For the most part, everyone in the locker room jumped on board last spring (must've been the week McGahee was in Miami, missing optional workouts in Baltimore). And we saw it illustrated countless times throughout the season.
An injured Derrick Mason rushing back onto the field. A quarterback taking his linemen out to dinner. Defensive backs stepping up when injury befell a teammate. Troy Smith, his shot at starting stolen by tonsillitis, eager to do anything asked of him. The old embracing the young. The young seeking out the veterans. And they all worked as one.
Unlike past seasons, there wasn't a mile-wide divide separating offensive and defensive units. Any distrust, resentment or entitlement was kept in check. Harbaugh went so far as to reshuffle the locker-room seating chart to discourage cliques.
The result speaks for itself. It's not a room of guys who simply wear the same color, who merely show up each morning at the same workplace. The 2008 Ravens - a group that found its way to the playoffs when no one expected it to - are a team. They're a team in just about every sense of the word.
And there are very few exceptions. Which, I guess, brings us back to McGahee.
I remember chatting with McGahee shortly after he was traded to the Ravens. He didn't enjoy his time with the Buffalo Bills. He didn't think they understood him. For their part, the Bills never felt McGahee cared about anyone other than himself.
When McGahee's agent called him and said the trade was complete, McGahee told me he was running through his home with his hands in the air, yelling: "Yes! Yes! Yes!" In just two years, the Ravens changed. McGahee hasn't.
Many of the Bills' complaints have resurfaced in Baltimore. It's not that the team doesn't appreciate McGahee; rather, McGahee doesn't seem to appreciate the team concept.
And it's too bad. His numbers won't garner postseason accolades, but his presence has been important. He allows his teammates to rest. He provides Cam Cameron with different options, and he's another threat defenses have to account for.
Teaming McGahee with Le'Ron McClain and Ray Rice, the Ravens had the NFL's fourth-best running game. They're a big reason the Ravens led the league in time of possession. And their 2,376 rushing yards were the second-most in team history, surpassed by only the 2003 squad, which featured Jamal Lewis and his 2,066 yards.
He doesn't seem to know it, but McGahee has been a part of something special. And it would be a lot better if for the next few weeks, McGahee's footwork is as quick, fanciful and dazzling as his words.
RAVENS (11-5) @DOLPHINS (11-5)
AFC wild card
Sunday, 1 p.m.
TV: Chs. 13, 9
Radio: 1090 AM, 97.9 FM
Line: Ravens by 3
