McNair determined to lead young team
NASHVILLE — Steve McNair doesn’t look like a man who thought about calling it quits this offseason.
The Tennessee quarterback laughs often, jogs up and down the field between drills at training camp and frequently pulls aside his rookie receivers to give them tips on what he wants from them. Sticking with his diet changes, he also hasn’t looked this healthy and trim in years.
It’s a drastic change from the 2004 season when McNair couldn’t take a deep breath without pain. It’s also why the Titans feel confident that a team stocked with youth can turn a rebuilding project into a winner once again.
“Steve McNair is, I guess, the engine that makes the car go,” left guard Zach Piller said Saturday. “He’s obviously the key to everything, and everybody else is kind of a complement.”
Tight end Erron Kinney said he loves seeing a healthy McNair.
“When (No.) 9’s out there and 9’s healthy and hitting on all cylinders, it’s good for us, real good for us. I’m excited to see how he’s doing,” Kinney said.
McNair’s return for an 11th NFL season wasn’t a sure bet at all as the Titans wrapped up a 5-11 record. He was hospitalized in September for two days and wound up missing eight games before having surgery to repair his sternum by grafting bone from his right hip.
He waited until April to announce that he would return and returned to a very different team with seven starters gone and a handful of other players allowed to leave as free agents. McNair jokes that he still doesn’t know all the new names, so he calls the new Titans by their numbers as he works to pair names with faces.
But the man who needs only 1,025 yards passing to reach 25,000 for his career said he will provide the leadership needed by a team with only 11 players with four or more years NFL experience.
“Every year I go in and try to put more on my shoulders,” McNair said. “This year with all the young guys, I think I’ve got to become more of a vocal leader than just going out there and showing how tough I am.”
McNair has nothing there left to prove. Since the 1997 season, only fellow Mississippian Brett Favre has started more NFL games (128) than McNair (112), and he has built a reputation for playing through a list of injuries that had caused him to miss only eight games total before 2004.
But his preferred style has been physical, not verbal, which he knows has to change with 35 rookies on the roster.
“I’ve got to make sure I bring some young guys along with me and make sure they learn every day and not drop behind. We’ve got some young guys out there who are going to help this ball team. Right now their heads are swimming, but at the same time, they’re getting stuff done,” said McNair, who shared the 2003 MVP award with Peyton Manning.
McNair lost his favorite touchdown target when the Titans cut two-time Pro Bowl receiver Derrick Mason in February to open up salary cap room. Tennessee eased his disappointment by drafting three receivers — Brandon Jones of Oklahoma, Courtney Roby of Indiana and Roydell Williams of Tulane.
The Titans also are trying to take better care of McNair, who turned 32 in February. He watched Saturday morning’s session as part of coach Jeff Fisher’s plans to limit him to one workout per day.
And McNair hasn’t stopped trying to shed more of the extra pounds that slowed him down last year.
“I’m going to look like a toothpick before long,” McNair said.