azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 26, 2004 12:00 AM
SEATTLE - To their credit, no one connected with the Cardinals professes that Josh McCown's triumphant return to the starting quarterback's job was part of some master plan concocted by coach Dennis Green.
After all, if John Navarre's right ring finger hadn't struck the helmet of a Detroit Lions player, it might not have happened at all.
But Navarre's resulting fractured finger propelled McCown back into the starting lineup, and he's since played the two most productive games of his career. He continues as the starter today against the Seahawks as the Cardinals attempt to win back-to-back games for the second time this season and keep the longest of playoff long shot chances alive one more week.
"I never lost confidence in him," Green said. "We just had to keep rolling. I'm impatient. I've told everybody that."
McCown obviously would have preferred not to lose the job at all. But he tried to make the best of the situation. The death of a first cousin around that time helped provide perspective, and he used the time out of the lineup to take a breath and evaluate himself.
"I feel like you go through that stuff for a reason," he said. "It makes you a stronger person."
Demoting McCown was more than a simple benching. Green had raved about him for months, choosing to pass over possible franchise quarterbacks in the draft, saying McCown was every bit as talented and more experienced.
That made for a long descent when Green benched McCown on a Saturday evening in Charlotte, N.C., just hours before the team played the Carolina Panthers.
Green didn't demote McCown with the promise that he would soon return to the starting lineup. Shaun King, 27, and Navarre, 24, could have won the job long-term with impressive performances.
Instead, King lasted two games. Navarre was intercepted four times in his only start, but was set to keep the job the following week until he learned the fracture was diagnosed.
McCown went from being the team's quarterback of the future, past and present all in a few weeks time. And, naturally, he wondered about his future with the team.
"To be quite honest, it was hard to tell," he said. "I didn't know. I just knew at the time I was the backup quarterback. I knew I wanted to play and could play, so if it did shake out that they came to me and said I wasn't the long term answer then yeah, I would love to go try to be a starter and play somewhere else. But I love it here and I want to be here."
There were whispers at the time that Green was disenchanted with McCown, a third-round pick in 2002, as the team's long-term future at the position. ESPN reported that Green had concerns about how hard McCown, 25, worked off the field.
Green vehemently denies that was a problem.
"Josh works his tail off," Green said at the time. "There would be nothing further from the truth. Like I said, I think Josh is going to be a good quarterback. I'm as convinced of Josh as (San Diego coach) Marty Schottenheimer was of Drew Brees."
But that could be seen as damning McCown with faint praise, because Schottenheimer wasn't convinced Brees was any good before this season. That's why the Chargers drafted quarterback Philip Rivers in the first round. Brees bounced back from an awful year to make the Pro Bowl this season.
Green remains convinced, he said, that McCown will be a good quarterback. And he feels confident in the position as the Cardinals head into the off-season.
But Green and Rod Graves, the team's vice president of football operations, remain reserved in their praise of McCown. And there are no guarantees the Cardinals won't seek an upgrade.
"I think we're open-minded about all of our positions," Graves said. "Suffice it to say that if we have an opportunity to get better at any position then we're going to try to do it."
Graves did say he thinks McCown can be a good quarterback, provided the Cardinals surround him with the right tools, including a running game, a solid offense line and threats at receiver.
And it looked like that was coming together last week, for the first time this year. The Cardinals dismantled the Rams, 31-7, as McCown complete 22 of 34 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns. He ran for two other scores.
McCown admits the benching did him some good. He saw things from different perspective, and he learned.
He noticed that he wasn't trusting his protection enough, for one. The team's problems with pass protection early in the season made him skittish, and on tape he saw there were times that a step up in the pocket, or a step or two sideways, could clear him from trouble.
"I think he was going through all of his progressions," said receiver Anquan Boldin. "As a matter of fact, he was going through all of them, one through four. That's opposed to at the beginning of the year when I don't think he was going through all of his reads."
McCown will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season, and club officials are expected to maintain his rights by tendering him a one-year offer. While his future in the league crossed his mind while on the bench, McCown insists he's not dwelling on it.
It's enough, he said, to be the team's quarterback of the present.
"I'd love to be here and I love everything that's happening," he said. "It's just continuing to play at a level they appreciate. I just worry about winning games right now because you never know what's going to happen."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/1226cards1226.html
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 26, 2004 12:00 AM
SEATTLE - To their credit, no one connected with the Cardinals professes that Josh McCown's triumphant return to the starting quarterback's job was part of some master plan concocted by coach Dennis Green.
After all, if John Navarre's right ring finger hadn't struck the helmet of a Detroit Lions player, it might not have happened at all.
But Navarre's resulting fractured finger propelled McCown back into the starting lineup, and he's since played the two most productive games of his career. He continues as the starter today against the Seahawks as the Cardinals attempt to win back-to-back games for the second time this season and keep the longest of playoff long shot chances alive one more week.
"I never lost confidence in him," Green said. "We just had to keep rolling. I'm impatient. I've told everybody that."
McCown obviously would have preferred not to lose the job at all. But he tried to make the best of the situation. The death of a first cousin around that time helped provide perspective, and he used the time out of the lineup to take a breath and evaluate himself.
"I feel like you go through that stuff for a reason," he said. "It makes you a stronger person."
Demoting McCown was more than a simple benching. Green had raved about him for months, choosing to pass over possible franchise quarterbacks in the draft, saying McCown was every bit as talented and more experienced.
That made for a long descent when Green benched McCown on a Saturday evening in Charlotte, N.C., just hours before the team played the Carolina Panthers.
Green didn't demote McCown with the promise that he would soon return to the starting lineup. Shaun King, 27, and Navarre, 24, could have won the job long-term with impressive performances.
Instead, King lasted two games. Navarre was intercepted four times in his only start, but was set to keep the job the following week until he learned the fracture was diagnosed.
McCown went from being the team's quarterback of the future, past and present all in a few weeks time. And, naturally, he wondered about his future with the team.
"To be quite honest, it was hard to tell," he said. "I didn't know. I just knew at the time I was the backup quarterback. I knew I wanted to play and could play, so if it did shake out that they came to me and said I wasn't the long term answer then yeah, I would love to go try to be a starter and play somewhere else. But I love it here and I want to be here."
There were whispers at the time that Green was disenchanted with McCown, a third-round pick in 2002, as the team's long-term future at the position. ESPN reported that Green had concerns about how hard McCown, 25, worked off the field.
Green vehemently denies that was a problem.
"Josh works his tail off," Green said at the time. "There would be nothing further from the truth. Like I said, I think Josh is going to be a good quarterback. I'm as convinced of Josh as (San Diego coach) Marty Schottenheimer was of Drew Brees."
But that could be seen as damning McCown with faint praise, because Schottenheimer wasn't convinced Brees was any good before this season. That's why the Chargers drafted quarterback Philip Rivers in the first round. Brees bounced back from an awful year to make the Pro Bowl this season.
Green remains convinced, he said, that McCown will be a good quarterback. And he feels confident in the position as the Cardinals head into the off-season.
But Green and Rod Graves, the team's vice president of football operations, remain reserved in their praise of McCown. And there are no guarantees the Cardinals won't seek an upgrade.
"I think we're open-minded about all of our positions," Graves said. "Suffice it to say that if we have an opportunity to get better at any position then we're going to try to do it."
Graves did say he thinks McCown can be a good quarterback, provided the Cardinals surround him with the right tools, including a running game, a solid offense line and threats at receiver.
And it looked like that was coming together last week, for the first time this year. The Cardinals dismantled the Rams, 31-7, as McCown complete 22 of 34 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns. He ran for two other scores.
McCown admits the benching did him some good. He saw things from different perspective, and he learned.
He noticed that he wasn't trusting his protection enough, for one. The team's problems with pass protection early in the season made him skittish, and on tape he saw there were times that a step up in the pocket, or a step or two sideways, could clear him from trouble.
"I think he was going through all of his progressions," said receiver Anquan Boldin. "As a matter of fact, he was going through all of them, one through four. That's opposed to at the beginning of the year when I don't think he was going through all of his reads."
McCown will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season, and club officials are expected to maintain his rights by tendering him a one-year offer. While his future in the league crossed his mind while on the bench, McCown insists he's not dwelling on it.
It's enough, he said, to be the team's quarterback of the present.
"I'd love to be here and I love everything that's happening," he said. "It's just continuing to play at a level they appreciate. I just worry about winning games right now because you never know what's going to happen."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/1226cards1226.html
