Quick Hit: BAL-TEN Play Clock Controversy

There's already been plenty of talk about the Ravens' getting a play off with zero on the game clock during their game-winning drive. What a lot of the complaining has missed is that the play clock's being at zero doesn't automatically mean the offense is out of time to run a play; rather they get a tick of the clock while while the zero is showing. So Baltimore didn't necessarily get a gift non-call here (unless the officials really did allow 1.35 seconds to expire with the "00" on the play clock).

-Hazelwood

Titans closer to the '72 Dolphins than you think

It's obvious that the Titans' 10-0 start isn't generating the kind of fanfare that followed the Patriots' drive for an undefeated season in '07, or for that matter the Colts' undefeated start in '05. The clear reason is that Tennessee isn't winning in the dominant fashion that those two teams did, and it's nearly impossible to picture Kerry Collins succeeding where Tom Brady and Peyton Manning failed.

The irony is that the Titans are closer in style to the '72 Dolphins than either of those two teams: they're winning close games with a dominant defense, a backup quarterback, a stable of running backs, and, yes, an easy schedule. And just as the Dolphins were underdogs in the Super Bowl against Washington, it's perfectly conceivable that a 16-0 Titans team would be an underdog to, let's say, a 15-1 or 14-2 Giants team on a neutral field. And just as the '72 Dolphins are remembered more for going undefeated than for being a great team (like the Steelers teams of the '70s or 49ers of the '80s), the Titans would similarly be likely not to be remembered as fondly as a great team as would the Patriots, Colts, etc.

Given all this, it's no surprise Mercury Morris is openly supporting Tennessee (and also predicted the Giants might be favored against them in the Super Bowl).

-Hazelwood

Saying Goodbye to Steve McNair

When I read that Steve McNair retired yesterday I instantly thought back to his memorable SI cover and the accompanying article. This was still when what SI wrote and who graced its cover mattered a lot more, and I became a McNair fan on that alone.

The article is a good read, if anything to see just how much "black quarterback" was part of the conversation only 15 years ago, or for lighter gems like:

"He's on the same level as the best quarterbacks I've seen since I've been scouting," says Dwight Adams, director of player personnel for the Buffalo Bills. "Testaverde, Bledsoe, Shuler, Mirer, Dilfer.

McNair's retirement dates me as a sports fan. He came into the league when I was in grade school, the formative years as far as fandom is concerned. To put it in perspective: he was the last high draft pick QB to start his career with the now-archaic two year bench apprenticeship without much of a fuss being made over it. To compare, consider how much talk their was about Vince Young sitting behind Billy Volek, or Carson Palmer behind Kitna.

He never threw for 3,500 yds or 25 TDs in a season but neither did Troy Aikman. To go by his numbers and say he wasn't among the elite QBs of his generation would be myopic. Jeff Fisher told him to hand it off, and so he did. He made those Titan teams go and his 2003 MVP was well-deserved. What would his numbers look like if he had a true number one receiver? (No, Derrick Mason does not count).

He patented the Red Zone QB draw and was part of a memorable rivalry with the Ravens. An organic rivalry to boot - two teams with no history, simply playing hard against each other each time out.


He said he couldn't do it physically anymore, and that's not surprising. He leaves behind an archive of injury reports and a legacy as one of the toughest players to ever play. Some relevant Steve Young commentary, circa 2003 playoffs, via Simmons:

Someone mentioned how McNair finally started limping on that final drive, how that may have derailed the Titans more than anything. So Steve Young casually mentions, "I think the painkillers started wearing off -- they usually don't last for the whole game."

That was McNair in the 17-14 Divisonal loss to the Pats, playing with a torn calf.

If it's not the barrage of injuries, the prevailing memory will certainly be, "one yard short." Naturally, his unbelievable scramble-and-pass (1:55 mark) on the prior play has been forgotten.

He was a fun player to grow up with. And that's coming from a Jags fan.