Wow, that Madden curse thing really is strong.  Last year, it almost persuaded the guy featured on the cover of the game to retire.

Titans quarterback Vince Young tells Thomas George of NFL.com that Young considered quitting football after his rookie season.

“I really thought long and hard about it,” Young said.  “There was so much going on with my family.  It was crazy being an NFL quarterback.  It wasn’t fun anymore. All of the fun was out of it.  All of the excitement was gone.  All I was doing was worrying about things.

“My teammates helped lift me out of it.  I prayed really hard.  And I began to focus on God’s calling for me.  Play football. Be a role model.” 

Drink tequila from the bottle in public.  Take off your shirt.  Drink some more tequila.

So what has changed in a year?  “Now I can handle this kind of stuff without it making me want to give up football,” Young said.  “I learned that 24/7 I’m representing the Titans and, especially, the kids all over I am trying to influence.  I look at my man Michael Vick.  I learned from that.  I look at Pacman.  I learned from that.  I look at some troubles recently for rappers T.I. and Lil Wayne, guys I listen to.  I learned from them.  I’ve learned from my life.

“You can get too much going on where you can’t control it anymore.  No matter how much money you get, no matter how much comes your way, you have to control yourself.  I know it’s up to me.  I can’t get too big for my britches.”

Sure you can.  All you have to do is take them off. 

And then drink some more tequila.