Steve McNair = Still no love

Has anyone had more undeserved shit kicked all over them than Steve McNair? He played the quarterback position in a loose, free-flowing way and got hit like fucking 38,000 times over his career and still got back up. He wasn't a Hall of Fame QB by any stretch, but Jesus Christ he wasn't bad at it. Yet he was constantly maligned for being a poor passer, he was famously locked out of his team's practice facility - with no one really arguing for his defense - and he finally ended a good career (60% career completions, 55 more touchdowns than interceptions, over 3,500 rushing yards) in Baltimore where he was constantly called over the hill. 

Alright. Fine. He retired. He finally got out and everyone can get on with their lives, right? 

Mike Florio begs to differ: 

2. McNair waited too long to quit.
It came as a surprise to many when Baltimore Ravens quarterback Steve McNair announced his retirement in the days leading up to the draft. And presuming the announcement also came as news to the Ravens, it would have been much nicer if McNair had made his intentions known weeks earlier. That would have allowed the Ravens to explore options on the free-agent market, such as Todd Collins, the Redskins’ backup who played well down the stretch and who could have been a potential bridge at the position while a draft pick got ready to play.

So many things bother me about this paragraph that I will use a numerical list to emphasize how stupid this is: 

1. Steve McNair is 35 years old and is famous for taking a beating. Last season he played in six games due to injury. Even if he hadn't told anyone that he was retiring, chances are that he would not be playing a full season next year due to injury as well, because he is kinda old and gets hit a lot. 
2. Troy Smith wasn't terrible in four games last year. He had a very common-looking rookie season. He doesn't seem like a terrible option as a bridge to the future - hell, he could actually be the future. Did you think about that one?
3. Todd fucking Collins. Really. The Ravens are crying in their oatmeal because the lost out on the Collins lottery. 

That is followed by: 

As it played out, the Ravens were forced to target a quarterback in Round 1. They reportedly wanted to trade up for a crack at Matt Ryan; instead they traded down and then up (taking a bath on the points chart in the process) to get Delaware’s Joe Flacco.

First of all, weren't you just talking about bridging a gap....TO A DRAFT PICK? Like SOMEONE CHOSEN IN THE DRAFT?!?! Like possibly THE SECOND BEST QUARTERBACK IN THE DRAFT? Also, how did the fact that McNair retired just before the draft force the Ravens to draft a QB in the first round? Again: McNair is 35, and he has tons of miles on that body. As much as I love Steve McNair, he was not a viable option for the Ravens anymore. Troy Smith looks like he could be a decent starter, but Quarterback has been a huge problem for the Ravens for so long that drafting the second best quarterback in the draft makes sense. So why is this a problem decision?

(Oh yeah, what does "Taking a bath on the points chart" mean? Are you talking about those damn draft ranking things that are like one half college statistics and the other half pure conjecture about things like "intensity" and that shit? Those things that are often proven wrong? Goodness I hope that's not what we're talking about.)

In the end, all will be forgotten if Flacco flourishes in his first season or two. But if Flacco flounders initially, Ravens fans can thank McNair for not retiring early enough.

I can't stand this. I just cannot even come near to considering standing this. Steve McNair, a guy who obviously loves football, loves playing quarterback, loves putting his team on his back and trying to make things happen. The guy who almost won a Super Bowl with a ridiculous drive that came up one yard short of beating a team with one of the most remarkable offenses of the last 20 years. The guy who (entirely conjecture, sorry) probably had to think long and hard about his body, his mind, his ability to lead a football team, his future, his family, and all kinds of other things before deciding it was his time to hang it up. This is a difficult decision for someone who does something they love for a living. And the problem here is that McNair did not make this super-difficult decision soon enough to help out a team that he had played two years for? Brett Favre gets to create a media circus over his retirement, but McNair didn't do it soon enough? What the hell, man?

Seriously, though: Todd fucking Collins.