'If that's what it takes,' McNair said, 'I can sit in the pocket.' He completed 12 of 14 passes for 100 yards on the Titans' three scoring drives, and Tennessee had taken control of the game. With the offense in rhythm, McNair was able to sit back and pick the Rams' secondary apart. 'At halftime that was the biggest adjustment - we had to get positive yardage on first down.' 'We were out of third-and-long, and they didn't get as good a read on us,' Wycheck said. And they drove 28 yards in eight plays for the tying field goal. They drove 79 yards in 13 plays to make it 16-13. The Titans drove 66 yards in 12 plays to make it 16-6. The result was a consistent offense that methodically rallied Tennesee into a 16-16 tie. 'In the second half the guys just buckled down and I had more time,' McNair said. The Titans held the ball for 24 minutes in the second half.

We felt it was important to get in some third-and-makeable situations.'īy moving the ball on the ground - Eddie George had 77 of his 95 yards rushing in the second half - Tennessee was able to control the tempo and keep the Rams offense off the field, something they weren't able to do in the first half. 'We have some calls designed to get him out of the pocket, and we have some calls designed to keep him in the pocket. 'We just stayed with our game plan,' Fisher said. Things began to change in the second half, though. Louis only sacked McNair once, but they hurried him five times. He was flushed from the pocket on five occasions, but he only tucked the ball in and ran once.Ĭoach Jeff Fisher said the Titans' inability to move the ball efficiently on first and second downs left them in a lot of third-and-long situations in which the Rams could play the pass. The Titans called no designed running plays for McNair in the first half, and of the 15 times he dropped back to pass, he rolled or sprinted out on seven of them. 'They were getting pressure, and I had to move around in order to see the passing lanes.' 'In the first half, I had to roll out,' McNair said.

As a result, his halftime numbers were insignificant - 5-for-14, 65 yards - and the Titans had no points. In the first half, with the Titans unable to find their rhythm and the Rams bringing pressure on nearly every pass attempt, McNair found himself moving around in the pocket and throwing on the run. He also ran for 64 yards on eight attempts, including a 23-yarder in the third quarter that gave the Titans a first-and-goal at the Rams' 3. McNair finished with 214 passing yards on a 22-for-36 performance. 'He should hold his head up high, because he put his stamp on this league today.' 'He played his heart out,' tight end Frank Wycheck said. But Tennessee got back into the game in the second half by getting into its game plan and giving McNair time to wait for receivers to come open rather than having to improvise. Sure, he had a couple of tremendous scrambles, one of which set up the Titans' first touchdown and another that kept alive their near-miracle final drive. Steve McNair was a step ahead of the Rams defense in the second half.īut the key to Tennessee' second-half rally from a 16-0 deficit to a fourth-quarter tie was McNair's ability to set aside his quarterback-of-the-future mantle and become a traditional, drop-back passer. He showed all of those traits on the game's biggest stage Sunday, very nearly leading his team to an improbable comeback. He has a linebacker's size, running back's speed and quarterback's savvy. ATLANTA - Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair is hailed as the position's prototype for the new millennium.

Steve mcnair eddie george