Vince Young's 4 of 10 Most Electrifying - Bush Thrills for Saints - Saints Win 19-16

Young makes NFL debut in preseason opener
By Craig Tapper
Titans Online

Rookie QB Vince Young made his NFL debut in the Titans' preseason opener vs. New Orleans Saturday night at LP Field.
NASHVILLE, TN, Aug. 12, 2006 -- The NFL debuts of Vince Young and Reggie Bush were expected to be the big story of the Tennessee Titans and New Orleans Saints preseason opener. But while Young and Bush compiled their share of highlight worthy moments, the game was decided by a third-string quarterback.

Todd Bouman connected with Lance Moore for a 22-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter, giving the Saints a 19-16 lead that held up Saturday night at LP Field.

Young made his first appearance with about nine minutes remaining in the second quarter. At times, Young displayed the strong arm and play-making ability that led him to be the #3 overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. However, the rookie quarterback was unable to establish a legitimate groove, completing 4-of-11 passes for 56 yards, including a long pass of 19 yards. Young also ran four times for 28 yards before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with a mildly sprained left ankle.

Regardless, Young was enthusiastic about being back in a game situation for the first time since January’s Rose Bowl.

“It’s been a long time since the Rose Bowl game,” Young said, “I was excited and the guys on the sidelines were pushing me, saying, ‘let’s go V, it’s your turn, so I was excited and then it slowed down and got more relaxed.”

Young’s first offensive drive began with a pair of runs and ended with an incomplete pass. During his second drive, Young managed to break through with his first professional reception — a 14-yard strike to rookie tight end Jamie Petrowski. As the game progressed, Young seemed to settle in and feel more comfortable leading the offense.

“In the first series guys were flying around real fast,” Young said, “I thought in the back of my mind, ‘I’m fast too, so put your speed with those guys’ and that’s what I did and went back to just playing football. I kind of relaxed and slowed down and as you can see, the game went on.”

With the Titans leading 10-9 in the third quarter, Young effortlessly flung a 50-yard pass down the sideline intended for Roydell Williams. The pass hit Williams in stride, but the second year receiver out of Tulane was unable to corral the ball.

During the fourth quarter, Young displayed his scrambling ability by evading defenders and connecting with Courtney Roby for 10 yards. The positive gain was disallowed due to an offensive holding penalty, but Young’s ability to create helped excite the already exuberant crowd.

The Titans had a scary moment midway through the fourth quarter when Young was tackled from behind by Saints defensive end Tommy Davis. Young remained on the ground for a few seconds following the third down play with a left ankle sprain, but he was able to leave the field under his own weight.

“I guess the most notable (injury) and most curious was Vince,” Fisher said. “He’s got a mild ankle sprain. He should be fine, probably a little sore in the morning. I don’t expect him to miss much.”

Young was replaced by undrafted rookie Cody Hodges on the team’s next offensive drive, although according to Fisher, he was going to be replaced following the previous drive even before sustaining the injury.

“I didn’t take him out because of the ankle,” Fisher said. “We had intended to take him our prior to the drive, to take him out and give Cody [Hodges] and Matt [Mauck] some work. I think he could have probably finished if we had taped him up.”

While Young did not make many highlight-caliber plays, the Saints first round draft pick Reggie Bush immediately displayed the game-changing ability and pure athleticism which earned him the 2005 Heisman Trophy and helped cement him as one of the most explosive running backs in the nation.

Bush compiled 59 yards on six carries, but his night was highlighted by a 44-yard run during the first quarter. With uncanny vision, Bush first ran to his left, then changed direction and darted his way around the backside of the defense. While Bush managed to evade defenders during that run, the defense was pleased with its overall performance in containing Bush.

“We did bend a little coming out of the gate on Reggie’s one particular long run,” said linebacker David Thornton, “but all in all, I think the defense came out with some intensity and we established some things we wanted to do on the side of the ball. I’m really looking forward to the defense playing solid this year and tonight was a great start.”

During the second quarter, Bush collided with Titans cornerback Pacman Jones. Jones and Bush exchanged words and Jones was handed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Following the game, Jones was far from awestruck of Bush’s talents.

“He doesn’t run up the middle, period,” Jones said. “If you can contain him outside, you can contain him. He doesn’t want to run up the middle. He’s not very, very strong, pretty fast. That’s about it.”