Shortly after hearing of the death of quarterback Steve McNair, I was listening to the radio when Derrick Mason -- McNair's favorite receiver in Tennessee and Baltimore -- started talking about what he remembered most about his friend, and, naturally, he started with his toughness.
Only he was talking about how resilient McNair was on the field and how he could deliver when he hadn't practiced the week -- or weeks -- before a particular game.
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| Steve McNair led the Ravens to a last-minute victory over San Diego in Week 4 of their 13-3 season. (Getty Images) |
I guess that's another way of saying that what I admired about Steve McNair was his leadership, and nowhere was that more evident than when he took the Baltimore Ravens to a franchise-best 13-3 finish in 2006.
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The Ravens traded for McNair because they wanted more than a quarterback who could manage the position; they wanted a quarterback who could win big games. McNair could, and he proved it early that year when he rallied the Ravens to a victory over San Diego in a game the Chargers should have won.
Afterward, the story was how San Diego handcuffed Philip Rivers, then in his first year of starting, but Rivers would have been the winning quarterback had it not been for McNair's fourth-quarter heroics -- with the star quarterback finding Todd Heap with a touchdown pass with 34 seconds left.
Final score: Baltimore 16, San Diego 13.
McNair hadn't played all that well that afternoon. He ran for 11 yards, he threw for 158 and he had as many interceptions (2) as he did touchdown passes. But that wasn't the point. When he had to make a play -- when the Ravens needed a last-gasp push -- he was the guy to step forward. On the Ravens' game-clinching series, he hit four of five passes for 43 yards and had a first-down scramble for 12.
"You're talking about an MVP," said a former coach who asked not to be identified, "so his footprints on the league were pretty long. He was tough, both mentally and physically, and there was no better leader. He had the backing of his teammates because they knew he would get it done."
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It didn't matter if McNair was hurt. Somehow, some way, he would find the strength to win a game. In fact, the week before the Ravens upset San Diego they rallied from a 14-3 fourth-quarter deficit to pull off a 15-14 victory over Cleveland, with Matt Stover winning it on a field goal with 20 seconds left.
McNair wasn't particularly sharp that afternoon, either, with the Ravens producing four first downs and 103 yards in the first half. But football games generally aren't decided in one half. With Steve McNair, they almost never were. So it should have surprised no one when he pulled together scoring drives on three of the team's last four possessions after he could manage only one in the Ravens' first nine.
McNair was never more dangerous than in the closing minutes of a game he could win, and this was a just another example. Stepping on the field with 3:20 left and Baltimore down by two, McNair led the Ravens on a 12-play, 47 yard drive -- hitting six of his first seven passing attempts to make Stover's field goal possible.
His numbers weren't gaudy, but so what? We're caught in an age where we tend to overlook the only numbers that are meaningful -- and that's wins and losses. McNair won this game, and I couldn't give a rip that Charlie Frye bettered him in most statistics. He didn't win. McNair did.
What McNair did for Baltimore that season he did for years in Tennessee -- win big games, win close games and win a lot of games. Four of the Ravens' victories that season were by six or fewer points, including a 27-26 defeat of his former employer, Tennessee. That was a contest where the Ravens trailed by nine in the fourth quarter, yet somehow managed to rebound.
Again, it would not have been possible without McNair. This time it was a 50-yard drive in the last five minutes that made the difference, with McNair hitting all three of his passes -- the last an 11-yard TD to Mason, the perfect finish for the two former Tennessee stars. McNair had his best game of the season, throwing for 373 yards and three touchdowns -- both season bests -- to beat the team that dealt him away.
It was a reminder to Tennessee and the legions of McNair fans who followed him to Baltimore of how extraordinary the guy was. He knew how to win, and he often saved his best plays for when it mattered most.
Derrick Mason was right when he said Steve McNair was tough. But he was more than that. He was a leader and a winner -- someone teammates trusted, someone they knew would not quit on them and someone they relied on to make a play when one was necessary.
Steve McNair was not the most accurate quarterback in the NFL, but he was one of its most trustworthy. Given the choice, I know where I stand. It would be in the huddle with Steve McNair.
