Tennessee Titans Billy Volek Steve McNair Vince Young Jeff Fisher Baltimore Ravens Drew Bennett David Givens

The Tennessee Titans traded their former franchise quarterback, Steve McNair, to the Baltimore Ravens late last week, leaving many to ponder which way the organization would go to fill the 11-year veteran's shoes. Of course, the top two quarterbacks on the Titans' roster right now are experienced backup Billy Volek and 4 Brett Favre Purple jersey
rookie Vince Young, who was the third overall selection in April's draft. Head coach Jeff Fisher made no bones about it, immediately naming Volek as McNair's successor for next season. Volek is no amateur, as he's shown on multiple occasions in the past the ability to step in for McNair and guide the Titans' offense to success. Volek, a six-year veteran, has 10 career starts under his belt. The ex-Fresno State starter has a great ratio of touchdown passes to interceptions in his pro days, with 26 and 13, respectively. To go along with that, Volek has a bona fide career quarterback rating of 86.3.In 2004, Volek's best season, he appeared in 10 games for the Titans, starting in eight. He completed 61.1 percent of his passes for a whopping 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also compiled an 87.7 efficiency rating that season, while completing 34 passes of over 20 yards, which averaged out to exactly 3.4. per appearance. Clearly, those numbers demonstrate his ability to lead an explosive offense. Despite that, offensive coordinator Norm Chow likes to play it safe and go with short passes to pick apart opposing secondaries.Now that he's officially the opening day starter, Volek will have a better opportunity to utilize the summer months as a time to get acquainted with his receiving weapons. The wide receiver duo of David Givens and Drew Bennett should help Volek, who used Bennett a great deal when he filled in for McNair in '04. Other than the two wideouts, Volek has a chance to use last year's most prolific tight end trio as a security blanket in tough situations. That triumvirate consists of Erron Kinney, Ben Troupe and Bo Scaife, who combined for 149 receptions in 2005.Although Fisher named Volek as the opening day starter for Tennessee, it doesn't mean he'll be the team's full-time quarterback. In fact, the only way the veteran will start every week is if the Titans are somehow contending for a playoff spot. The Titans have a good amount of young talent, but the postseason seems unrealistic for them, until their youthful roster collectively gains experience and develops.Assuming Tennessee is where everyone expects it to be next season, it'll mean Young will get a decent amount of playing time. That time will likely come late in the year, when the Titans are simply trying to be competitive every week. Since GM Floyd Reese and Fisher decided to invest such a high pick on Young, he'll have to get some starts under his belt as a first-year player. At the University of Texas, Young ran a simple offense in which the play and targets were already set when the young quarterback arrived at the line of scrimmage. Because Chow's offense is more complicated and pro Steelers 43 Polamalu jersey
defenses throw all sorts of difficult blitz packages at quarterbacks, the only way Young will get better is to actually play. Volek likely won't play all of next season, so he should make each and every one of his starts count. After all, 2006 could be an audition of sorts for the 30-year-old, who might become trade bait next offseason for the Tennessee Titans, provided he puts up his usual solid numbers.--Connor J. Byrne can be reached at Get more on Billy Volek