Tennessee Titans quarterback/headcase Vince Young will start on Sunday when the Titans host Jacksonville Sunday, according to at least one online report. The move comes at the behest of Titans owner Bud Adams, and when a guy named Bud tells you to do something, it’s usually a good idea to go with it.

Collins signed a two-year, $14 million deal in the offseason after guiding the Titans to a 13-3 finish last season. He is 108-of-197 passing for 1,071 yards this season, with five touchdowns and eight interceptions.

But now it’s Young’s turn. In two appearances this season, Young is 0-for-5 with an interception. His last start came last December at Indianapolis, when the Titans rested their starters for the playoffs. –The Tennessean.

And really, after that 59-0 pimp-slapping the Titans took in Foxboro two weeks ago, this is the only move that makes sense. At least Fisher can bask in the lowered expectations of his team and almost certainly count on coming back in 2010. And as of this writing, the Titans are three-point favorites against Jacksonville. Or maybe “3″ is the over-under. I’m not too great at this betting stuff.

People tend to play less attention to you when you’re 0-6. Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher, who has held his job as head coach longer than any other in the league, recently appeared at Lipscomb’s Allen Arena to introduce former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy for some benefit thinger. So you can imagine everyone’s surprise when Fish pulled off his shirt to reveal a Peyton Manning jersey.

“I just wanted to feel like a winner,” Fisher joked as the crowd erupted in applause and laughter.

Asked about Fisher’s unorthodox introduction, Dungy said, “He made me feel right at home. Jeff is always the master of the unusual. That was quite a surprise but something only he would do. But just being here, and coming out and supporting this even with the team being 0-6, just to come out and be supportive, that’s who Jeff Fisher is. That’s why he is special.” –Nashville City Paper.

I’ve never thought of a Peyton Manning jersey as a pick-me-up, but I guess it’s better than putting on women’s lingerie with heels and wandering out to the Meatpacking District. I always thought that “meatpacking district” was a euphemism. Maybe it should be. Thanks, Mike [for the imgs] and Walker.

The release of a new report from the Nashville Police Department has raised questions over the handing of the Steve McNair murder-suicide investigation. As police work on a summary investigation, one television program has pointed out apparent inconsistencies in the investigation.

Investigators concluded that [Sahel] Kazemi, 20, was drowning in debt and despondent over realizations that McNair was dating other women and wasn’t going to leave his wife for her.

Metro police spokesman Don Aaron declined to comment on anything contained in the 14-page report. The CBS report stated that Kazemi had more than $2,500 in the bank, contradicting the police explanation that Kazemi was distraught over money and the unraveling relationship. But text messages between the two suggest that $2,000 of that money came from McNair on the evening before his murder.

The report also included a text-message exchange between McNair and Kazemi from the day before they were found dead in a Nashville-area condo. Read the rest of this entry »

Tennessee Titans backup quarterback Vince Young hasn’t seen the field since he was benched in Week 1 of last season, but he’s been keeping busy. And you might want to grab a tissue, because it’s about to get a little misty in here:

Young surprised [the two young sons of the late Steve McNair] 11-year-old Trenton and 5-year-old Tyler on Wednesday by showing up at their house and taking them to their school’s “Dear Dads Breakfast” at a local restaurant.

“Those are my boys,” Young told the Tennessean. “I wouldn’t say it was to pay anyone back; it was just out of love. Steve would do it for me. He pretty much did it for me when I was growing up. I have a history with the boys and I want to do anything I can. I am their big brother.” via, via.

One of the disappointing things about the way that everyone covered Steve McNair’s death [us included] was how little discussion was devoted to the wife and four kids that he left behind. Those first few days back in school must have been great for those kids. Hey, what happened to your dad? Oh, he was murdered by his secret girlfriend right before she turned the gun on herself. Just horribly tragic. And I thought I had it bad in school for being teased about wearing Asics…

By now, you’ve already learned that Pittsburgh beat Tennessee 13-10 (OT) in a four-star NFL opener last night. Noteworthy items from the game: Al Michaels’ hair looks even faker this year, and Troy Polamalu was injured in the first half and is expected to miss 3-6 weeks after spraining his MCL.

With the score tied late in the fourth, 10-10, Hines Ward fumbled deep in Titans territory for what could have been a game-changing turnover. A score from Ward–or even a “knee” and subsequent field goal–would have locked up a win for the Steelers. But after recovering the fumble, Tennessee, pinned at their own 4-yard line with less than a minute to play, chose instead to run out the clock and seek his team’s fortunes in overtime. The call seemed like a no-brainer at the time, even after Pittsburgh marched the field and scored on the extra period’s only offensive drive. But in settling for OT, Titans head coach Jeff Fisher might have cost his team their best chance to win.

A lot of people hate the NFL’s overtime format–where the first team to score wins, regardless of whether each team gets a chance to play on offense–but it is what it is and we won’t debate that here. But the one thing for which nobody ever gives the NFL credit is that their extra frame creates more incentive to win games in regulation than any other.

True, Tennessee had no possession in OT, but Jeff Fisher was aware of that possibility, as he was also certainly aware that his defense had no answer for Ben Roethlisberger [363 yards passing, 1 TD, 2 picks]. Instead of working with that possession he did have, Fisher forfeited it and hung his hopes for a win on a coin toss. And nothing about the ending to last night’s game was more unfair than that.

Two of the more fascinating plays in the Hall of Fame Game last night involved Tennessee-Titan-in-Houston-Oiler-clothing punter AJ Trapasso, who took a safety to end the game and give Tennessee a useless 21-18 win over the Buffalo Bills. But the best play of the night had to be Trapasso’s fake punt/fake punt fake/run on the Titans’ opening drive, which he took 40 yards for the game’s first touchdown. No wonder LenDale White lost all that weight in the offseason. Having a white punter taking your roster spot can’t be good for street cred.