It's official: Steve McNair is now a Baltimore Rat Bird, pending a physical. In my opinion, this immediately vaults Baltimore past Pittsburgh and Cincy in the AFC North. No disrespect to either the Bengals or Steelers, but if McNair is healthly, and that's a big if, he gives the Ravens exactly what they have lacked since they erroneously cut Trent Dilfer lose six year prior: solid QB play. McNair played well for a bad Tennessee team last year. Baltimore has some serious weapons on offense, starting with LT Jonathan Ogden, RB Jamal Lewis, and newly acquired RB Mike Anderson. Todd Heap is still a dangerous TE, and the Ravens have some good receivers. One of them is Derrick Mason, who used to be McNair's go-to guy when they both played for the Titans. Then, there's Baltimore's defense which added DT/DE Trevor Pryce this off-season.
John Clayton of ESPN sums this signing up best:
What does this mean for the Colts? Well, it seems to assure that Tennessee will stink even more this year than last, and last year they won 4 games. The Colts do not play Baltimore during the regular season, but if both teams are fortunate enough to battle in the playoffs:
Oh, momma!
Baltimore fans hate the Colts more than any other fan base hates the Colts. That's right. They hate Indy more than New England does. Patriots fans hate Peyton Manning, but not necessarily the Colts. Rat Bird fans hate the Colts. This is a big signing indeed.