Titanic Turmoil

Young has yet to accept that. His mother, Felicia, told The Tennessean last week that Vince is being "ridiculed and persecuted and talked about and not being treated very well." One assistant coach said privately that Young has bought into this and that it's becoming increasingly difficult to get through to him.

In the off-season Young told NFL.com that he thought "long and hard" about retiring after his rookie year because of stress in his personal and professional life. On the Monday following the Jaguars game he abruptly left his home after reportedly mentioning suicide to his Nashville marketing representative. Fisher learned of this through Sheila Peters, a psychologist employed by the team, and contacted city police. Eventually, Fisher located Young through the quarterback's agent, Major Adams, and met with Young at the Titans' facility. Police say an unloaded gun was found in Young's Mercedes.

Teammates echoed the company line that the situation was blown out of proportion, and they were willing to give Young the benefit of the doubt. Yet some said there would be major issues if it was true that Young did not want to reenter the game. "I don't feel that he did that," says Bulluck, "but if that were the case, he definitely would have to do something to regain the trust of his teammates."

The quarterback went for an MRI on his knee on Sept. 9 and was ruled out for two to four weeks with a sprained MCL. Fisher has offered no assurances that Young will get the starting job back right away. The coach likes the idea of having Young sit and watch how 14-year veteran Kerry Collins, who on Sunday was 14 of 21 for 128 yards and a touchdown with no picks, goes about preparing during the week and applies that work to the game. Fisher's preference was to have Young spend his rookie year on the sideline, but after Tennessee lost its first three, he put Young in the starting lineup in Week 4.

In a few weeks Fisher could have another major decision to make. The AFC South appears wide open because of injuries in Jacksonville and Indianapolis. The Titans, in first place at 2--0, could be in position to take control of the division. Will Fisher risk disrupting the team's rhythm by starting Young even if Collins is playing well and the team is winning? The coach isn't saying. He wants to see how Young handles being out of the lineup—to see if his study habits improve and if he hungers to play. As Fisher said of Young on Sunday, "He should be kicking the door down."

The coach and the players have to know that they can depend on Young, whether he's being cheered or booed. "If you're the quarterback, you've got to have thick skin," Mawae says. "He's got to learn that. If you've never been booed before, how do you know how to react to that? You can say, 'Screw you. I'm going to go out there and take care of business.' Hopefully that's what he will do the next time."