McNair No Hall of Famer
You know what was great about Steve McNair?
No, it wasn't his much-ballyhooed toughness - if there was ever a storyline overplayed consistently by booth jockeys it was the notion that McNair was the only quarterback in the NFL playing in pain every week.
It was the fact that he was so damn smart. Think about it. Here was a kid from Division I-AA Alcorn State who beat up on lesser competition in college and was perhaps a greater threat with his legs than his arm coming into the NFL. Yet only once in his just-completed NFL career did he throw more interceptions than touchdowns. And that came in 2004 when he only played eight games and finished with eight TDs and 9 picks. When you think of the learning curve he was dealing with coming into the league, to be that efficient (he also finished his career with a completion percentage over 60) is pretty damned impressive.
McNair, who retired as the Ravens quarterback Wednesday after 13 seasons and 161 games, was one of the top five quarterbacks of his era. But he wasn't good enough to be considered a Hall of Famer. His team only made it to one Super Bowl and lost. He made it to just three Pro Bowls. He was never first-team All Pro. And while he did share the 2003 league MVP with Peyton Manning, there just aren't enough other seasons where he was at or near the very best at his position in the league.
McNair won't get in on stats - he finishes 28th all time in passing yards, 22nd in completion percentage and 9th in interception-TD ratio (all stats courtesy of the folks at pro-football-reference.com) - and he won't get in on team success. Even though he carried the Oilers/Titans from bad to good, the Titans were never great during his tenure.
He was a forerunner of the big quarterback era we entered around the time he came into the league - Daunte Culpepper, Jamarcus Russell, Ben Roethlisberger are similar football species - and the production he had with his feet early in his career was impressive. From 1997 to 2002, McNair tucked it 101, 77, 72, 72, 75 and 82 times and gained 674, 559, 337, 403, 414, 440 on the ground.
It's funny, but there was a time in the late 90s when another quarterback taken the year before McNair - Drew Bledsoe - seemed more a star than McNair. All the arrows on Bledsoe's career were pointing up about 1997 when McNair was still feeling his way. His passing stats were on pace with Dan Marino's and he'd been to a Super Bowl and figured to go back again. But Bledsoe never really got better than he was in the early part of his career while McNair wound up far surpassing him. Bledsoe's final numbers wound up being bigger than McNair's but only a fool would argue he was a better quarterback. Funny how things turn out.
Anyway, I'll leave you with this. The Sports Illustrated cover that introduced Air McNair to America.
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Drilling deeply into the mantle layer of America's Passion, NBCSports.com's Tom Curran offers up quick hits and insights on all things NFL.
If McNair doesn't make it, shut the place down!!!!!!!!!! Steve McNair didn't just play hurt, he excelled when he should have been out on the sideline... BTW. Make sure you make the case for Dan Marino, Fran Tarkenton, Warren Moon, and so forth. All of these guys did other things (other than winning the big one)that set them apart from the average Joes of the NFL; like turning teams of average talent into competitive ones, battling some of the epic games of our time and putting up some unbelieveable numbers.
If the SB is the yardstick by which you measure guys, Mike Munchak, Steve Largent and goodness sake many others would barely eek in.
GIVE THE GUY A BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!
If the Hall of Fame can induct owners, announcers, and other non-athletes, then certainly there is a place for Steve McNair. He may not be first ballot, but he'll get in...and I'll be there to watch!
Mr Curran, your overzealous focus on black players relentlessly portrays you as a racist writer. There are other players to focus on than Tiger and Macnair. Just broaden your focus.
Tiberious
Mr. Curran, i have been suspecting for awhile that you are a racist and an elitist horse's behind. This vapid piece proves me right once and for all. Are you related to Joe Buck? You're both cut out of the same piece of fabric.
i think u/get off on writing columns that make absolutely no sense--who r/u again-and for whom did u/ever play?????
Tom
Dude u r a punk. How dare you talk about a legend. May not have won any superbowl but he played with a lot heart than some of these quarterbacks that was overpaid during his era. Whats your point anyway dude. You hate McNair.
Tom, I suspect that had you been Asian, these whiners would be shouting that you were planning a second attack on Pearl Harbor. I see nothing wrong with your piece. I disagree about McNair, but I don't see anything that would be considered 'racial' about it. These folks just need to grow up.
I think McNair is one of the greatest quearterbacks ever. I think stats should only be a small part of the picture - and I think the things McNair embodied are more important than any stat!
2 words - Jim Kelly
Jim Kelly was a FIRST BALLOT Hall of Famer. His stats and career accomplishments are near identical to Steve McNair's. How can Jim Kelly be a first ballot hall of famer, and steve mcnair is out completely? MAkes no sense.
Jim Kelly never won a super bowl, and frankly, he had a ton of more talent around him than McNair. If Curran can't explain the difference between McNair and Kelly, he has an agenda.
And please don't bring up Kelly's stint in the USFL...
Both Kelly and McNair averaged 60% completions, yet Kelly had 7.42 yards per attempt to McNairs 6.89. Kelly averaged 8 more TD's per season (avgs of 21/13). Even factoring in rushing yardage/td's kelly was good for ~700 yards and 6 more td's per season based on career averages.
At the end of the day i think kelly is in because he made it to the super bowl in 4 of 11 seasons (36%). Mcnair doesn't have a stat like that to help get him over the top (once, 7% of his seasons ended at the superbowl)
McNair was a solid quarterback, with a long productive career - but if you had the ability to put together a fantasy team and pick any QB that ever played coming right out of college, how many would take mcnair? I think a case can be made for almost every hall of famer, but I'm not seeing it for mcnair.
Hey Tiberious Mose...
How is this about race? You read something you don't like and the writer is racist. Sad cop-out!!! I'll probably get branded a racist too, eh?
McNair was a good, but not great QB. Has nothing to do with race and everything to do with his accomplishments (or lack thereof). I'm not sure how Jim Kelly made it, he wasn't a great QB either.
THE BEST YEAR THE TITANS EVER HAD WAS WHEN THEY WENT TO THE SUPER BOWL ON THAT BULL...MUSIC CITY MIRACLE PLAY! McNAIR WAS TERRIBLE IN THOSE TWO PLAY OFF GAMES--REALLY BAD--EDDIE GEORGE AND THE RUNNING GAME WAS ALL THE OFFENSE THEY HAD THAT YEAR---TOUGHNESS IS NOT ENOUGH TO GO TO THE HALL OF FAME YOU STUPID UNEDUCATED BLOGGERS--99% OF ALL PRO FOOTBALLERS ARE TOUGH YOU BLOGHEADS!
The Titans "were never great" during McNair's tenure? Yeah, back to back 13-3 seasons is pretty lousy. . . Most of Tom Curran's articles are pointless anyway.
I think the commentary is good. McNair most definitely does not deserve the Hall of Fame. He's an admirable player, no doubt. He saw his teams through good and bad. Almost as if he was paid to. Oh, that's right, he was. Otherwise, I might have been a quarterback in the NFL. He was also babied, whined like a female dog, couldn't get along with other star players that could have gotten him that elusive super bowl he lacks, and just plain didn't produce. He was easy to unnerve, easier to anticipate and lost his edge early in his career. He was always hurt, and made the media focus on himself instead of his teams. It's easy for some to say the commentary is slanted because of race. That proves that racists (those who need to pull the race card every column they read) still exist in droves. All the "racist" readers failed to bring up one valid point as to why McNair deserves the HoF. He's a nice guy, sure, but nice guys finish last.
Oh stop your bickering. McNair is a Hall of Fame for crying out loud. Live with it.
Tend to agree that McNair is not a HOF'er. Stats tend to be the yardstick, not heart or character. BTW one factual error in the blog, McNair in 2007 had more INT than TD, not just 2004.
I agree that McNair is not HOF material. He was tough and played hurt, but that doesn't mean anything. He went to a SB and lost. He went to the Ratbirds, I mean Ravens, and didn't do much. The HOF is not in his future.
Its not like this is a controversial take. McNair's chances of making the Hall of Fame are slim to none. He just doesnt have the numbers or the Pro Bowls.
If Bengal's QB Kenny Anderson can't get into the Hall of Fame, McNair doesn't have a chance. I don't know how anyone can compare the statistics of the HOF QB's and not think that Anderson belongs on the list.
Most QB's will you, they get way too much credit when they win, and way too much blame when they lose, so spare me the "he never won a Super Bowl" excuse.
The biggest hoax in the NFL Hall of Fame is Joe Namath. I don't care about his prediction, his stats are down right pedestrian! Look at the stats. I was around when he played and I was surprised how poor his stats were when I looked recently.