_2.gif "Time.com 50 Best Websites 2008")
We already know that one recently retired quarterback from Mississippi, Brett Favre, will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013. But what about the other recently retired quarterback from Mississippi, Steve McNair?
Three Hall of Fame voters were asked their opinions by ESPN.com, and all three said no.
“I think Steve was a real good QB but has no chance for the Hall,” one voter said.
Another voter said of McNair, “He’s borderline at best.” The third also plans to vote no but added, “I can’t say that I would never vote for McNair.’
To get into the Hall of Fame, a candidate needs to receive 80 percent of the vote. As Art Monk discovered this year, voters do sometimes change their minds, but all indications are that a lot of minds would have to change for McNair to get in.
April 20th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
If you could make the hall on grit, McNair would be first ballot. Without that, no chance.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: Not yet rated
April 20th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Did he…
… win a Super Bowl? No.
… set lots of records? No. (Except for number of different injuries)
… define or re-define his position? No.
… impact the game itself, or change the game? No.
What’s his signature moment? Coming up short in the Super Bowl?
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 5 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
April 20th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Steve McNair isn’t a HOFamer?! WTF! My “guy”, Ray Guy is still waiting. What is wrong with these voters?
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: Not yet rated
April 20th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Even asking the question is a joke! Steve McNair defines solid QB, but HOF QB he is NOT!
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: Not yet rated
April 20th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Is this really a surprise? McNair had a good run there in his prime with the Titans but did anyone sit there and go, “Wow, we are watching a future Hall of Famer”? His only once went over 100 passer rating (100.4), his career high in TD passes was 24, and he never got over 3400 yards. He’s only 20th in career completions (behind Mark Brunell), 28th in yardage (again, behind Brunell), 43rd in TDs (once again, behind Brunell), and 27th in passer rating (I won’t say it - clearly it’s a pattern). I understand he was one of the top dual threats in the league and he wasn’t a better QB than Mark Brunell but numbers are very similar when you factor everything in. And Mark Brunell is in no way a Hall of Fame QB.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
April 20th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Yeah I don’t think reaching a Super Bowl and sharing MVP honors one time make him a Hall of Famer. Rich Gannon had better numbers and was a solo MVP and reached the Super Bowl too, and I’m pretty sure most people would say he won’t be in Canton. Gannon also had a few Pro Bowl MVP’s if I remember correctly.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 4 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
April 20th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
I don’t know. This is hard for me to say because I’m a Steelers fan. He was our kryptonite. He always killed us.
He was a yard away from a SB…he made his teams better than they should have been. He put the Titans on the map. He was a co-mvp.
Let’s be honest, he broke the mold as far as black qb’s. DW’s won a SB, but McNair played the whole year and almost won one against a superior team. He may have not been as ‘romantic’ as others, but he got the job done. What team would not love to have him in his prime?
Not sure if he is HOF material, but he deserves consideration.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
April 20th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Don’t let Mcnair in. He wasn’t that good
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: Not yet rated
April 20th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Was McNair the best of all time, no, but he is HOF worthy.
He was the toughest QB to ever play the Ravens defense that I feel was the best of all time.
He bought Billck a 20 million dollar golden parachute out of his straw and weave offense with 13 wins and serious SB run.
StATS ARE NOT EVERYTHING. ask the players who faced him who was the best. The writers. Madden.
The injuries took away the scramble, and the deep passing but when he had his full arsenal of run pass attack, he was one of the best QBs of all time, possibly the single most difficult to gameplan and defend.
He changed the game.
McNair did not have quite the supporting cast that Steve Young did, but I bet if he was the QB of those 49r teams they would have lost a game because of him.
When Young was a young Buck, he was no where near the QB McNair was as an Oiler.
In my veiw Steve McNair desrves to be a Hall of Fame QB because of how good he was in his prime, not how his lifetime QB rating measures up to Joe Montana’s.
There were at least 4 seasons when he was healthy that he was the best QB in the NFL.
That is the sound of a HOF player.
That is also why Terrel Davis should be a lock and Vinny Testaverde can play until he is 50 and should still have to buy a ticket to get in and look at McNair’s bust.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 1.65 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
April 20th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Have to echo samh.
He did match Farve for grit…and then some.
All in all, a silly question.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: Not yet rated
April 20th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
McNair no HOF, duh
Jim Plunkett Super Bowl wins no HOF?????
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: Not yet rated
April 20th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Troy Aikman got in for being Emmitt Smith’s caddy so why not McNair?
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: Not yet rated
April 20th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
I don’t know, McNair was one of the most gritty “warrior” type QBs to ever play. He’s borderline. I’d have to think about that long and hard…
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: Not yet rated
April 20th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
McNair HOF ? No way. As long as Ken Anderson remains out then McNair should not even get a sniff.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
April 20th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
I always figured he was really good, but really good doesn’t qualify for HOF in my book. If he’s HOG, McNabb’s a shoo-in, and I love McNabb, but I don’t exactly plan on seeing his jersey in Canton.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: Not yet rated
April 20th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Yep, good player but HOF I don’t think so.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: Not yet rated
April 21st, 2008 at 12:17 am
What about Ken Stabler????
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: Not yet rated
April 21st, 2008 at 12:29 am
McNair was Average. E. Manning won a Super Bowl and is average. Dilfer was better than both and gets crap for respect. Look at the numbers. I can not believe there would be an argument. Bledsoe was better than all of these clowns and will be borderline on making it. McNair. Eheheheheh.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: Not yet rated
April 21st, 2008 at 12:29 am
Grit.
And yes, Steve McNair was big in redefining the position as an absolute dual threat.
Oh, to add, samh … I’m pretty sure almost everybody in the NFL Hall of Fame does not fit your criteria.
McNair’s 82.8 QB rating is PLENTY high. A higher rating than Terry Bradshaw’s (much higher), John Elway, and Johnny Unitas, to name a few.
So what’s wrong? His 174 to 119 TD to interception ratio? Look at Terry Bradshaw’s ratio. (And yes, Bradshaw obviously deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.)
McNair usually didn’t have great teams around him and had no great receiver, yet he single handedly propelled the teams he played for to overachieve, including that close Super Bowl against the St. Louis Rams (who were much, much, much, much more talented than a Tennessee Titans team they should have mauled).
Are McNair’s 31,304 passing yards too few? He also ran for 3,590 yards (fifth all time) and 37 rushing touchdowns (third all time). FIRST for both categories for all current quarterbacks in the NFL. Don’t let the downslope at the end of McNair’s career muddle your minds for his ENTIRE career. The man won an MVP and played in Pro Bowls. He was an absolute phenom and an outstanding quarterback. If he doesn’t make the Hall of Fame, then there are quarterbacks currently in that ought to be taken out.
But these things need to be studied and looked at instead of making snap judgments after a sub par last few years by McNair, whose body must be completely broken down NFL-wise by now.
Is Steve McNair a Hall of Famer?
Without a shred of doubt.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: Not yet rated
April 21st, 2008 at 3:03 am
wow, not even close. He had one pretty good season.
not only is he not hall of fame worthy, he’s not worth discussing
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
April 21st, 2008 at 3:07 am
to Jeremiah:
I didn’t consider him the best QB in the game for even one season.
Drew Bledsoe had a much better career and he’s not a HOFer.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
April 21st, 2008 at 3:26 am
He was a yard away from a superbowl?????
Ehm….make that a yard away from overtime…….Not exactly the same thing!
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 4 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
April 21st, 2008 at 5:43 am
He was a good QB. Seems like a classy guy.
Unfortunately, until Kenny Stabler gets what he has coming, McNair gets a pat on the back and a “thanks for the memories.”
This isn’t really a debate.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: Not yet rated
April 21st, 2008 at 7:49 am
brian_21: the problem with your Terry Bradshaw comparison is it is NOT obvious that Bradshaw should be in the Hall. He had a low completion rate and threw a lot of INTs. He won one Superbowl when he passed for less than 100 yards, and another when he threw 3 INTs (only winning QB ever to throw more than one). Bradshaw is in the Hall because he played on a team that was incredible on defense, and it’s not clear why he should get so much credit for that.
The comparison to Elway is more interesting, because the numbers are similar there. All I can say there is that Elway’s teams did a lot of winning, and certainly in the first decade of his career it’s not clear that he was surrounded by a whole lot of talent helping him out. Anyway, the Elway/McNair comparison does deserve some thought.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: Not yet rated
April 21st, 2008 at 8:40 am
Honestly, I never understood why McNair won an MVP in the first place. I never thought he was that good. Either way, if we’re having this much debate over whether a guy belongs in the HOF, he doesn’t belong in the HOF. For me it’s plain and simple. If you have to ask yourself if a player is worthy, you’ve answered your question already. Especially at the QB position, which has the most guys in the Hall…
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: Not yet rated