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Tough losses still eat at O'Donnell
Tennessee Titans backup quarterback Neil O'Donnell passes during practice
AP Photo
Joe Starkey can be reached via e-mail or at 412-320-7810.
You might remember two of them.
O’Donnell sure does. The two Larry Brown interceptions in the second half of Super Bowl XXX are etched into his psyche. Same goes for the fourth-down incompletion in the previous year’s AFC Championship against the San Diego Chargers. Those were the great disappointments of the mostly successful O’Donnell era.
“Sure, it still affects you,” said O’Donnell, 36, who is well into his ninth life as back-up quarterback for the Tennessee Titans. “I mean, when you’re world champions, it’s a totally different status than guys with all the money have. There are only an elite few that have the world champion’s rings.”
O’Donnell always has taken the blame for the first Brown interception, saying the ball got away from him. The second one was more painful and less easily explained. Dallas held a 20-17 lead with 4:15 left, when the Steelers gained possession at their 32. On second-and-10, O'Donnell threw one way, and wide receiver Andre Hastings went the other. Brown returned the ball to the Steelers’ 6.
For the record, O’Donnell calls the play a “miscommunication.” He has always taken the heat for it and the blame for the Steelers’ 27-17 loss. It was his last meaningful pass in a Steelers uniform. Many never have forgiven him.
Is he bitter?
“No, because there was so much more that went on that no one will ever know,” O’Donnell said. “I enjoyed my days in Pittsburgh. The people in that organization who were good to me I still communicate with. I have great respect for Mr. Rooney. He’s a great owner and a great human being. Bill Cowher, too. Those are good people, good friends of mine. I will never forget those days. I had a lot of success in Pittsburgh. It’s just that it seems so long ago, because I’ve been here for a while and been around, but I still have a lot of good friends there. My brother still lives there. I get back there about twice a year.”
For much of this season, O’Donnell played Steve McNair’s stunt double when McNair didn’t practice for 41 days because of injuries. McNair literally would stand behind O’Donnell as O’Donnell ran the first-team offense in practice. On game day, O’Donnell would hand off to McNair, who didn’t miss a start.
O’Donnell threw only five passes all season, as the Titans rebounded from a 1-4 start to win 10 of 11 games.
“To win 10 out of 11 was a huge accomplishment,” O’Donnell said. “I don’t know how many guys in this locker room realize how hard that is to do.”
O’Donnell was asked if he would have liked the opportunity to spread the field and wing the ball in Pittsburgh, the way Tommy Maddox has.
“We did it, too,” he said. “If you remember in the early 90’s, we brought the five wides into the NFL. We had a lot of fun doing it. We had guys catching 90, 80, 70 balls. Yancey (Thigpen) had great years for me. Kordell had a couple of big years for me playing wideout. Andre Hastings, Ernie Mills, those are guys we had a lot of success with.”
