Johnson: Confident Collins guiding Titans

NASHVILLE -- There's no doubt who is the new leader of the Tennessee Titan offense.

Titans quarterback Kerry Collins was 14-of-26 passing for 189 yards and a touchdown. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge]

It's out with the "Young" and in with the "old."

With third-year quarterback Vince Young out rehabilitating an injured knee, among other things, 14-year veteran Kerry Collins is now in control under center.

Collins found out this past week that Titans coach Jeff Fisher plans on sticking with him as long as the team is winning.

He's 2-0 this year as a starter.

"I really kind of saw what (Fisher) was trying to do and saw that he was giving me the keys, so to speak," Collins said. "It is a confidence thing for me to know that I'm the guy and that I'm going to be in there week in and week out.

"I want to keep getting better and keep playing because you notice he said that as long as we are winning and things are going okay then I will be in there. That speaks loud and clear but at the same time, I'm really excited about the chance. I love playing and I'm excited about the opportunity and play on a good team."

Collins is very excited about being the Titans' No. 1 quarterback -- and it's another opportunity of which he plans to make the most.

"I really tried to focus in on my preparation and really tried to have good practices, get the game plan down and get the mental part of the game ready for Sunday," Collins said. "I'm getting back into the flow. Certainly after a couple years of not doing it, there's certain things I've got to get back to doing but I do feel like my preparation has been very good. I feel like I've got a good plan heading into the game and trying to make good decisions when I'm out there."

Collins has been around awhile and is second behind Peyton Manning in passing yards among active NFL quarterbacks.

A completion in the first half in Tennessee's win over the Texans Sunday moved Collins past the 35,000 yard mark.

"It's a nice milestone and it was nice to do it here at home," Collins said. "I really appreciated the response from the fans I heard when they made the announcement. But at the same time, I'm excited about where this football team is going. I'm more excited about getting the win today but certainly it is nice. It's hard to remember where they all came from but it's a nice milestone and I'm proud of it but we've got a lot of work to do."

Collins credits losing over 15 pounds over the past couple of years for his success at age 35.

"I was 229 (pounds) this week so that puts it close to 15-17 (pounds lost), in that range somewhere from my highest point. Started losing it last year and just kind of kept it off. I've even dropped some more as we've been in camp and regular season."

Collins has been the subject of a lot of attention the past two weeks and how he's handled the situation, both on and off the field, hasn't gone unnoticed.

Hopefully backup quarterback Vince Young has witnessed it first hand.

Gary Johnson is a Times-Gazette sports writer. He can be reached at gjohnson@t-g.com.