Bye week practices got Young back in the flow

Posted by ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Before Jeff Fisher sent his players on their way for a three-day weekend, the Titans held three bye week practices.

Kerry Collins got to rest the first two days and didn't take a full load on the third.

That meant 80 percent of the snaps for Vince Young the first two days, and 50 percent on the third.

I asked offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger about how Young did and how he's doing. Unsurprisingly, he was upbeat in his assessment. Whatever is going on behind the scenes, the Titans are back in Vince-is-fine mode, even as they've moved him into the background as Collins has taken over and been effective enough to help the team to a 5-0 record.

Heimerdinger:

"He's doing everything, it just gives him a chance to get in the huddle as start calling plays, over and over again because there wasn't much scripted. We had a lot of move-the-ball so he had to make decisions and call plays right and do that stuff. He's been coming along well, he's been doing everything we want. He's worked at it, he's working in the meetings. He's done everything I wanted.

"He still asks questions. The backup still has to prepare like he's a starter. He has to be ready to go at any time just like Kerry was when Vince went down. The part you don't know is when you're going to get called on. So he still has to do all the things he did when he was the starter. He wasn't any different in the meetings. He asked good questions and things he didn't understand he asked about. He was excellent on all that stuff.

"[His psyche] is fine. I think he's the same as he was. He's worked hard, he's been fine out here. He's throwing the ball well, moving around well. I've got no complaints."

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If he did, he wouldn't have shared them with me with a tape recorder running.

I hope Young is on his way back, and being back in uniform and practicing should help. I still don't get the sense that he understands what the issue was that cost him his starting role, when the knee injury was only a handy aside. He may never sufficiently respond to or react to the incident where he wanted out of the season opener when things went sour. To fully regain the trust off his teammates and coaches, I believe he needs to have some sort of revelation on that issue. Only then will he potentially be in order to get on track to potentially become the player the Titans and their fans envisioned.

Jeff Fisher is keeping the idea of special packages for Young alive. It's a smart move to give Kansas City, Indy and other upcoming opponents something extra to concern themselves with. I seriously doubt we see anything, however.

If I'm Fisher, I'd weigh the benefits against the downside and conclude that anything that could create some controversy or dent Collins' hold on the starting job while things are going so well would simply not be worth it.

Young talked once the week after the opener, following up on all the craziness connected to the Jacksonville game, his injury and the police search for him when the Titans and his family felt like he was at risk.

Since then he's spoken only once, to The Tennessean's Jim Wyatt following the Baltimore game, when he dressed as the No. 2. He said things were about the team, not about him.

When I asked him Thursday if he could spare a minute, he said, "No, I'm alright."

It's the instinctive answer right now, but we can't yet know if it's true.


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