NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- There is a different air about Steve McNair this summer. Teammates noticed him the entire offseason. They almost didn't recognize him. His right arm hasn't been in a sling. His foot hasn't been in a boot. His back isn't stiff. He's not suffering a possibly life-threatening infection.

The toughest football player in this era is healthy. After a season in which he didn't practice during December because of injuries, McNair couldn't believe his ears when the Titans' doctor told him after the season he wouldn't need an operation. "I almost fainted," McNair said. "No knife this time."

	Steve McNair threw 22 touchdowns and 15 interceptions last season.

Since 1998, McNair has had two operations on his shoulders, knee surgery, toe surgery and a back operation. He faced an infection in his shoulder a couple years ago after one of his surgeries. So having to the chance to condition his entire body, instead of being limited by injury rehab, gives McNair and the Titans an edge entering the season. For the first time since 1998, he's been able to get into an offseason rhythm with his receivers.

"It feels good coming to training camp and not worrying about pain," McNair said. "The last few years, it's been tough trying to get better trying to overcome a lot of different surgeries."

The Titans need McNair's broad shoulders to be sound because more and more is being asked of him each season. In the 1990s, the Titans built their offense around halfback Eddie George. Now, Ground George has switched into a controlled version of Air McNair, a subtle switch that has allowed to the Titans to regain their place among the NFL's elite teams and make them a Super Bowl contender.

"We had to change into a new philosophy," McNair aid. "It used to be using the run to set up the pass. Now, what it's all about for me is getting into my rhythm. It's using the pass to set up the run."

These are interesting times for the Titans. They know that their starting lineup matches up favorably against every top team in football. They are Super Bowl contenders and they know that their window of opportunity hasn't closed. Though the Colts are knocking on the Titans door as the top team in the AFC South, the Titans have the edge until the Colts' defense figures out a way to stop McNair, who has had the edge on Indianapolis since the Titans moved to Nashville.

Like the Ravens a year ago, the Titans faced an important organizational decision. In February of 2002, Ravens management met after a two-year run that included a Super Bowl championship and a playoff spot and decided their salary cap was overextended, so they had to break up the team and rebuild. Cap problems are brewing for the Titans. They are more than $22 million over the 2004 cap and things were so tight this year they couldn't go outside the organization for a free agent.

"We probably could have approach Mr. (Bud) Adams and said, 'Let's make a run, let's take the cash and make a run and go for broke,'" Fisher said. "But you do that knowing that the next year, you are looking at a 7-9 season and then looking at a 4-12 season. You either do it or you are wiped out. If you do that, you've got to rebuild, you don't want to do that. So we decided to coach them hard and draft well."

For starters, the Titans have some of the best players at all the right positions. For skilled players, they have McNair, George, wide receiver Derrick Mason and tight end Frank Wycheck. They have a top-level left tackle in Brad Hopkins. On defense, they have three pass-rushers, defensive ends Jevon Kearse, Kevin Carter and Carlos Hall. They have a Pro Bowl-caliber coverage cornerback, Samari Rolle. And Fisher, who signed a contract extension through 2006, is one of the game's best coaches because of his ability to incorporate young athletes into his system quickly.

"This team is one of the best but it's also the most underrated team in football, and I don't know why we don't get the respect," McNair said. "Maybe it's because we are in a small market in Nashville, but that's something we don't worry about. It hurts to not get recognition. In the past few years, we've been to the Super Bowl. We've been to championship games. We don't have that respect, but that's what keeps us going."

And McNair might be the least appreciated of the bunch. It's amazing to think he has been to only one Pro Bowl, and that was only because Elvis Grbac couldn't make it to the 2000 Pro Bowl. McNair's 59-36 as a starter and 4-3 in the playoffs. He's been a 61 percent or better passer for the past three years, and even though he's had five surgeries and numerous injuries, he's missed only seven starts in the past six years.

"Steve is the master of improv," George said. "He can do it all."

McNair wins games with his feet and his arm. He routinely rushes for more than 400 yards a season. Though his banged-up body may feel older than his 30 years of existence, McNair is in his prime and keeps getting better. But his pain tolerance is legendary. He's played games that baffled teammates and Titans management couldn't believe. The turf toe that nagged him during the 1999 season, in which the Titans reached the Super Bowl, was extremely painful.

	“	Pain is something that is secondary to me. I can put that pain in the back of my mind as long as we are wining. I like to win. I like to compete. If we need that extra yard, I'm going to get that extra yard. I was a defensive back in high school so I guess I still have that tough mentality. ”
		— Steve McNair, Titans quarterback

"Pain is something that is secondary to me," McNair said. "I can put that pain in the back of my mind as long as we are wining. I like to win. I like to compete. If we need that extra yard, I'm going to get that extra yard. I was a defensive back in high school, so I guess I still have that tough mentality."

But the Titans have conquered pain and have some more healing to do. George bounced back from a career threatening toe injury two years ago and reported to camp at 238 pounds and feeling like he's ready for a big year. Hopkins is still bugged by some pain from a minor knee procedure. Kearse is coming back from a broken leg and two operations.

"I just had X-rays taken over the weekend, and the X-Rays show that the bone is damn good, so I just have to get through the soreness," Kearse said. "There is a callous that's grown over the spot of the fracture. It makes the tendon and the muscles around it flame up because they rub against it, but it doesn't swell, so that's good."

Kearse started only one game last year, but the Titans are counting on him to get back to the double-digit sack level. If he does, the Titans have perhaps the most dominating defensive line in the AFC. Carter regained his Pro Bowl level of play last year despite constant double team blocking. Albert Haynesworth, last year's first-round choice, finished the season playing like an elite defensive tackle, according to Fisher.

"Man, with the potential we have, we should be one of the fastest, most agile defensive lines in the league," Kearse said. "We still have a whole lot of work to get. A couple of guys have some bad habits to iron out, but we're getting healthy and that's good."

The Titans still have some roster issues to resolve during camp. Tom Ackerman has to give the offensive line confidence that he can handle the starting center job. Fisher has to replace popular middle linebacker Randall Godfrey, but he has three options -- Frank Chamberlin, Rocky Calmus and Rocky Boiman. Of course, the Titans have to use so much nickel defense in a division of three-receiver offenses that the middle linebacker is only on the field about 32 percent of the time.

"People outside say we've had terrible a offseason because we didn't go out and sign big-name free agents," Fisher said. "In reality, what we were doing was developing our younger payers. I think we had a good offseaon from that standpoint."

And having a healthy McNair working with those young players makes the offseason even better.

John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com.