On the Web: McNair, Ravens' QB situation
Before we get to a roundup of links on Steve McNair and the Ravens' future at quarterback, a heads-up on what you can expect next week. The Sun will have comprehensive draft coverage, including prospect profiles and analysis of the Ravens' needs. Click here to submit a question to Sun reporters about the draft.
On this blog, I'll have one final roundup of who mock drafts project the Ravens to be taking, a profile on Delaware QB Joe Flacco and an analysis of how first-round quarterback prospects have fared during the past 10 seasons.
And don't forget to check out our photo gallery of several of the draft's top prospects.
Here are the links:
ESPN.com's James Walker calls McNair the AFC's version of Brett Favre:
McNair and Favre are forever associated with each other because they were cut from the same cloth. Both grew up in Mississippi: Favre was born in Gulfport, and McNair was raised in Mt. Olive. Both played for under-the-radar collegiate programs: Favre was a Southern Mississippi product; McNair a star at Alcorn State. Both won MVP awards and led their teams to Super Bowls. And both will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2013. Favre is a lock for Canton, but McNair's candidacy will be a subject of debate in the coming years. What is not debatable is his high place among contemporary quarterbacks of his era.
When I watched McNair's news conference, I thought it was interesting how he took the opposite stance of Favre. I recall Favre saying physically, he could play for two or three more years, but he didn't want to do all the things during the week that were necessary in terms of preparation. McNair said mentally, he could still play for two or three more years, but physically, his body just couldn't keep up.
ESPN.com's Mike Sando shares a story on McNair:
I recall hearing a story about McNair's toughness stemming from a game against Jacksonville during the 1990s. McNair took a pain shot before the game to help deal with a bruised chest and sternum, the type of injury that can make almost any movement excruciating. The medical person was up-front in telling McNair he did not have to take the painkiller. "I'm playing," McNair replied. He then took several big hits, typical for a Jags-Titans game. McNair needed another pain shot during a defensive series late in the game, allowing him to keep playing. He wasn't coming out of the game even though everyone would have understood had he taken a seat.
Clifton Brown of SportingNews.com says the Ravens need to act quickly to pick up a quarterback:
Newsome said McNair's retirement would not impact the Ravens' draft plans. I don't buy that. Newsome's team sorely needs offensive playmakers, and if necessary, he should act boldly to get offensive help, particularly at quarterback. The Ravens can't count on the best quarterback in the draft, Matt Ryan, to fall into their laps at No. 8. So if there's another quarterback in the draft that Newsome believes will be a winner in the NFL, he needs to identify him and position the Ravens to draft him. If that means trading some future draft picks to acquire another first-round pick, so be it.
ESPN's Todd McShay broke down the Ravens' options for drafting a quarterback during SportsCenter this morning. He said they have three choices:
1. Hope that BC's Matt Ryan is there at No. 8
2. Take a quarterback with their second-round pick -- Louisville's Brian Brohm, Delaware's Joe Flacco or Michigan's Chad Henne
3. Trade up to get Ryan
McShay said if he were running the Ravens' draft, he would choose the third option, trading up for Ryan.
ESPN.com's Matt Mosley writes about the Ravens' quarterback situation:
Baltimore has been very up-front about its desire to identify a franchise quarterback in this draft. They'd obviously love for Matt Ryan to slip to No. 8, but if he doesn't, Joe Flacco is someone to keep your eye on in the second round. ...And by the way, keep your eye on this Darren McFadden situation. If he somehow slips to No. 8, the Ravens will suddenly gain a ton of leverage in this draft.
CBSSports.com's Clark Judge says this was the right time for McNair to call it quits:
The guy was tough, resilient, accomplished and a winner, and what the Ravens got from him in 2006 was what they envisioned -- an experienced leader who could take them to the playoffs. But he would never be as good as he was then, and that was evident last year before he was hurt. He can't move anymore, and he's become an injury waiting to happen. Too often, pro athletes overstay their welcome, but McNair has done the right thing by seeing what's ahead for him and choosing a life outside of football.
ESPN.com's Keith Kidd says the timing of McNair's retirement is actually a blessing for the Ravens:
Many might think losing Steve McNair and handing the quarterback job to Kyle Boller and/or Troy Smith means trouble for the Baltimore Ravens, but the timing of his departure is actually a blessing for new head coach John Harbaugh and his staff. This decision allows the Ravens to devote all their offensive energy to getting Boller and Smith familiar with new offensive coordinator Cam Cameron's system and lets them work on plans for acquiring a quarterback in the upcoming draft.
CBSSports.com's Pete Prisco wonders how good McNair could have been had he taken care of his body better earlier in his career:
Inside the Titans' building, there were always murmurs that McNair wasn't doing enough, that he wasn't one to strive to be better. God-given talent, he had. The drive to be the best, not always. That's why McNair was a good player, a damn good one, in fact, but he wasn't quite great. Close, but not quite. Truth be known, he might have been a little overrated.
Roy S. Johnson of Yahoo Sports says McNair would have been a Hall of Famer had the Titans beaten the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV.
Paul Kuharsky of The Tennessean says integrity defined McNair's career:
He took the blame for everything, no matter who was really at fault. He never mentioned a receiver turning the wrong way or failing to fight to break up a pick or a defender who broke loose and got in his face. He passed the credit around pretty freely too. Whereas other stars around the league talked once a week outside of games and were treated like delicate flowers -- differently than the teammates they were asked to lead -- McNair acted the way he knew everyone else was expected to. Don't underestimate that element in the leadership that made him a special player and a winner.
Comments
I think McNair gets in tho the HOF. He should go in with Favre. If the only thing that keeps him out of the hall is that tackle on the one yard line of the SB, that would be a shame.
He is the leader rusher from the QB position has a lot of huge rushing tds and 3rd down conversions.
Who knows how good he may have been if he did not get so badly injured so many times. he still had the toughness to play through what would have crippled the average QB and put up some remarkable numbers. He may not be the only great QB of his era, but he is certainly among them and worthy of more respect than he has been shown by most football fans and media.
Posted by: Jeremiah | April 18, 2008 11:19 AM
I had high hopes this year for McNair and the Ravens, but I still think Smith Boller and a good rookie can get us there.
I have always been a McNair fan, and am sad to hear he is out of gas, but I am glad to see him able to walk away from the game.
He still has a chance at a comeback if he gets healthy and we need a QB later on this season, but I think it would have been tough for him to beat out Smith and Boller in a fair competition at his recent conditioning level.
Boller has everything one needs to be a great QB from the neck down. He has a John Elway type of arm strength and scrambling ability, and even has incredible deep accuracy when he uses good form. He seems to have the toughness, but the choices he makes and the accuracy on some of his throws are enough to get a SB winning coach frustrated to the point of futility, and eventually fired.
Does Billick even get fired if Boller does not throw that one pick into quadruple coverage while leading the undefeated Pats by 10 late in the 3rd quarter? They win that game and who knows what happens next, but I bet it would not have gone as bad as it did from there had we won.
A better OC will get better production out of Kyle Boller. He is an experienced player now. he does make less bad reads, and he does a much better job of anticipating routes and what not, so I still have hope and faith in him that a change of HC and OC, along with an upgrade in scheme and talent on O-line, will be enough to get a very solid back up at the very least.
Troy Smith is going to be the starter here for a long time though. I just don't see the concerns about his height or accuracy on film anywhere. He played 1 bad game at Ohio State, but so did his entire team that day. Brady and Manning look awful when they are getting hit hard on every drop back. He seems to be better than anyone we have had, at least since McNair was only sacked 14 times in 06, at pocket presence and evading the rush. McNair was able to see it coming last year, but could not get his feet to cooperate anymore.
Smith will be able to bust defenses with big plays off of bootleg and waggle action designed to exploit the 8 man fronts the power run game will create. He not only has the speed to beat NFL ends to the corner, he has the arm to throw over the coverage on the run.
He was primarily a pocket passer at OSU, but with the ability to get outside and make plays when it breaks down like Ben Rothlishburger.
There are also several good looking prospects who could develop into franchise QBs slated to go in the 3rd or 4th round range like Dennis Dixon, Andre Woodson, Eric Ainge, Josh Johnson and JD Booty.
I think our top picks should go to CB, DE, WR or O line and get 2 QBs in the draft to compete with and eventually replace Kyle if he does not step up.
Posted by: Jeremiah | April 18, 2008 5:25 PM
First. I want to say thanks to mcnair for this 2 years as a raven.now lets start with what the ravens should do. First trade mark clayton or derrick mason and the 3 round pick of this years draft and the 5 round pick of next years draft for lito shepard. Second they should trade samri rolle and the 2 round pick of this year and the 6 round pick of this year for chad johnson. Then they should try to get kansas city number 1 pick in exchange well give them are next years number 1 pick and also the 3 round pick with the number 5 pick we could get vernon gholston and with the number 8 pick we could get matt ryan. And we also should get dante culpeper, because we need a veteran qb in are roster
Posted by: luis hernandez | April 19, 2008 3:58 PM
"Does Billick even get fired if Boller does not throw that one pick into quadruple coverage while leading the undefeated Pats by 10 late in the 3rd quarter? "
That play exmplified why billick was fired, billick called that play asking kyle to force the ball down the field into a very strong wind. Billick was a moron when it came to knowing when to play it safe and run the damn ball!
Posted by: Drew | April 19, 2008 4:43 PM
McNair isn't even remotely close to being a hall of famer. Just a really great, tough player. Grit is the essence of the game, but so is performing. He doesnt have the stats or the big game wins needed to get it in the HOF. I like and respect the guy, but if he gets in then so will a lot of other QBs who arent really deserving. It's a tough call. The truth is these new modern players are WAY better than a lot of the older players. Someone like Jim Brown would never get a run over 10 yards against some of these modern teams. I mean, could you imagine someone like Steven Jackson playing in those days? He is as big as some of those lineman were. Or can you honestly say that a Chad Johnson or a Boldin or Fitzgerald wouldn't eat the corners from the 60s and 70s alive? Roger Wehrli is a HOF. He ran a 4.5 and weighed like 160lbs. These modern wideouts would destroy him just be shear physical supperiority. Chris McCallister is 10 times better than he was. The truth is, greatness is defined by the era in which one played. Still, does a player with better abilities and better stats not deserve to get in because there is more competition now? Moss Holt TO Johnson and Bruce are all HOF worthy from a statistics standpoint. Its not even close. Yet all are considered probable but not guarenteed to get it. All of them would dominate previous eras. So the end result is you have players who are far superior to older players that will not get in because the overall level of talent has skyrocketed. 20 years ago someone like Hines Ward would have been an instant HOF. Now? Very unlikely. Lynn Swann 336 catches for 5462yds and 51 tds. Hines Ward 719 8,737 65 tds. Same amount of years. And I'm not even a Ward fan. And there are arguably a dozen better wideouts currently playing. The HOF has become absurd due to the enormous difference in talent between eras. Jamal Lewis would probably be considered among the greatest RBs off all time if he had played in the 60s. Who would of tackled him? Anybody actually think Fred Biletnikoff would have been able to get open consistently against some of these modern DBs? Too slow. Way to slow. Ran a 4.7. That was okay back then. Today though? Especially with a lack of size? Okay yall get the point
Posted by: something | April 20, 2008 6:15 PM