GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -It wasn’t so long ago that Vince Young was in Aaron Rodgers’ cleats, trying to establish himself as the new leader of a team in the aftermath of a messy divorce with a veteran quarterback.
Two years after Young took over for Steve McNair in Tennessee, Rodgers must bear the scrutiny that comes with succeeding Brett Favre in Green Bay.
“As a quarterback, you can’t worry about everything else that’s going on around you,” Young said of Rodgers. “All you need to do is go out and play for your teammates and show it’s a whole different guy out there, and I want to go out and win ballgames with you. I can praise him a whole lot. I’ll say he’s a man. He’s brave, definitely.”
Going into Thursday night’s preseason finale at Lambeau Field, Young might be in more dire need of a strong performance than Rodgers.
Rodgers is coming off a sharp game at Denver, temporarily quieting concerns about his ability to lead the Packers. But after a good rookie year in 2006, Young’s performance slid last season and his struggles have continued in the preseason. In three games, Young has led the Titans’ No. 1 offense to only two field goals.
“We’re going to keep playing, let the game come to us,” Young said. “If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, we’re not going to go to try to force it. We want to stay in our game plan.”
Titans coach Jeff Fisher will play his starters into the third quarter, parting with conventional coaching wisdom that treats the third preseason game as an extended dress rehearsal and the fourth game as a tuneup for starters.
Fisher believes more playing time will help Young get into a rhythm.
“The more you play, the more opportunities there are for big plays,” Fisher said. “He just hasn’t had the reps. I think people would have liked to see this offseason.”
Rodgers and the rest of the Packers’ starters – including running back Ryan Grant, who is expected to make his preseason debut – are likely to play only 10 snaps Thursday.
So it’s a good thing Rodgers built some momentum last weekend.
d get ready for Minnesota.”
After a cameo appearance by the starters, the Packers’ focus will turn to the backup quarterback competition between rookies Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn.
Brohm, a second-round pick out of Louisville, outperformed Flynn in practice. But Flynn, a seventh-rounder from LSU, has been better in the first three preseason games – leading to a closer-than-expected competition for the backup spot Brohm was expected to win easily.
With the Titans leaving their defensive starters in the game into the third quarter, Brohm and Flynn will face their biggest challenge of the preseason.
“I definitely like that,” Brohm said. “I think it’s good preparation for the season coming up. It’s going to be good for me, a learning experience to go against the first-team defense, see what it feels like, just see how far along I am.”
Dominant Tennessee defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth should start after sitting out last week with a sore knee. But the Titans could be without starting linebackers Keith Bulluck and David Thornton because of injuries. On offense, right tackle David Stewart could play two weeks after arthroscopic surgery on his knee.
The Packers could sit several players because of nagging injuries, including defensive tackle Ryan Pickett, center Scott Wells, safety Atari Bigby, cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Al Harris, linebacker A.J. Hawk, guard Josh Sitton and wide receiver James Jones.
The Packers are still sorting out positions beyond backup quarterback. Green Bay has five solid running backs in camp: Grant, Brandon Jackson, Vernand Morency, Noah Herron and undrafted surprise Kregg Lumpkin. The Packers also have considerable depth at linebacker.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy said the preseason finale is a final chance for young players to win roster spots.
“It’s a great opportunity for our young guys,” McCarthy said. “And really, preseason to me is about finding out as much information as you possibly can, not only about your team but about the individuals. This will give us a great look at a lot of guys that are fighting for jobs.”
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AP Sports Writer Teresa M. Walker contributed to this report from Nashville, Tenn.
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