Tennessee Titans Billy Volek Steve McNair Vince Young

With all the hoopla surrounding quarterbacks Steve McNair and Vince Young in Tennessee, the Titans' third-stringer, Billy Volek, is often forgotten. However, 2006 may very well end up as Volek's year to finally make a name for himself at the NFL level.McNair, the 11-year veteran who has been the face of the Titans' franchise, is expected to be traded or released any day now. McNair helped lead Tennessee to prominence in the late '90s and early into the 2000's, but his current contract situation, injury history and age appear to be spelling the end of 2010 pro bowl 4 Brett Favre Blue jersey
his era with the Titans. He is currently in a dispute with the Titans because he was forced from their practice facilities last month, so McNair and the organization aren't exactly on good terms. The Titans are currently hanging on to the 33-year-old McNair, but bank on him wearing a Baltimore Ravens uniform next season.Meanwhile, Young, the third overall pick in last month's draft, apparently is not going to be thrown to the wolves early on in '06. Since offensive coordinator Norm Chow's schemes and packages will be tough to comprehend for the rookie quarterback, the Titans will allow Young to sit back and learn for an unknown but extended period of time. Although Young led the Texas Longhorns to a National Championship last season, he ran a simple offense where the play was already designed and mapped out when he arrived at the scrimmage line. With the complex defensive changes at the line on the pro level, it will be hard for Young to perform effectively early on. Thus, the Titans' coaching staff has elected to bring him along at a slow, yet steady pace.With McNair all but out of the picture and Young not likely to make an impact in the early goings of next season, it leaves the position wide open for the 30-year-old Volek, who has always been a backup. Quietly, the 6'2" Volek is among the best quarterbacks fans may have never heard of. In his six-year career, Volek has only started 10 games, but he's made those starts count. In 2004, when he started eight games, Volek heaved 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions en route to an 87.4 passer rating. Had he played the full season, he may have finished somewhere around the 30 touchdown pass plateau, which isn't an easy task for even the most established NFL quarterbacks.In the event that Volek earns the opportunity to start the commencement of the '06 season, he'll have a chance to showcase his skills to everyone around the pro football landscape. Nobody expects the Tennessee Titans to win many games next year, but if Volek can put some solid numbers together, Tennessee could be staring at respectability. The situation the veteran's in seems eerily similar to the one quarterback Drew Brees was in with the San Diego Chargers in '04. Few expected the Chargers to compete for anything but a high draft choice, but they ended up shocking the world and going 12-4 with Brees as the unlikely hero, as he had a Pro Bowl season.Clearly, the uber-talented Young is the Titans' future, but Volek has 2010 pro bowl Vikings 4 Brett Favre jersey
an opportunity to make a future for himself. A good season could solidify him a job elsewhere, while giving Tennessee's general manager, Floyd Reese, some great trade bait for a team in need of a veteran starting quarterback.--Connor J. Byrne can be reached at Get more on the Billy Volek