Steve McNair Football

I was happily thrown into the past on Sunday afternoon. That’s right, the past; The only place I can escape to without hearing the continuous blowing of a whistle, without seeing referees slash their hands on their knees over and over, and if only to avoid James Harrison’s look in disbelief at another yellow flag falling to the grass.

Let’s add some background to this time-travel. It’s 3^rd down and 17 for the Steelers at the Pittsburgh 29. Four flags and seven runs ago, Rashard Mendenhall kicked off the drive with a 42 yard run, turning around only to see the team marching back the other way. Holding. It’s always something. Back to third down: As soon as Ben snaps the ball he’s hit with pressure. Announcer Solomon Wilcots thinks he’s already sacked. Steeler Nation knows better. #7 doesn’t go down in 3 seconds. He escapes to the outside, and he’s still looking for options. Getting chased by a bills defender, Ben darts for the first down. No one in front of him, one big Buffalo behind him, he makes 18 yards look like a mile. Instead of sliding at 17, he goes all out and smashes his way past the marker. That’s when I went back and simply forgot.

I forgot about the 163 yards in penalties that were called against the Steelers the week prior. I forgot about the unfair target the league has placed on James Harrison. I forgot all about Roger Goodell, and Mike Florio and Richard Seymour. I forgot about the “If Tom Brady we’re this” and “If Peyton Manning were that” phrases. All I could think about was Steve McNair on the Titans.

You see, back in Steve McNair’s glory days, no one could tackle that man. He’d play with a broken thumb, and bruised thigh and a black eye and you still couldn’t bring him anywhere close to the ground. Then he’d throw a block or scramble to a first down just to remind you that he wasn’t just a quarterback. He was the toughest quarterback in the league, and if you wanted to bring his team down, you had to bring him down first.

I can’t think of anyone that comes close to McNair’s playing style besides Ben Roethlisberger. His fairly consistent passing, his clutch style, his ability to avoid the sack unless you’ve got 3 linebackers hanging on him. I mean, you’ve got to surround this guy to bring him down, or he’ll make a play.

You had to do the same with McNair, or soon you’d be seeing those turned out hands on the side of his helmet, and you’d be 7 points down. I mean really, if McNair was still living, what would he have to say about all this? This guy would’ve shredded the injury report weekly if he had the chance. He was in the huddle and un-sackable no matter what. That’s football.

That 18 yard scrambled showed me how much of a football player Ben Roethlisberger continuously proves himself to be. It was such a fierce football play, that I couldn’t help but forget all the nonsense that’s been going on in this league of “transitions” and “safety concerns.” I just felt that Steve McNair would rather I didn’t ponder all that.