Giving Willis Some Love

For starters, let's throw some love Willis McGahee's way. Not just for his performance against the Raiders -- 167 yards and three touchdowns -- but for his attitude this season.

Yeah, I know you're supposed to be a team player, and that perhaps you shouldn't get any extra credit for doing the things you're supposed to do as a professional. So we won't praise him to the moon and back just for not causing a stir in the locker room when Ray Rice emerged as the Ravens top running back. But don't let it go completely unnoticed either.

Swallowing your ego and doing what's best for the team is a difficult thing for an elite professional athlete. All your life, you've been living in a world where you're considered "The Man" by your coaches, your family, your friends and your fans. And then one day, it ends, and that's a rough transition for some guys to make. This season, McGahee handled that beautifully. Last year, he was clearly a little annoyed, but maybe it dawned on him that he was going to get paid either way, so if he simply played hard when he got the opportunity, that would be enough satisfaction.

He's been given numerous opportunities to stir up trouble this year. Every week, reporters have checked in with him, asked him how he's doing, just to get a read on whether he's still happy. And his answer has been pretty much the same: Doing whatever I'm asked. He proved today that he could still be a very good starting running back in the NFL, and that he can still be an explosive playmaker. That stiff arm on his 77-yard touchdown run was one of the best you'll ever see, and one of those rare plays that makes you stand up and say "Wow!" as a fan.

None of that should lessen what Rice did this year. Putting up 2,000 all-purpose yards is proof that he is someone the Ravens can build around. Rice is a more consistent player in the passing game, he's younger, he has a great attitude, and he's great in pass protection. So going with him, in the long run, was definitely the right move. But McGahee helped make it work by stepping aside and allowing it to happen without a fuss. Locker room chemistry and harmony are really important in professional sports, because there is nothing collegiate to bond players together. They're independent contractors who understand that it's a very cold business. A little complaining can easily undo the concepts of brotherhood and selflessness. McGahee can still play a big role on this team in the playoffs, and he'll be glad, 10 years from now, about all the carries did didn't get during the regular season.

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(baltimoresun.com)