"He was the ultimate pro, the toughest guy I ever played with or against, and I've played with some of the best," Stover said. "But at the same time, he was a very gentle and sensitive guy. He respected everyone from the trainer to the waterboy to even a kicker. He was the ultimate team player."And that's what made McNair special. He had every right to have a huge ego, but we never saw it in Baltimore. In Tennessee, there were reports about his not being willing to practice.
But all he did here was play hard. And the Ravens' defensive players loved McNair.
"One of the things I admired about him most was his attitude," Newsome said. "Whether you played with him or against him, you loved his competitiveness. He could defy the odds because whenever you needed a play, he would make a play.
"Actually, he did more for our defense than our offense because not only did other teams have to game plan for Steve, but our defense finally understood we had a guy that could win a game for us at quarterback," Newsome said.
McNair played only two seasons in Baltimore. His 2007 season was injury-afflicted and it started right in the season opener when he injured a groin and hamstring against the Cincinnati Bengals. McNair started only six games that season, and was on injured reserve for the last five. He retired in the offseason, but we won't remember that.
We'll remember the 13 seasons he spent in the NFL throwing for 31,304 yards, 174 touchdowns and going to three Pro Bowls. We'll remember how competitive he was when he played for our nemesis, the Tennessee Titans, and how he was great at improvising. We'll remember how he came up a yard short of sending the 2000 Super Bowl into overtime as the Titans lost to St. Louis, 23-16, on the last play of regulation.
But most of all, we'll remember how McNair rallied the Ravens in 2006. His passes lacked zip, and some of the mobility was gone by then. But McNair still completed 295 of 468 passes for 3,050 yards and 16 touchdowns because he was accurate on short passes and could manage a game. He was tough, and still the king of the comebacks.
He gave a team that had little hope life again.
And he finally gave the Ravens a quarterback they could finally believe in.
