TITANS McNair has higher hopes after injury-plagued year

Despite injuries, the quarterback led Tennessee to the AFC championship game.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Steve McNair can play well through the pain. Now the Tennessee Titans' quarterback wants to show what he can do when perfectly healthy.
He played every game in 2002 -- ignoring turf toe, strained ribs and an injured back. The injuries kept him out of practice the final five weeks of the regular season, but he led the Titans to the AFC championship game and finished third in voting for the NFL's MVP.
McNair has higher hopes for this year.
"I want to set a standard of going out there, just competing healthy for 16 games. That's the standard I want to take," McNair said.
McNair hasn't been uninjured for an entire season since his first two years, which he spent mostly on the bench. But good health could allow the quarterback to perform at levels that remind fans why he earned the nickname "Air" at Alcorn State.
Last year, he set career highs in completions (301), yards passing (3,387) and touchdowns (22) and tied his high with 492 attempts despite injuries that kept him in the training room in his spare time. He also became just the fifth NFL quarterback with at least 19,000 yards passing and 3,000 yards rushing, and the youngest to do it at 29.
If McNair tops 3,000 yards passing and rushes for at least 400 yards this season, he would become the first player in NFL history to do that in four seasons, breaking a tie with Steve Young and Randall Cunningham.
One of the best
Offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger, who watched John Elway while coaching receivers in Denver from 1995 and 1999, said he hopes McNair already is recognized as one of the league's best quarterbacks.
"He's got a pretty good winning percentage as a starting quarterback. Last year, playing all 16 games, is a big plus for him. He hadn't done it before," Heimerdinger said.
"Sometimes when he gets injured and goes away then comes back, people forget about him. The fact that he played 16 weeks and did it the way he did, people recognized it."
McNair has had many injuries in his eight-year career, requiring operations on his knee, lower back, foot and throwing shoulder (twice).