Ravens a good fit for McNair
A salary cap casualty in Nashville, journeyman Steve McNair may be the final piece to the puzzle in Baltimore, for a team whose greatest quarterback to this point was Trent Dilfer.
The final holdover from the days of the Houston Oilers, McNair was ultimately let go for a fourth-round draft pick, the same offer the Titans turned down a long time ago, only to accept it when an arbitrator ruled McNair could return to the Titan facilities to work out. It was basically a tactic to keep McNair out of the Raven camp as long as possible since the Titans knew they couldn?t meet the $12 million deal offered by their rivals.
Frankly, the Titans had no choice to let McNair go, even though I?m not real thrilled with the way they left him dangling towards the end. In a year there must be progress in Nashville, the Titans need to sign impact players. With McNair costing $23 million to the salary cap, there was no way to keep him and have any chance of competing. Plus, they need money to sign future quarterback Vince Young. Add this to the fact Billy Volek has been as effective as McNair when given a chance to play ? and that he is being paid a pretty chunk of change in his backup roll ? and it was a no-brainer.
However, for the Ravens, the Titans? misfortune was their good fortune as they have gotten themselves a former league MVP for a song and a dance. This is especially valuable when Kyle Boller is their quarterback of the future. Boller, in case you haven?t noticed, was very ineffective when he played. Even worse, Boller was head and shoulders better than his back-ups who filled in while he was injured last season. To say the Ravens had quarterback problems would be the understatement of the year.
Ever since the championship season of 2001, the Ravens have been looking for offensive punch. Actually, even that year, it was the defense which won the championship as Dilfer was simply caretaker of the offense, scoring just enough to get the job done. Oddly, Dilfer was let go the next season, even though he had just quarterbacked his team to a championship ring.
What came next were a bunch of unaccomplished kids and journeymen ready for retirement. At the same time, the Ravens? once awesome defense was getting older and less intimidating. In the end, the Ravens, with less defense and no real offense to speak of, slumped last year to a 6-10 record, even getting beaten by the 4-12 Titans.
However, with McNair there is now a threat. He will be reunited with receiver Derek Mason and he will be fronting a backfield consisting of Jamal Lewis and former Bronco Mike Anderson. Provided the Ravens can provide an adequate line, this will play into the hands of McNair, who flourished in the days of Eddie George in a run-first offense. When the run keeps the defense honest and McNair has a little time, he has shown the ability to pick defenses apart in the air. He will also have Pro-Bowl tight end Todd Heap to throw to on the short routes.
While I?m not ready to anoint the Ravens kings of the AFC North, where they share space with teams like the Steelers and Bengals, I think the addition of McNair will make them competitive in the league this year. McNair is a perfect fit up in Baltimore, something Titans fans may not be keen on since folks in Nashville have come to loathe the Ravens over the years.