Thursday, December 07, 2000
McNair gives Akili hope
Titans QB tells young conuterpart to watch, learn
By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Steve McNair feels Akili Smith's pain.
Smith, the Bengals' second-year quarterback, will be watching from the sideline Sunday when Cincinnati visits Tennessee. The Bengals' quarterback of the future has lost his job, at least for the time being, to veter an Scott Mitchell.
McNair, who was the franchise's first draft pick in 1995, was inactive for 12 of his first 13 NFL games and didn't throw a pass until Game 14. He started four of nine games in '96 but didn't become Tennessee's regular starter until his third season.
A quarterback can learn a lot by watching.
“At this point in time, you have a young quarterback who's going to make mistakes,” said McNair, 27, who took his team to the Super Bowl in his fifth season.
“You have to be strong to take the bumps and bruises and bounce back,” he said. “The best thing he can do now is learn from his mistakes and not take this thing personally. There are going to be bad times. But you have to be strong and learn from it.”
Smith, 25, started the first 10 games of this season
but was replaced by Mitchell as the starter for the 11th game. Smith started the next week because Mitchell was injured, but Mitchell started the following week.
Bengals coach Dick LeBeau pulled Smith to give the struggling quarterback “time to catch his breath.” LeBeau still considers Smith the team's future starter, but team president Mike Brown wants Mitchell back to compete with Smith for the top job next season.
Smith's 52.8 passer rating is the lowest of the 33 regular NFL quarterbacks. He has three touchdown passes and six interceptions and has completed only 44 percent of his passes in 11 games. The Bengals are 2-9 in Smith's 11 starts, and Mitchell finished one of those victories.
LeBeau thinks young quarterbacks can benefit from time on the sideline. McNair agrees.
“I sat out two years, and I learned the game mentally,” said McNair, who watched veteran Chris Chandler lead the team to 7-9 and 8-8 records in 1995 and '96. “I played the game mentally on the sidelines just as we were playing it on the field. I knew what to expect once I got out there.”
McNair is much like Smith. Both quarterbacks have strong arms and can run well with the ball, though McNair, who is battling a twisted ankle and knee, said Wednesday he won't play Sunday unless he has his leg strength and mobility.
Smith has not talked to the local media since he lost his starting job after the Dallas game Nov.12, so he has not said whether he has benefitted from the benching.
McNair says he did, even though he didn't like it, either.
He threw for 2,179 yards and 12 touchdowns and ran for eight more in the Titans' 13-3 run to the Super Bowl last season. This season, in 13 games, Tennessee is 10-3, and McNair already has thrown for 2,351 yards and 11 touchdowns.
“Just watching the schemes of defenses, learning the things the defense does every week, learning where the one-on-one matchups that they give up are,” he said. “Every team tries to disguise things on defense, but if you know their scheme, regardless of how they try to disguise it, you know what their coverage is.”
Jeff Fisher has been McNair's only NFL coach. Smith's first coach, Bruce Coslet, quit after Game 3 this season. Coslet, like Brown, put an incredible amount of pressure on Smith in the preseason, saying the team would “go only as far as Akili can take us.”
And when veteran receiver Darnay Scott was lost for the season in training camp with a broken leg, the Bengals (3-10) started the season with three rookies and two second-year players at wide receiver.
But McNair came into an environment as a rookie where he was a development project.
“Steve got opportunities to play here and there, different opportunities, off the bench because of injuries,” Fisher said Wednesday. “He mopped up when we were eliminated at the end of the year.”
Added Fisher: “It wasn't until his third year we decided (McNair) was ready. That experience was positive from a learning standpoint, but it was negative because you want to play and it's frustrating. All players at this level want to play and think they're going to learn by playing and getting that valu able experience. We wanted to take our time with Steve.”
Fisher also had some words of encouragement for Smith.
“This should not be perceived as a setback for Akili; this is a learning opportunity for him,” Fisher said. “I'm sure he'll get more opportunities in the remaining games. He's obviously their quarterback of the future, and you need the offseason, you need time spent in the system, you need continuity, you need familiarity with your receivers. You've got to surround him with good people he can get to know and trust.”
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McNair gives Akili hope
