Photo by Associated Press Despite a poor game on Monday night, Steve McNair will remain the Ravens’ starting quarterback, according to coach Brian Billick.

"I've been in this league for 13 years, and what people say outside of this organization doesn't bother me," McNair said after practice on Wednesday. "What the paper writes doesn't bother me. What the news people say doesn't bother me. I know what I'm capable of doing."

It has been a rough season for McNair. He suffered a groin injury in the season opener and then had back problems. He sat out two games before returning last week against Pittsburgh.

McNair completed 13 of 22 passes for just 63 yards, fumbled twice (losing one) and threw one interception before being replaced by Kyle Boller late in the game. For the season, McNair has completed just 64.8 percent of his passes for 985 yards, with three interceptions and one touchdown.

Fans calling into talk shows and some members of the Baltimore press have said the Ravens should turn to Boller.

But, Ravens coach Brian Billick said again Wednesday that McNair will be his starter for Sunday's home game against Cincinnati.

"I don't let people tell me outside of this organization that I'm not capable of playing, that I don't need to be playing," McNair said when asked about people questioning his ability. "They've never played the position of the quarterback. They've never gone through the things I gone through, mentally or physically. So how are you going to tell me that I'm not able to play? I know what my body can do. My teammates know what my body can do. I know what I can do on the field."

But, he said the fans are always on the quarterback when things don't go right.

"That's just the nature of the game," McNair said. "That's just how the system works. If you're doing great, the quarterback is the best. If you're doing bad, what's wrong is the quarterback?"

McNair, who has suffered numerous injuries in his career, said physically, "I still can do it."

His teammates backed him up.

"It's not just Steve; you can't put it all on one person," wide receiver Derrick Mason said. "Everything goes hand in hand with the offense. Obviously, everything is going to be pointed at him because he's the quarterback. When you're doing great, the quarterback is praised. When you're doing badly, the quarterback is kind of the scapegoat. You can't make him the scapegoat. It's everybody."

"We've got to give Steve the support," said running back Willis McGahee, who has been the Ravens' top offensive weapon with 689 yards on 158 carries. "I missed a block in the (Pittsburgh) game. I fumbled. He needs a supporting cast like everyone else needs a supporting cast."

Asked about the fans, who say they want to see Boller, Billick said, "It's amusing. That's standard operating procedure."

Boller was the Ravens' starting quarterback for three years before the team traded for McNair last year. During that time, Billick was criticized for sticking with Boller too long and fans were happy when the team traded for McNair.

The Ravens go into Sunday's game with the 23rd-ranked offense (29th-ranked passing offense) in the NFL. The team has only scored 131 points.

They have been hurt by injuries to McNair, tight end Todd Heap, wide receiver Mark Clayton and three starting offensive linemen.

"We haven't had our nucleus together offensively," McNair said. "When you're trying to get the offense on the same page, you've got to have everyone out there every week."

McNair said he's looking forward to the second half of the season. The Ravens are 4-4.

"It's not time to panic, we've got eight games left," he said. "We are .500, we could be worse than that. It's been a bad first half. So what? You've got another half to get better. Everyone is against us right now. We're all by ourselves, that's a good thing. Our back is against the wall."

NOTES: Billick said he's hopeful that cornerback Chris McAlister (knee) and Todd Heap (hamstring) will be able to play against the Bengals. Both have been out the last two games, but were at practice on Wednesday. Billick doesn't think cornerback Samari Rolle (undisclosed illness) will play. He did not practice on Wednesday.