McNair looking like the bad guy in the end?

Discussion in 'Tennessee Titans and NFL Talk' started by Delaware Titan, Apr 21, 2006.

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  1. Overalls

    Overalls Starter

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    So your saying that if he wants what he is OWED he is a butt, but if he slashes up his contract and takes pennys on the dollar he can stay where he is LOVED and RESPECTED. I never realized that it is a sign of LOVE and RESPECT to deny some one what they are owed, call him a butt and say that no one else thinks he's worth much.
     
  2. skitch

    skitch Shut Up and Play Ball!

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    He is not literally "OWED" the amount in his current contract. Not in the world of NFL contracts and everyone knows that including he and his agent. He and Bus Cook have known with every contract they have done it has been "back-loaded" as so many players' contracts are now days. It's not like McNair hasn't made any money since he originally signed as a rookie with the organization, as some make it sound with the "what he is owed" argument. He knew it would have to be reworked, again.
    Does it make him look like an a$$? Maybe....maybe not.
    If he ends up signing with the Ravens for basically the same (or less) than the Titans are offering (see Eddie George & the Cowboys)....yep....he will look like an a$$.
    As far as taking a slash and pennies on the dollar to stay where he is loved and respected.......if it were all about the dollars, McNair could have done endorsements, commercials, etc. He did not want to do that. That tells me he is/was not all about the money.
     
  3. Yossarian

    Yossarian I am Him.

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    I have to agree. McNair doesn't strike me as someone who is overly concerned about his fianancial situation. His problem is that he is realizing that his window as the starting QB for the Titans is slowsly fading. Especially as all the talk is on what QB we are going to take, whether it be Young, Culter, Leinart or my personal choice Croyle (just joking... don't hurt me). He probably feels a little betrayed the organization feels that it is time to go after a QB and wants to see what the Titans truly believe he is worth by playing "bad" on these neogotiations. I believe McNair will remain a Titan and not become a "Rat Bird".
     
  4. Gut

    Gut Pro Bowler

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    Well, here's how it works...

    They signed him to that contract so legally he's owed the money. However, with virtually any contract, there are ways out. McNair wants to start and doesn't have a lot of time left. Coming off two not so good seasons, being injury prone, and having a huge contract number would make him a bit frightening to teams except for one thing. There is a dirth of QB talent in this league.

    So Cook is playing the respect card to force the Titans to ante up the best deal they will offer. That, or cut him loose earlier than they would have which is better for McNair in terms of having options and maxing out his free market value.

    Besides, if the Titans cut him loose, it makes the organziation look REALLY bad!

    Cook and McNair will decide how far this goes depending on if the Titans are really offering him anything or just waiting for the draft to cut McNair. If they have a decent proposal, it would behoove the Titans to let McNair test the trade waters and see what contracts are out there. Then they know if they can match or not and perhaps work out some compensation. Hopefully, Reese has learned his lesson in having a backup plan when someone doesn't re-do a deal and it forces you to dump 5-6 players for nothing and closes your window for a few years.

    If the Titans are smart, they work out a practice waiver with McNair so he can practice with the team and situation resolved. If McNair and Cook don't agree to it, the Titans can either go public putting the pressure on McNair and Cook OR let them explore a trade scenario. In that worse case scenario, the Titans could cover themselves from looking like they screwed over the face of the Franchise, lay the blame at the feet of McNair's agent (so the bad PR becomes a wash), then trade him or release him. If Reese was smart, he'd have enough cap room to keep him til June 1 (or beyond) to force trade pressure. The Ravens would MUCH rather get McNair before mini-camps and training camps then after June 1 where he hasn't even seen the playbook or worked out with a new team. This could bring the Ravens to the bargaining table.

    Unfortunately, the Titans seem to be making mistake after mistake these days. First the rebuilding is gonna be 1 year? That would be palatable for a McNair...but not 4 years! And then they hang him out to dry (though I don't know if that's how Cook wants it - by not signing some sort of practice waiver). Anyway you currently slice it, the Titans will look...BAD!!!

    Gut
     
  5. Slackmaster

    Slackmaster Starter

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    It is a bogus deal. McNair is being a spoiler.

    The last time his contract was renegotiated, the $50 million bonus guaranteed that the contract would be redone this year, and everyone understood that.

    It is probably better for the team to take a QB with a high pick than to take one later after getting more wins. The time is now to grab a QB not just because McNair is on the downhill side of his NFL career, but also because we have a #3 pick, a rare opportunity.

    So as I see it, Mcnair is playing spoiler. Didn't he recently say he would be ok as a #2 QB at Miami? Or was taht some sick joke?

    He could restructure a 3 year deal, spread the pro-rated bonus so we have some spending money and cap room, and choose to seek greener pastures after giving his best to his team one more year. Or he can toss a wrench into the machinery, and wander off into the unknown.
     
  6. Gut

    Gut Pro Bowler

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    That's a nice idea Slack...except one thing - that's the fan perspective.

    The organization basically came out and said it was dumping all those guys so we'd take a year - maybe 2 - to rebuild (or that was the implication). McNair was pondering retirement. In essense, the inference or sentiment was that he'd have one more shot.

    Drafting a QB at #3 is the opposite of that...meaning a several year rebuilding in which McNair won't be around to enjoy it. Can you see that THAT is a betrayal? Can you see that from McNair's point of you, the organization lied to him about it's direction or at least misled him. When you're talking about the rest of someone's career and you lie to them, they tend not to want to take one for the team.

    The #3 pick is only rare for the Titans because we've been pretty good for the last bunch of years...since we chose McNair actually. So how is reloading the team now much different from that? We actually COULD win over the next 2 years if we draft differently and history PROVES you don't need to draft a QB in rd 1 to go to the Super Bowl. In fact, out of the greatest QB draft class in history with 6 QB's going in rd1, 3 with go to the hall of fame (kelly, Marino, Elway) but ONLY 1 has won the Super Bowl.

    It is much safer AND more likely for us to win a Super Bowl if you build up the team and not place all your hopes on a QB drafted at #3.

    The only person playing Spoiler is Reese since he's the one who makes these decisions about when to rebuild and what he communicates to McNair. The only way McNair would be playing spoiler would be if Cook forced this issue by preventing McNair from signing a practice waiver or something to that effect. Since we haven't heard that, this is currently on Reese.

    Gut
     
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