So to respond to the story the way we do best and better than the rest, here's a look at McNair's career through the prism of pigskin known as the Cold, Hard Football Facts.
A couple key points:
McNair leaves behind a pro football legacy as a "tough guy" constantly praised by the "pundits" for his ability to play through injury. Of course, if you pitch it another way, it looks like this: McNair was constantly injured and couldn't stand up to the rigors of pro football like the true NFL ironmen such as Brett Favre and Peyton Manning. It's all in the media spin.
Generally speaking, though, McNair had a good, solid NFL career – somewhere in the gray area above mediocre, but not quite a great quarterback. He gave a very impressive performance in 2003, when he shared league MVP honors with Manning. In fact there's a good argument to be made that McNair deserved the honor himself.
But the complete seasons were few and far between. And it's those constant injures that prevented McNair from being remembered as one of the great quarterbacks of his era. He won 91 games in his career – a very impressive figure. But a completely healthy McNair might have gone down as
one of the winningest QBs in history.
The other major issue for McNair on the field is that there were few signature moments – at least few signature moments of greatness. McNair is best remembered for leading the greatest drive that fell short: a furious, last-second rally stopped less than 1 yard from the goal line against the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV. The problem with great drives that fall short, of course, is that they fell short. It's a bit of crimp in the legacy.
The postseason track record in general – always a key barometer for the Cold, Hard Football Facts – is unspectacular. McNair's teams went 5-5 in postseason play and, as you'll see below, McNair did little to carry his clubs in those games.
Overall, though, it's quite a career for a guy who played his college ball at tiny 1-AA Alcorn State in Mississippi, and essentially put the school on the map. The numbers he produced there in the SWAC are simply fantastic, and his career there, as you'll see below, continues to stand among the greatest and most prolific in the history of college football. The NCAA 1-AA (or Football Championship Subdivision)
record books are littered with his name.
0
Number of passes McNair attempted in the third quarter of Super Bowl XXXIV against the Rams. He attempted 15 passes in the frantic fourth quarter, completing 11. His Titans lost, 23-16.
2
The number of players who finished ahead of McNair in the 1994 Heisman race: the winner, RB Rashaan Salaam of Colorado, and the runner-up, RB Ki-Jana Carter of Penn State.
3
McNair's overall selection in the 1995 draft, taken by the then-Houston Oilers two years before the franchise moved to Tennessee. Penn State's Carter and USC offensive tackle Tony Boselli went 1-2.
4
Number of seasons in which McNair lost more games than he won: 7-8 in 2001, 3-5 in 2004, 4-10 in 2005 and 2-4 in 2007.
5
Number of complete, 16-game seasons the oft-injured McNair played in his 13-year career.
6
Number of 500-yard passing performances in McNair's record-setting college career at Alcorn State. (He passed for 421 yards in his most productive NFL game and,
according to ProFootballReference.com, he topped 300-yards 12 times as a pro.)
6
Age of McNair's girlfriend, Sahel Kazemi, shot to death by his side this weekend, when his NFL career began in 1995.
10
Consecutive years Alcorn State has gone without producing an NFL draft pick. The last Braves player taken in the NFL draft was WR Donald Driver, nabbed by the Packers in the 7th round in 1999.
13
The number of games the Ravens won with McNair at quarterback in 2006, his next to last season in an NFL uniform. It was the most wins in McNair's career, and the most in Ravens franchise history.
35
Number of combined NFL starts for Rashaan Salaam and Ki-Jana Carter, the two players who finished ahead of McNair in the 1994 Heisman race. McNair started 153 NFL games.
54
The shockingly high number of players drafted out of tiny Alcorn State despite the fact that it's in the midst of the aforementioned 10-year drought. Only three of those 54 were taken in the first round and none as high as McNair. The other first rounders were LB John Thierry, No. 11 overall (Chicago) in 1994 and DB Roynell Young, No. 23 overall (Philly) in 1980.
57
The dizzying number of touchdowns that McNair scored via run or pass in his record-setting senior season (1994) at Alcorn State – four shy of the 1-AA record held by Willie Totten, the Mississippi Valley State quarterback who threw to Jerry Rice.
66.7
McNair's sub-par career postseason passer rating. He threw just six TD passes in 10 career playoff games, against 11 INTs. The postseason passer rating is well below is slightly above-average regular-season mark of 82.8.
76
Number of games McNair won with Titans coach Jeff Fisher. Fisher, the franchise all-time wins leader among coaches, boasts 52 victories with other quarterbacks.
87
Length of the drive that McNair led in the final moments of Super Bowl XXXIV against the Rams. McNair's Titans began the drive on their own 12.
91
100.4
McNair's passer rating in his co-MVP season of 2003. The mark topped the league that year and was the highest of McNair's career.
527.2
The average yards per game (rushing and passing) McNair produced at Alcorn State in 1994, a single-season 1-AA record. He averaged 400.5 YPG over the course of his career, also a NCAA 1-AA record.
4,863
McNair's total passing yards at Alcorn State in 1994, a single-season 1-AA record.
5,799
The total yards McNair produced at Alcorn State in his senior season of 1994, a Division 1-AA record (4,863 passing, 936 rushing).
14,496
Career passing yards at Alcorn State, a Division 1-AA record.
16,823
Yards of offense McNair produced in his college career, also a Division 1-AA record (14,496 passing, 2,327 rushing). It's just 87 yards shy of the Division 1-A record held by former Hawaii quarterback Timmy Chang.
31,304
Passing yards in McNair's career – 28th in NFL history.
We'll leave the Steve McNair muckraking, the gossip and the classless jokes – well, most of 'em anyway – to the ESPNs and tabloids of the world. You know the story by now: he was gunned down in his Nashville home on the 4th of July with his girlfriend at his side. In fact, his little chickita may have been responsible for murder-suicide. That's a tough day for McNair's wife, Mechelle.
