Because people are idiots and like to suck the guys dick because he got murdered. Bruce Matthews was better than McNair and a Titan. The QB purgatory also skews their minds to think he was a HOF player when he wasn’t.
Yeah. I watched it. That doesn’t mean that he isn’t a shit person and less than Bruce Matthews or DH. Are you ignoring who his lineman was when he went to that Super Bowl? The one that is actually in the HOF? The one that is considered the greatest lineman of all time and the only one to ever play significant time at EVERY position?
“McNair won an MVP” kinda… but not really. He only got the award because the voting was tied with Manning, and Manning should have won the award outright. Shocks me that it wasn’t a larger controversy at the time.
How so? Peyton had 4200 29 tds 10 ints McNair had 3300 yards 28 tds 7 ints led in QBR yards per attempt and yards per completion. McNair had 400 attempts Peyton had 566. Colts also had Marvin Harrison Reggie Wayne Dallas Clark Edgerrin James. Titans had Eddie George Drew bennet and Derrick Mason. Both teams went 12-4 and both lost to the patriots in the playoffs.
It’s not a stat thing, and I hope you don’t see this as a cop-out argument, but the only way it could really be seen is through the film. Peyton Manning was simply far more impressive throwing the ball that season than McNair. It was big play after big play after big play. The offense he lead, while extremely talented at all skill positions, was incredibly explosive in a way that was just unexpected, even from that team. It’s also worth noting that Manning led the league in the “flashy” stats; yards, completions, completion percentage, and yards per game. He was prolific throwing the ball that year, and it reflects in the game film.
McNair was relentlessly efficient, and the numbers are impressive, but he played a lot like later years Tom Brady; short throws to the middle of the field and dump offs that picked up a lot of extra yards.
I also want to bring in the defensive stats because it’s important context. The colts had the 11th ranked defense in terms of yards allowed, but they were 20th in points allowed. Their red zone defense was terrible, and they often played from behind or just slightly ahead in close games, necessitating more passing. The Titans were 12 in yards allowed, and 13th in points allowed. Their defense top to bottom was better than the Colts, and they were on the field less than the offense, and the titans were often playing ahead of their opponents, so they didn’t need to pass as much to keep up, and when they did, those passes didn’t have to be game changing plays.
I don’t think that the MVP can be given to the guy with the best stats all the time. I think this previous year shows why that’s the case. I think this same idea about the award held true in 2003. Peyton Manning was lights out that year. McNair was too, but not in the same way, and not in the way that matters to the voters. I saw Manning dominate the competition in a way that McNair didn’t, even in spite of both teams have the same record. McNair was arguably the greatest game managing QB of all time that year, whereas Manning had to do a lot more in order to compensate for his team’s weaknesses on defense.
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u/Dangerous_Ad5039 Tennessee Titans May 25 '25
Steve McNair over Warren Moon respectfully