HOUSTON (AP) -Vince Young won’t be thinking about last year’s dramatic overtime win against Houston when Tennessee faces the Texans on Sunday.
The Texans? They’ll be thinking of little else and are determined not to let him beat them again.
“For him that had to be like a dream come true,” Dunta Robinson said of Young’s winning touchdown run. “For me it was like a nightmare that came true. We’ve just got to make sure that we send all the Vince Young fans home sick Sunday.”
That 39-yard run in December completed Tennessee’s season sweep of the Texans and didn’t do much to help Houston prove it made the right decision by passing on the hometown hero to draft defensive end Mario Williams first in 2006.
Then again, Young might not get the opportunity to play hero again. He left last Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay with a strained quadriceps and missed practice this week with the injury. The Titans listed him as day to day, but the Texans had no doubt they’d see him, not backup Kerry Collins, this weekend.
“He’s such a competitor, you know he circles the date for this game,” defensive end N.D. Kalu said. “We heard that he might be injured, but it’s going to take him (having) two cut off legs before he doesn’t come out for this game.”
This game is the one Young wants people concentrating on.
“I don’t really want to talk about that, that’s in the past,” Young said. “It’s a whole new game. Last year is last year.”
Several Texans players did talk about it and how their home crowd seemed confused whether to cheer for them or Young. Titans receiver Eric Moulds, who played for the Texans last season, said coach Gary Kubiak warned them before the game it ‘may feel like an away game.’
Tennessee defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch said it was equally bizarre, but in a different way for the Titans.
“It was almost like the rest of the team, despite everybody had a hand in that win, we were all kind of spectators because Vince really took that game in his own hands and won it last year,” he said.
Robinson said the reaction didn’t surprise him and he expects a similar one Sunday.
“You can’t get mad about that,” Robinson said. “He was a high school legend when he was here and then he went to UT and was a college legend, so people know all about Vince Young and they love him. He can basically be the mayor of this city when it’s all said and done.”
Despite repeated questioning, Young maintains this game isn’t any more important than any other meeting with an AFC South opponent.
“Just another game,” Young said. “I hope that the Tennessee Titans win the ballgame. But I treat it like it’s another game.”
Because there is a possibility Young won’t play, the Texans have the challenge of preparing for him as well as the less-mobile Collins. Titans coach Jeff Fisher is confident Collins can run their offense and said their plan won’t change if he starts.
“This is our offense,” Fisher said. “Kerry can handle things. He’s proven he can handle things. We don’t have two plans.”
Collins is 0-3 as a starter in Tennessee after losing the first three games to open last season before he was replaced by Young.
While talk this week has focused on Young, Houston should be more concerned with Tennessee’s defense. The Titans are allowing the NFL’s fewest yards rushing at just under 64 a game.
The Texans have struggled in running the ball the last few weeks and are currently 29th in the league with 82 yards a game. Ahman Green returned against Jacksonville last week, but managed just 44 yards on 16 carries. Kubiak said Green wasn’t completely healthy in that game and expects a better outing against the Titans.
“We’ve just got to continue to work on the run and just be more effective,” Green said. “It’s not where we’ve got to be everything … it’s just where we’re having a good balance to where defenses got to be honest.”
Houston also had trouble defending the run last week and allowed the Jaguars 244 yards rushing in the 37-17 win. Now they face the Tennessee duo of LenDale White and Chris Brown, who have combined for 576 yards rushing with four touchdowns this season.
“We’ve got a two-headed monster coming in here at running back and we have nothing but respect for him,” Kalu said. “But after the way we played last week, we’re looking forward to this challenge to prove to ourselves and our fans that we can play against a good running team and succeed.”
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