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In this week's installment of Third And Short, our experts tackle Vince Young. The third-year Tennessee Titans quarterback is finding that dismissing questions about his focus isn't as easy as eluding the grasp of blitzing linebackers. Recently, Young has had to put out the brush fire started by an NFL.com interview that quoted him as saying he contemplated retirement after his 2006 rookie season. Later, he told a Nashville newspaper that he never considered quitting.

Matt Mosley: What has Young learned off the field in the last week alone?

Last week began with Young's bizarre admission that he thought about retiring after his 2006 rookie season. He told NFL.com that the expectations that came along with being the No. 3 overall pick and the subsequent demands on his time were almost too much to bear.

When you considered that he somehow met and even exceeded the ridiculous expectations placed on him at the University of Texas, his comments seemed even stranger. But obviously someone in the Titans' PR department quickly made a call to Young. By the end of the week, he was saying his comments to the league's mouthpiece were "blown out of proportion."

C'mon guys, you should've buried that story! In all honesty, Young learned yet another tough lesson in how to become the face of a franchise: It's not particularly helpful to reveal weakness -- especially on this type of scale.

He'd already (sort of) apologized for attending a recent party, where he and dozens of bare-chested men were photographed drinking alcohol. I've been inside a couple of bars in Dallas, but even when it's a little warm, we don't often remove our shirts.

On one hand, Young is a 25-year-old kid looking to have a good time, and he should be afforded that opportunity. He also has to know that everything that comes out of his mouth will be analyzed and picked over by media and fans.

If he thinks playing in Nashville is tough, can you imagine how all this Mr. Sensitive stuff would play in New York? Young always will have to deal with off-field distractions. He's now talking about how he's going to be more thick-skinned and not let criticism get to him. And it's nice of Merril Hoge to give him some practice.

Young may have grown up a little bit last week, but it will take a while for us to find out how much.

Merril Hoge: What's going on with the young quarterback?

I don't believe that Vince Young's comments regarding his mind-set after his rookie season are all that relevant anymore. He was a young guy who was thrust into a situation where he was the leader of a team of men and that will take a mental toll on anyone. It seems that he took a step back, evaluated the situation and realized that his love for the game and playing quarterback in particular were worth it.

If I were the Titans' management, I wouldn't be upset or worried about his commitment to my team at all. This is a man who obviously loves to play the game and could be a much more successful player in this league if he's surrounded by more offensive talent. That's what the Titans should be more concerned about and I'm sure they are.

At the outset of last season, I said that Young had the most unreasonable expectations being heaped upon him because he was just a second-year quarterback and he didn't have any enough help around him to make it to the elite level that others were trying to place him at. It isn't easy playing quarterback in the NFL, and it definitely isn't easy when you don't have top-notch receivers, a safety valve at tight end and a strong running game. The Titans are trying to fix these offensive holes so that we can see just what kind of quarterback they have on their hands.

Keith Kidd of Scouts Inc.: Will Young have to become more of a pocket passer to be successful?

Not necessarily. New offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger is in his second stint with the Titans and previously worked with Steve McNair in Tennessee. Our guess is that Heimerdinger will make better use of Young's athletic ability than did his predecessor, Norm Chow. There likely will be more of an effort to get Young outside the pocket with rollouts, naked bootlegs and misdirection plays, while attacking with the short, quick passing ploys that play to his strengths and can build his confidence. The tendency defensively is to keep young quarterbacks like Young in the pocket and not allow them to attack the edges of the defenses. Getting outside the pocket plays to Young's combination of size, speed and strength.

Young also will benefit from the offseason addition of tight end Alge Crumpler. Assuming Crumpler is over nagging injuries that have plagued him recently, the former Atlanta Falcons star will team with fellow TE Bo Scaife to give Young a pair of weapons who can open up the middle of the field. Young has been restricted to reading only half the field at times, but having Crumpler on the line and Scaife playing off the line of scrimmage -- as Frank Wycheck did during McNair's heyday -- will allow Young to increase his progressions down the field and make the passing game more explosive. Look for plenty of two-tight end, two-wide receiver, one-back sets that could bring a safety down near the line of scrimmage and leave Young to deal with an easier pre-snap read.