JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - As Vince Young limped out the door, coach Jeff Fisher saw him from across the locker room.
Fisher smiled and gave Young a thumbs up, to which Young acknowledged by pointing back to his coach.
It was a sign perhaps that the worst had been averted regarding Young's injured left knee and ankle in the first quarter of Monday night's 30-3 victory.
Young's left leg was bent back underneath him as he recovered a botched snap from center on the second offensive series of the game for the [tag linked="false" key="30832" url="http://247Sports.com"]Titans.
Asked what his first thought was when he suffered the injury on a first-quarter botched snap from center, Young replied, “Gone for the season.”
Young said he even said a prayer or two on the sideline, hoping that nothing was torn in the sprained left knee, which he said doesn't feel as bad as it did when he injured the same knee in the 2008 season opener against Jacksonville – an injury that immediately preceded the infamous episode where he was AWOL for part of the next day.
“Actually I felt pretty good overall, compared to the last time I hurt my knee against Jacksonville. I felt pretty good after this one,” Young said. “I thought it was going to be worse than that, but it's all right for now.”
Young will have tests performed on the knee today, but said he considers himself day-to-day in regards to whether he would be able to start Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
“I'm day-to-day. I'm a fast healer. I'm a strong healer,” Young said. “We've got some great trainers that do a great job of getting guys back out there. I just want to take it day-by-day, and we'll see when Sunday gets here.”
Young played well, directing a touchdown drive on his only full series in the game. He hit on 3 of 5 passes for 61 yards as the Titans came out throwing against a porous Jaguar secondary, using a lot of three-receiver sets early on. Young finished off the opening series with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Britt.
“How I was starting off, I felt like I was going to have a good game. I felt like I had some good throws. Our line, and receivers were doing a great job when we first started off, getting that seven points,” Young said.
But with the injury, the Titans turned to backup Kerry Collins, who finished 11 of 16 for 110 yards and a touchdown pass of his own.
Both Young and Titans coach Jeff Fisher said Young could have returned to the game, but because he had virtually no mobility, Fisher elected to go with Collins.
“I would have been like Byron Leftwich at Marshall. But I would have definitely gotten back out there and played for my teammates,” Young said.
“He could have finished in the shotgun, but mobility was a definite factor,” Fisher said. “Kerry did a nice job. That's why Kerry is here. We're very, very fortunate to have two very talented quarterbacks. When one goes down, the other gets up and goes. Kerry made some really good throws.
“We have a healthy quarterback, and you have one that doesn't have any mobility that is sore, it makes sense to go with the healthy quarterback. He said he could take a shotgun snap, but that was about it. It's not a hard decision at all.”
The Titans kept rolling with Collins under center, and his teammates were confident that he would keep the offense going.
“When Kerry comes in there, we don't miss a beat. He's been in the league for 16 years. He's a savvy vet. He's one of the leaders on this team,” fullback Ahmard Hall said.
As for who will start against the Eagles, Collins said he didn't know, but said he knows the starting job still belongs to Young when he is healthy enough to play.
“We're going to have to see what happens with Vince. Hopefully, it's not too serious,” Collins said. “We'll know a lot more in the next couple of days for sure, obviously. It's a short week and we'll have to see how the next couple of days shake out.
“I'm a backup. Vince is the starter. Period. The end.”
- Terry McCormick
- co-publiser of TitanInsider - Lions247