Timing: I noticed and I was SCREAMING at the television but nobody was listening. If memory serves me correct, he did well the second half but stunk up the first half thus leaving us a hole to dig ourselves out of. His second-half performance was absolutely heroic-- especially that last drive. I feel bad criticizing the guy but I'm just trying to be objective. He doesn't seem to be able to learn (after 7 years) how to throw the ball upfield. Fiedler did it (in the monsoon even). Useless observation: wouldn't you like to see Warren Moon in his prime QBing this team?
Regardless of what you think about McNair as a pure QB. I think the stat that usually goes unmentioned is wins and losses. McNair is a winning QB. He has always done the things needed to win. Now when he stops doing these little things is when people get concerned. Yes he needs to improve his passing. Yes McNair is in a system that suits his ability (i.e the short passes to the TE or the running back). However last night he was unable to do this well either. There was something strange about McNairs passes last night (yes more so than usual for the McNair critic's). I just have a gut feeling that this goes back to his offseason shoulder problems. There was a point this offseason that McNair could not even pick up his kid because of the shoulder problems. It was thought to be a very mysterious shoulder injury which they thought could be career ending. The Doctors and McNair thought he had recovered. That is why the Titans waited until May/June to get McNair resigned to his new contract extension. He just did not look like himself for the first half. Again have to give credit to the Miami defense for much of that uncomfortable feeling. But the fact remains his passes just looked very awkward. Even the ESPN announcers were mentioning the lack of follow through on McNairs passes. Now McNair is not a rookie in this league so I would think he would have the follow through portion down by now unless there is something still wrong with his shoulder. As of right now he is listed as day to day (will not practice this week) and is listed as questionable for this weekends game. To me the Titans could not get into any rhythm at all last night. They were either jumping offsides or shooting themselves in the foot with some penalty. When you make it 3rd and long in the NFL the chances are slim that you will be able to convert on the majority of those third downs. That is exactly what the Titans were doing. When other team knows what you are doing it makes it that much easier for them. I just have this uneasy feeling that it may be a very long season for the Titans. I hope this game was the rock bottom for this team because they have alot to improve upon if they want to keep playing come January. I am hoping and praying that they will do what it takes to get back on track. Titans fans keep the faith!!!
Keep in mind that in the SB, McNair burned all 3 TO's. If they had 1 more TO, maybe Tenn wins? I hate hearing the malarchy that McNair LED the Titans to anything. The Titans were LED to success by DEFENSE AND SPECIAL TEAMS. If you for one second believe that the Titans offense and McNair are the reasons to success, then you either have never seen the Titans play, or you are Steve McNair's mother. The Titans have managed to have success in spite of McNair and his inability to throw the forward pass. Someone needs to tell Jeff Fisher and McNair that the forward pass was legalized not too long ago. The loss of Lorenzo Neal was pretty evident last night. There were actually some holes for Eddie George to run through. But they were clogged up by DT's and LB's. Why is that? Because no one was lead blocking for George. Yes, the Titans use a 2 TE set, but NO, the TE's aren't able to block the MLB's to give George an open hole. George was going to have a little difficulty to begin with, due to his injured toe. Factor that with the lack of a lead blocker, and George will have to work even harder than he does now for his yardage. Titans will go 10-6 because their defense and special teams are great. They will have a plethora of 13-10 scores and the like. They also have the advantage of playing Cin and Cle 4 times this year. Defensively, their secondary took some hits with the losses of Robertson and Denard Walker. It was evident last night that the Dolphins (THE DOLPHINS!) were able to beat them with the deep ball. The Titans pass rush with Carter and Kearse will have to create constant pressure to take some heat off of the secondary. Titan fans, I hope you enjoyed your run of success while it lasted.
kidrock, You made some excellent points in your last post. I disagree regarding McNair not being considered a leader and playing a big role for the Titans success. In reference to the Superbowl. All you have to do is look at the last drive the Titans made. That drive was a masterpiece and much of the credit goes to Steve McNair. Also in the AFC Championship game the Titans beat the Jaguars in Jacksonville. Again, McNair deserved much of the credit for that win (turf toe and all). Did other team members contribute to that victory (of course) but to discount the efforts of Steve McNair is not giving him his just due. McNair may never become the pure drop back passer. But he needs to do the things that he does well. When he stops doing those things on a consistent basis will I start to panic. I agree with you regarding your comments on the fullback and missing Lorenzo Neil. The experiment with using the TE (ie. Frank Wycheck in the backfield as a fullback) was a disaster. Frank can not block. He has never been known for his blocking ability. The big complaint last year with using Lorenzo Neil was that it tipped off the defense that the Titans would be running the ball. Well if given a choice I would rather tip the defense (since about 70% of the Titans offensive plays involve the run) and have an excellent blocking fullback. The Titans had William Floyd in camp as their FB but released him. Not that William is know for his excellent blocking abilities but he has to be a better option than Frank Wycheck as our fullback. Coach Fisher stated that there may be a chance they resign Floyd sometime during the season. I hope he is on the phone with Floyds agent. Also keep in mind for whatever reason that Eddie throughout his career has had slow Septembers. That has not stopped him from turning it on as the season progresses.
Good post Dream. I was surprised to see them cut Floyd and THEN Dan Alexander from Nebraska. I know Alexander isn't much of a blocker though. With regards to Neal and the predictable offense, the offense is predictable to begin with! You know that 60% of the time, the ball will go through Eddie George. If it's a passing play you know McNair is looking short for Wycheck or George. That is pretty much the entire Titan playbook. They do throw the occasional bomb that ends up in row 5, but there's no need to sweat bullets over that. Who cares if it's predictable if you can't stop it? The Cowboys of the mid-90's were the most predictable offense, yet they beat people up all game long with the run. The running game is the one thing that can be predictable and still succeed. As long as the o-line, FB, and TE know their blocking assignments. Does Jeff Fisher and Heimdinger think they are sleight of hand by running the ball with George with 2 TE's instead of 1 FB and 1 TE? Hell no. I know it, you know it, the other team knows it, that the Titans will be running the ball. So much for adding new "wrinkles". Neal is to credit for much of Eddie George's success.
