s mental health that he sent police out on a search Monday night to try and find him.

This wasn’t just a case of a coach wondering whether his quarterback had stumbled off to a strip club. Earlier that day, the Titans had sent a psychologist over to talk to Young at his home, so evidently they were worried even before he went off into the night without his cell phone and with an unloaded gun in his glove compartment.

His agent would downplay it later, saying Young was simply at a friend’s house eating chicken wings and watching football.

But whatever Fisher told police it was enough for them to send unmarked SWAT units out and call crisis negotiators in.

Those kind of things aren’t usually done when someone leaves for a drive and doesn’t come home on time. They’re usually done when someone is distraught and could hurt himself or others.

We may never know what was in Young’s mind that night. We do know he appeared disconsolate after throwing two interceptions and getting booed in Sunday’s game, and that it appeared Fisher had to force him to re-enter the game before he got hurt.

His mother told The Tennessean that Young was tired of all the negativity and the boos. Felicia Young said her son needed people to give him space and to pray for him.



print this story    email this story   




Zillow
monster
autoconx
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide

Premier Guide
Premium Jobs

Fall Rush
Fall Rush We Need 65 People Immediatley To Help with our Fall Rush
If you're looking for:
Full-Time hours or m
...>MORE

Fall Rush
Fall Rush
We need 65 People Immediatley To Help With Our FAll Rush!
If your looking for:
Full-ime hours o
...>MORE

See all ads


 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index