4. Tennessee Oilers
After keeping him under wraps for most of two seasons, the
Oilers have finally called upon Steve (Air) McNair to show
them the way back to the playoffs, where they haven't been
in three years. But the
6'2", 224-pound McNair, the third pick in the 1995
draft, can't do it alone. Someone must consistently come
down with the football when McNair airs it out, someone
other than tight end Frank Wycheck, who was the team's
leading receiver last season with a
paltry 53
catches.
That puts the onus on wideout Chris Sanders, another member
of the rookie class of '95, to fulfill the potential that
has been apparent since he arrived with
McNair as a third-round selection from Ohio State. In his
rookie year Sanders caught 35
passes, averaged a gaudy 23.5 yards per catch and scored nine
touchdowns, including seven in the team's final seven
games. Oilers coach Jeff Fisher was so impressed that he
has gone so far as to compare Sanders to Jerry Rice. Then
last year some opposing
defenses started treating Sanders like Rice: constant
double teams. Sanders wound up with
48 catches, only four touchdowns and a strong dose of
humility.
"To be the best, you've got to break those double
coverages," says Sanders, who has great speed.
Two off-season changes should help Sanders get closer to
his goal: assistant coach Les Steckel's promotion to
offensive coordinator, replacing the fired Jerry Rhome, and
McNair's elevation to starting quarterback, following the
off-season trade of
veteran Chris Chandler to the Falcons. While Rhome typically sent
Sanders on vertical patterns up the sidelines, Steckel
plans to use him on crossing routes and employ a variety of
tactics (motion, three-receiver sets, breaking off patterns
underneath
coverage) to give the
6'1" receiver some room to
operate.
McNair, who started four games last year after throwing
only 80 passes in '95, and Sanders clicked immediately last
season. They hooked up 21 times for 518 yards (a staggering
24.7-yard average) and three touchdowns, including an
83-yard strike in a 35-10 victory over the Jets last
December.
If Sanders doesn't make it big, it won't be for lack of
effort. He showed up at the Oilers' practice facility to
lift weights the day after the '96 season ended. His
constant off-season companion was a ball-throwing machine.
He got his work ethic from
his mother, who saw him through a difficult adolescence; in
elementary school, Sanders says, he was suspended for
throwing rocks and books at his teachers. "I work as
hard as I can," he says, "because I know what
real work is like, and believe me, this is
a good job." In high school Sanders worked at Lowery
Air Force Base in Denver, waiting tables and stacking
dishes for $6.95 an hour. He worked for about the same wage
cleaning pools one collegiate summer in
Columbus.
Sometimes Sanders's desire gets him in trouble with Fisher.
One day in practice during his rookie year, the Oilers were
running a red-zone drill when Sanders dived for a ball.
"Stay off the ground, Chris," Fisher barked.
"The game is Sunday." Sanders
apologized and stayed out of trouble until a two-minute drill
at the end of practice, which he completed by making an
acrobatic catch at the back of the end zone and landing on
his shoulder. The players went nuts, clapping their
approval. Fisher went
ballistic. "What did I say before, Chris?" the coach
asked.
"Don't dive," Sanders answered.
"And what did you do?" Fisher asked.
"I dove,
Coach."
Then Fisher turned and addressed the team. "You guys
know something? That's how important this game is to
him."
—Michael Silver
SCHEDULE
SKINNY
The Air
McNair era should be in full swing by November. The stretch drive
includes a
Nov. 2 home date against Jacksonville plus four games in an
18-day stretch beginning on
Nov. 16 at Jacksonville and concluding with games at Dallas on
Thanksgiving and
Cincinnati.
STRENGTH OF
SCHEDULE
NFL rank: 16 (tie)
Opponents' 1996 winning
percentage: .492
Games against playoff
teams: 6
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