Steve McNair Was Not the Man We Thought He Was

Former Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Steve McNair was shot and killed Saturday night in his downtown Nashville condominium.

 

Nashville authorities have indicated that McNair, 36, may have been slain by his 20-year-old mistress, Sahel Kazemi, in a murder-suicide.

 

The fuzz revealed to the press that McNair, a three-time Pro Bowl selection and the 2003 co-NFL MVP, was shot four times, and the strumpet that he dated on the side for four months died from a single bullet wound to her head.

 

“Air McNair,” who was selected out of Alcorn State by the Houston Oilers with the third overall pick in the 1995 NFL Draft, became only the third player in league history to pass for 30,000 yards and run for an additional 3,500 yards in his career.

 

“If you were going to draw a football player, the physical part, the mental part, everything about being a professional, he is your guy,” said former Titans and Ravens cornerback Samari Rolle, who played with McNair on both teams. “It is a sad, sad day. The world lost a great man.”

 

“Stevie Wonder,” the winner of the 1994 Walter Payton Award as the top player in NCAA Division I-AA football, was just the second African-American quarterback behind Doug Williams to take his team to the Super Bowl when he led the Titans to within a yard of a championship versus the St. Louis Rams in the 1999-2000 season.

 

“The man had ice running through his veins,” said Eddie George, the featured running back on that Titans squad. “He was so cool under pressure, so calm.”

 

“Air McNair,” who was chosen as a pitcher by the Seattle Mariners in the 35th round of the 1991 MLB amateur draft, was renowned for his incredible toughness and for his ability to consistently perform on the gridiron despite the various injuries that often plagued his career.

 

“On the field, there isn’t any player that was as tough as him,” said Derrick Mason, the Titans receiver of yesteryear who was stopped after a McNair pass on the one-yard line as time expired in their 23-16 loss to the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV.

 

McNair’s one-time teammate and tight end in Tennessee, Frank Wycheck, agreed and called him, “the definition of what a warrior was all about.”

 

Unfortunately, regardless of the lofty stature he attained among his peers and his impressive pedigree, McNair will now always be recalled as a good signal-caller that was likely smoked by a disturbed floozy in the Music City.

 

McNair was married and had four sons.

 

He did not deserve the fate that he received because of his adulterous lifestyle.

 

Nevertheless, his standard of living will now ultimately overshadow the heights he reached on the football field.

 

Everything in life is not always what it appears to be, and everyone in this world is not always who we think they are.

 

As the saying goes, “Don’t get too close to the ballerina. You may lose the illusion.”

 

Ultimately, we as fans likely got too close to “Air McNair.”

 

 

*This article is written in loving memory of Chris Naghski….He was a great man and an even better friend.

NFL Owners Are Committing Age Discrimination

No Matter What Happens, New York Jets Fly By Dealing For Mark Sanchez

The New York Jets selected former University of Southern California star quarterback Mark Sanchez Saturday after making a trade with the Cleveland Browns to acquire the 5th overall pick in the NFL Draft.

Sanchez, 22, a third-generation Mexican American who was named the 2009 Rose Bowl MVP, wowed Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer during a workout at his old high school last month and Gang Green’s brass were determined to land the Trojans onetime signal-caller.

“We saw the great feet, we saw the poise and how confident he was,” said Ryan of the 2008 First Team All-Pac 10 nomination who played 16 games as a Trojan in Pete Carroll’s sophisticated, pro-style offense. “Brian put him through every route known to man and he passed every throw with flying colors. We knew right then this is the guy we wanted.”

In order to attain the 5th pick, New York traded Cleveland their first and second round choices (17 and 52) and starting defensive end Kenyon Coleman, promising quarterback Brett Ratliffe and productive safety Abram Elam.

Jets General Manager Mike Tannenbaum admitted it was peculiar to forge a deal with Browns coach Eric Mangini only months after he handed the famous whistleblower his deserved pink slip.

“It is ironic, but we also looked at it as an opportunity,” Tannenbaum remarked of brokering a deal with the coaching “genius” who faltered on the sidelines in Gotham.

Sanchez, the Jets highest-drafted quarterback since “Broadway” Joe Namath was selected first in the 1965 AFL Draft, seems undaunted at the prospect of leading Gang Green under the glaring Big Apple spotlight.

“The media training I had at USC, a pretty large media market, not quite as big as New York, it’s only going to get bigger and better. But I think that helps,” said the All-American who led USC to a 12-1 record last season. “At USC, they put a lot of emphasis on the quarterback with Heisman Trophy winners, All-Americans and national champions. They want results, just like the fans here, just like the press here. That’s what I’m prepared to work for, obviously with such a great team around me now, it’s going to be a blast.”

On paper, Tannenbaum and Ryan have assembled an enormously talented defense this offseason and their offense was vastly improved this past weekend at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

In addition to snagging Sanchez, the Jets also traded-up twelve spots to select University of Iowa running back and 2008 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Shonn Greene in the initial portion of the third round.

Greene, 23, who transferred to Iowa last spring from Kirkwood Community College after he raised his grade point average there to meet Hawkeye standards, rushed for over 100 yards in every one of his 13 games as a junior on the gridiron last season.

Even a stickler would acknowledge that the Jets enjoyed a solid draft weekend that may eventually catapult them to an elite status in the NFL.

Nevertheless, it is fair to wonder if Gang Green should have considered alternate trade offers and opportunities before they focused the bulk of their efforts toward acquiring Sanchez.

Sanchez is extremely inexperienced and he has suffered from a litany of minor injuries throughout his abbreviated career.

The native of Long Beach, California scoffs at the notion that he is a one-year wonder who is unprepared to succeed in the NFL.

“I bring up Matt Cassel. He didn’t start at all and look what he’s doing,” said Sanchez, referring to his fellow USC alumnus who had not started a game at quarterback since high school prior to last September with the New England Patriots.

Sanchez fully expects to defeat incumbent reserve Kellen Clemens in the quarterback competition slated for this upcoming preseason.

“I didn’t grow up dreaming of being a backup,” stated Sanchez, who threw 34 touchdown passes in comparison to a measly 10 interceptions last autumn.

Sanchez’s former coach at USC believes that his erstwhile leader is ready to thrive in the professional ranks immediately despite publicly questioning his decision to vacate Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with one year of eligibility remaining.

“He’s as equipped as anybody,” Carroll said of the first quarterback to leave the USC program prematurely since Todd “Marijunavich” Marinovich did after the 1990 campaign. “He understands the principles and the concepts. Unless the system is jam-packed, there are very few concepts they will be able to put in front of him that he has not already done.”

In essence, the Jets simply squandered a 2nd round draft pick to position themselves to select Sanchez. Virtually every pigskin analyst is in agreement that such a minimal sacrifice by the Jets was an obvious maneuver to secure a player of Sanchez’s caliber.

However, there were also reportedly a slew of other young and more-experienced signal callers available for the Jets to consider via trade for a sufficient bargain over the weekend. 

According to a number of media sources, Mangini is not enamored with either of his inherited quarterbacks, Brady Quinn nor Derek Anderson.

Quinn, 24, the 2006 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award winner who holds virtually every passing record for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and Anderson, 25, a 2007 Pro Bowl selection with the Browns, are both intriguing prospects who could have possibly been landed for less than the Jets 1st round selection.

Similarly, Washington Redskins Owner Daniel Snyder seems to covet his current franchise thrower, Jason Campbell, as much as a Mexican desires becoming inflicted with swine flu. Campbell, 27, is a solid field general who threw for 3,245 yards and 13 touchdowns, in contrast to 6 interceptions, in 2008.

Obtaining any three of the aforementioned quarterbacks for marginal players and a 2nd round pick or less may have ultimately been more advantageous for the Jets. 

The Jets could have gained their leader under the gun and they still would have owned their first round selection to land a big, powerful wide receiver or a ferocious pass rushing defensive lineman.

In the grand scheme of events, Tannenbaum and Ryan likely gave Mangini an overdue Cleveland steamer. 

On the contrary, if the USC heartthrob is the latest in an extensive collection of New York draft busts, Jets management does not warrant a dirty sanchez in this instance for their moves.

The Jets sought quality over quantity this entire offseason and if their finagling pays dividends, the Jets will fly high for the next decade.

If their transactions falter like they often do, the Jets failed this time genuinely trying to better their cursed franchise.

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