McNair Says His Arrest Won't Be a Distraction

OWINGS MILLS, Md., May 17 -- Steve McNair was in limbo at this point a year ago, unable to work out with one team -- the Tennessee Titans -- as he waited to see if he would be traded to another -- the Baltimore Ravens. So he seemed happy to be at the Ravens' training complex on Thursday morning, practicing with his teammates during a voluntary minicamp.

These offseason workouts are a luxury that McNair didn't have last season, when he joined the Ravens on June 8 and quickly had to learn a new offense and get acquainted with new personnel.

He said his focus is on preparing for the upcoming season, and not on his pending court date. McNair was arrested on May 9 in Nashville and charged with a misdemeanor that is commonly referred to as "DUI by consent." McNair was a passenger in his truck when the driver, Jamie Cartwright, McNair's brother-in-law, was pulled over for speeding and failed a field sobriety test.

Cartwright refused a breath alcohol test, and McNair was not tested for alcohol impairment because he was not driving. However, Tennessee law prohibits the owner of a vehicle from knowingly allowing it to be driven by a person who is inebriated.

"That's left in Tennessee," said McNair, who will return to Nashville for a pretrial conference at the end of the month. "What happened in Tennessee is in Tennessee. My lawyer is going to deal with that. Right now, my main focus is coming out here and getting the chemistry and getting the things that I need to get done this minicamp in preparation for training camp.

"We're going to let the legal process handle it. It's unfortunate, but things happen and I've just got to go through it. But at the same time, that's not going to distract me from helping this team get to where we want to be."

McNair was relaxed when meeting with reporters, and he looked sharp throwing the ball during Thursday's non-contact session. He said he is in good shape following a season in which he started all 16 games -- something he hadn't done since 2002 with the Titans -- and an offseason in which he didn't have any surgeries.

This is the first of four sets of voluntary organized team activities that the Ravens will conduct over the next five weeks. The team will hold its mandatory minicamp June 5-7.

Several high-profile veterans are not in Owings Mills this week -- linebacker Ray Lewis, safety Ed Reed, tackle Jonathan Ogden, cornerbacks Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle, and defensive linemen Trevor Pryce and Kelly Gregg -- but all of McNair's top targets are present: tight end Todd Heap and wide receivers Mark Clayton, Derrick Mason and Demetrius Williams. Running back Willis McGahee, who was acquired in the offseason after Jamal Lewis was released, also is participating.

"This is how you get better, during the offseason," said McNair, who is entering his 13th season. "I think it'll help me a lot because I'll get a better understanding of what Brian [Billick] wants out of this offense, and what I can do in this offense. We couldn't put enough things in last year because of the limited time we had with me coming in" late.

McNair led Baltimore to a 13-3 record, tied for second best in the NFL last season, and its first playoff appearance since 2003. He threw for 3,050 yards (the second-highest total in franchise history) and 16 touchdowns (third most).

But McNair had one of his worst performances in the season-ending playoff loss to Indianapolis, throwing two interceptions in the 15-6 defeat. That has stuck with him.

"It's bitter for me, not just because of the outcome, but when you look at it, evaluate it and see how you can improve, you see what you didn't do to put yourself in a position to win the game," McNair said. "I go back and look at the film, and I did not do enough to make the plays as a quarterback and as a leader of this team."

Ravens Note: Billick was quick to leave the practice field because he was delivering a commencement speech at Johns Hopkins on Thursday afternoon. Billick said that he had a simple message for the graduates of the arts and sciences and engineering schools: "Welcome to the real world, because what you think is the real world, well, you've got no clue yet."