Steve McNair's Trade to Baltimore

[thirdday2002]

The subject line says it all. Steve McNair will be missed. It really hurts that the Titans will be losing him to the Ravens!?! Come on, of all the places he could have ended up, I wish it wasn't there, amongst one of our biggest rivals. I am happy though for him that he will be reunited with Derrick Mason in Baltimore. I hope that the Titans will treat him with dignity and retire his number "9" in a few years when he reaches the end of his career. With all that said, the future for the Tennessee Titans is bright with Vince Young on the horizon, and Billy Volek could end up being the next "Drew Brees" and have a couple of great years while Young is waiting in the wings. (Much like with Philip Rivers) McNair will always remembered by Titans fans and treated with great respect in the city of Nashville! We'll miss ya #9!

[satalac]

i'm sad that he's leaving too. he's done a lot of great things for the team and for nashville (minus the whole dui mishap). i'm going to miss him a lot. he's one of the toughest players in the nfl and i'm sure he'll do well at baltimore. i hate the ravens however. and me being the true titans fan hope that we beat them in a bad bad way. i think this is the best for the team and for steve. they both get what they wanted. i wish it had happened in a more civilized manor though. i see nothing but good things for the titans in the future. the offense has great potential in the upcoming seasons and the defense i'm sure will be in the top 5 of the league. i bet we'll be in the playoffs within 3 years.

[rocky top buzz]

I think the Titans have made a terrible mistake, and have completely mis-handled the salary cap situation. Here's the fallout:

- We couldn't keep Jevon Kearse. He would have been the first full blooded Titan in the hall of fame. HE may not get their now that he's in Philly

- Eddie George could have been a hall of famer, but he's carreer was ended too soon. Granted, he chose to leave and go to Dallas for the same money offered by the Titans, but that's partially because he felt alienated by the Titans. He could have stayed and still been playing as the Jerome Bettis of Nashville. Heck, he could probably play another 4-5 years if he took the Betti approach. But now he's got no home and will probably not be a hall of famer.

- Steve McNair is not worth $12 million to the Titans today, but boy did they screw up by ALLOWING the Ravens to negotiate. Floys was banking on Baltimore offering half of what they did. Bus Cook deserves agent of the year. I know Steve McNair's story is yet to be completed, but unfortunately by having to lern a new system, he's probably lost any shot at being a hall of famer.

So to close, Nashville is where Hall of Fame careers go bust. Congrats, Vince Young. Welcome to Honkey Tonk Badonkadonk at it's worst.

[Hankster]

I think the Titans have made a terrible mistake, and have completely mis-handled the salary cap situation. Here's the fallout:

- We couldn't keep Jevon Kearse. He would have been the first full blooded Titan in the hall of fame. HE may not get their now that he's in Philly

- Eddie George could have been a hall of famer, but he's carreer was ended too soon. Granted, he chose to leave and go to Dallas for the same money offered by the Titans, but that's partially because he felt alienated by the Titans. He could have stayed and still been playing as the Jerome Bettis of Nashville. Heck, he could probably play another 4-5 years if he took the Betti approach. But now he's got no home and will probably not be a hall of famer.

- Steve McNair is not worth $12 million to the Titans today, but boy did they screw up by ALLOWING the Ravens to negotiate. Floys was banking on Baltimore offering half of what they did. Bus Cook deserves agent of the year. I know Steve McNair's story is yet to be completed, but unfortunately by having to lern a new system, he's probably lost any shot at being a hall of famer.

So to close, Nashville is where Hall of Fame careers go bust. Congrats, Vince Young. Welcome to Honkey Tonk Badonkadonk at it's worst.

I can only agree with a little of what you said. First, I agree that the Titans mishandled the salary cap issue....especially with Steve. There's no way they should have ever set up a contract that would ultimately make one player count $25 Million against the cap. That's suicide, plain and simple. The Titans were wrong, but so were Steve and his agent for agreeing to a deal that would ultimately destroy the team. Unfortunately, there aren't that many Jerome Bettis's in the NFL, and certainly there doesn't seem to have been any of them on the Titans these past years. Jevon Kearse expected more money than he was worth from the Titans and left for spite. He was very injury prone and not worth any more money than he was offerred. He's the perfect example of a fantastically greedy Pro player with a big, big head. I don't miss Kearse one iota. As for Eddie George, he was basically finished as a top tier running back when he left the Titans. It's unfortunate that he left like he did, but he clearly went downhill fast at the end of his career with the Titans. His last two seasons with the Titans very subpar, nowhere near equal to Bettis's production last year.

As for Steve's leaving, I will miss him, too. He was a great player with great skills and a great heart. He proved he knew how to win. Unfortunately, his body would not allow him to play every week which is so important for any team at the quarterback position. I just wish Steve had never signed that contract that got everyone into this big mess. Greed hurts both parties involved, and I wish more teams, players and agents would get that message....No winners, not even the player who gets the big contract.

Now is a time for the Titans to renew. The salary cap issues are history, and the Titans have signed an awesome quarterback prospect for the future in Vince Young, and still have an excellent quarterback in Billy Volek to lead the team. I'm happy for Billy for getting the greatly deserved chance, and I look forward to great days ahead for the Titans!

[rocky top buzz]

As for the Bettis-George comparison, Jerome Bettis was good this year because he wasn't carrying the ball 30 times a game, and not in long yardage situations. I blame both George and the Titans for not working this out, but that's history now, and we'll never know if Eddie would have been successful in the backup role.

[Hankster]

As for the Bettis-George comparison, Jerome Bettis was good this year because he wasn't carrying the ball 30 times a game, and not in long yardage situations. I blame both George and the Titans for not working this out, but that's history now, and we'll never know if Eddie would have been successful in the backup role.

As a season ticket holder since 1998, I was able to watch George thru his great years to his end with the Titans. It was obvious to me, and to everyone else that sat near me in my section that George had "lost a step" later in his career. He wouldn't have been a good back up either. As you may remember, George in his prime usally started slow and got better and better as his number of carries increased. I'm not sure he would have been a good backup tailback even in his prime.