Hard to believe that this will be Vince's first game back in Houston since his rookie year. He was hurt in 2007, and benched in 2008. He left as a conqueror in 2006, and returns as a guy trying to save his career in 2009.
Has there ever been a player who has been as misunderstood? There is so much contradictory info out there. He has a career passer rating of 70.1, which is below average. He has a career win/loss record of 22 - 11, which is above average. But wait, the Titans are a great team- look at last year. But wait again, even including last year, since 2006 the Titans are 13 - 13 when Kerry Collins starts.
Remember how people said the winning in 2006 was due to Travis Henry and Pac-man? They don't say that anymore- both players are available to any team that wants them. Somehow, Albert Haynesworth was responsible for the wins in 2007, and Kerry Collins in 2008 (note- how come you hear whispers that Haynesworth's performance dropped in 2009 because he got his payday, but the same is never suggested about Collins?).
Fisher never wanted Vince, and the Titans have never had an OC who wanted to work with him. That's no surprise. NFL OCs are hired for the offenses they bring, not their ability to adapt to players. Putting in college plays does nothing to advance their careers.
There are better places for Vince. I would have loved to see what Shanahan or Kubiak could have done with him. Look at what they did with Jake Plummer. They turned him from a journeyman into a pro-bowler, leveraging his middle-aged legs and average arm strength into a dominant offense.
But he went to Tennessee, because the NFL's worst meddling owner saw an opportunity to tweak his enemies. He melted down in the 2008 season opener, reacted badly to being pulled, and his entourage acted even worse. His coach (who, by the way, only had a job because Vince saved it in 2006) lost all faith in him. Vince, somehow, crazily, actually seemed to get some good advice from somebody, and kept quiet and buckled down. In 2009, it turned out that Kerry Collins is still Kerry Collins, and Vince is getting another chance. Is he wiser? Is he a better QB? We'll find out. We do know that in his last 10 starts, including that crappy playoff game in SD where his OL and WR corps were all out, he is 8 - 2 with a passer rating of 84.2. In his last 7 regular season starts, he is 7 - 0 with a passer rating of 87.9.
The Texans are 4.5 point favorites. Vince will have to play well for the Titans to win. If he does, and the Titans do win, things will become uncomfortable for the Texans again. They will also become very uncomfortable for the Titans, because the coach still doesn't want him. Will Vince agree to a contract restructuring to stay with the Titans? Remember- one thing we know about this guy is that he can hold a grudge.