Green's overhaul is still in progress

[azdad1978]

Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 12, 2004 12:00 AM

Just in case it wasn't clear from his decision to cut his starting center on the eve of training camp, or from the shuffling of the offensive line, or from the hiring of two new coaches and the firing of another during the season, Cardinals coach Dennis Green issued a reminder this week.

"We can do anything we want to do," he said.

In Greenspeak, "we" is usually a substitute for "I," and if one thing has been made clear through the first half of the 2004 season, it's that there is now one voice to the Cardinals organization.

And that voice is raspy, opinionated and confident.

Earlier this week, Green was asked about yet another personnel move along the offensive line, bringing in reserves last week in Miami. He used the question to make a point.

"I know you guys aren't used to this, but the bottom line is that we feel we have a chance to build a mentality," he said. "That mentality, in my opinion, comes before your wins.

"We're trying to build a mentality that we can do whatever we want to do, that we don't have to follow any provided script, and hopefully in the second half of the season, it will pay off for us."

For all the changes the Cardinals have made since last season - the hiring of a new coach, changes in the front office, personnel moves - the bottom line is no different. The Cardinals are 3-5 at the season's halfway point, just as they were in 2003.

The effectiveness of the changes will be determined in the second half. Last year, the Cardinals stopped playing hard and finished 4-12. This year, Green expects them to improve and challenge for a playoff spot.

USA Today recently named the Cardinals the NFL's grittiest team, a trait Green thinks eventually will result in victories.

"I don't need compliments," he said, "but if you say that we are a gritty team, that's good. I'll take a gritty team at this stage of the season, even though we are 3-5, over some teams that are maybe underachieving and are 5-3."

Green has been described as a players coach, but that doesn't mean he coddles them. One of his favorite expressions is that he never feels sorry for players, and he emphasizes to starters that someone is always after their jobs.

"It's your job to go out each week and prepare like the guy behind you has a chance," cornerback Renaldo Hill said. "Nobody on this team should be comfortable. Prepare like you're a starter and you want to continue to be a starter. And I don't know what person would see something wrong with that."



Green doesn't have the reputation of being a taskmaster, like New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin, his counterpart this week, but he has imposed his will on the organization.

He cut starting center Pete Kendall just before camp, and he fired offensive line coach Bob Wylie six games into the season.

Green admits he's impatient, but he thinks his coaching style will pay dividends in the second half of the season, as the team tries to climb to .500 and dreams of a playoff berth.

"So often players want to know how far you'll go," Green said. "I think the guys (coaches), in my experience, who have done well don't bend very much. That's doesn't mean they're dogmatic, it's just that you have a good understanding of what it's going to take and you expect everybody to follow that."
A dash of hope, a dose of reality
MAKING THE PLAYOFFS

Hope - The team makes the playoffs for just the second time since moving to Arizona in 1988. Coach Dennis Green thinks nine victories could earn the Cardinals a wild card. Nine wins also might be enough to win the weak NFC West. Reaching nine wins will require a 6-2 finish.

Reality - OK, back away from the punch bowl. This team isn't finishing 9-7, but 7-9 is a realistic but lofty goal. The schedule in the second half includes five games at home, and only three of their eight opponents currently have winning records.

DEVELOPING A QUARTERBACK

Hope - Josh McCown becomes the Ben Roethlisberger of the second half of the season. Hardly anyone pronounces his name "McNown" any more. That's progress. McCown has now started 11 straight games for the Cardinals, and that experience will begin to show.

Reality - McCown doesn't have the weapons surrounding him that Roethlisberger does in Pittsburgh. He'll show progress in the second half of the season, but Green and team management will be second-guessed for not drafting Roethlisberger.

BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE

Hope - The franchise will be in the playoffs before the new stadium opens in 2006. Green has his team playing hard and he has more juice with ownership than any head coach since Buddy Ryan. That will allow him to remake the roster and win.

Reality - The Cardinals need to field a winner before they move into the new stadium. At first, curiosity will make the facility an attraction, but fans won't buy season tickets to watch a bad team. It would be like having a new house but no furniture.
- Kent Somers

First-half Ratings MVP: Defensive end Bertrand Berry. He might be the team's best free-agent signing ever. He not only has five sacks, but he also has been a positive force in the locker room, helping mentor the team's young defensive linemen.

Best rookie: Defensive tackle Darnell Dockett. At 300 pounds, he has great quickness and he plays hard every down. He has brought passion to a team that badly needed some. He narrowly beats out receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who is beginning to make plays.

Biggest surprise: Nose tackle Russell Davis. He plays one of the more thankless positions in football, often drawing double teams. Davis has emerged as the team's best run defender and had 10 tackles last week in Miami.

Disappointment: Defensive tackle Wendell Bryant. He could have contended for a spot in the rotation but was suspended for the first four games of the season. He has been inactive the past two games, meaning the former first-round pick has been in uniform for just two games.

Best play: Emmitt Smith's 21-yard touchdown pass in the victory over New Orleans. It was Smith's first pass attempt in 15 seasons and while it fluttered and hung in the air forever, it worked.

Worst play: Letting Buffalo's Terrence McGee return a kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown just after the Cardinals had cut the Bills' lead to three points. It was the turning point in Buffalo's 38-14 victory.








http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/1112cards1112.html

 

[pete]

Green has tendency to say one thing and do another, or say one thing and then say something completely opposite 3 days later, but I could care less. I love his attitude and his high expectations. No more excuses. You either get the job done, and quickly, or he will find someone who can.

Card fans have been waiting a long time for this guy!

 

[pete]

Glad Sommers agrees with me that Dockett has been the best Card rookie so far. But I'd say Dansby has been better than Fitz in the first 8 games for runner up. Fitz is number 3, followed by Step.

 

[Redheart]

One thing for sure...

When Green says something, it can change.

The press likes to jump on the "You said..." stuff. I kind of like the fact that Denny will do what Denny thinks best and that can change. It makes him impossible to predict.

He told everyone he was going to pick Fitz number 1 in the draft, but nobody knew if he was blowing smoke or not...

 

[john h]

Green has tendency to say one thing and do another, or say one thing and then say something completely opposite 3 days later, but I could care less. I love his attitude and his high expectations. No more excuses. You either get the job done, and quickly, or he will find someone who can.

Card fans have been waiting a long time for this guy!

So far Green talks a lot and has made a lot of predictions that will not or have not come true. This hiring and firing of people may be part of a well thought out plan or simply moves from a guy who has no plan at all and is shooting from the hip. Do not make a genius out of this coach until he puts a winning record on the books and proves it. I am still having my doubts.

 

[Russ Smith]

So far Green talks a lot and has made a lot of predictions that will not or have not come true. This hiring and firing of people may be part of a well thought out plan or simply moves from a guy who has no plan at all and is shooting from the hip. Do not make a genius out of this coach until he puts a winning record on the books and proves it. I am still having my doubts.

There's certainly some truth in that but I will say this, while I don't agree with every move he makes, I do agree with the notion that he had to change the philosophy of the whole team. So I do think there's SOME good in the notion that EVERYONE is afraid for their job.

Ideally you're not firing seasoned coaches for guys with 6 weeks of experience because of personal issues, but you can bet that every coach and player on this team is properly motivated knowing if they let up, Green will fire or cut them.

 

[This_Guy]

You either get the job done, and quickly, or he will find someone who can.

Except for some reason this does not apply to McCown. If everyone is accountable, the coach can get away with this strategy. If one player seems to be above that level of accountabiliity, Green's message will ring hollow and he runs the risk of losing some of the veterans.

 

[Mulli]

Except for some reason this does not apply to McCown. If everyone is accountable, the coach can get away with this strategy. If one player seems to be above that level of accountabiliity, Green's message will ring hollow and he runs the risk of losing some of the veterans.

And then those veterans will be lost next year or quicker

 

[Skkorpion]

Except for some reason this does not apply to McCown. If everyone is accountable, the coach can get away with this strategy. If one player seems to be above that level of accountabiliity, Green's message will ring hollow and he runs the risk of losing some of the veterans.

It does apply to McCown. He's been yanked once already and clearly Green is trying to find out if he has to draft a QB next year to develop. If McCown fails, Shaun King will be the starter next year, while the new kid sits and learns for a few years.

 

[This_Guy]

And then those veterans will be lost next year or quicker

Right, but do you throw out the baby for the bath water?

If a guy like Ayanbadejo, who is 100% a DG-guy (was brought in specifically because he was a DG guy) is on the sidelines yelling at the QB, then there can be trust issues.

And, again, if it's 2 or 3 contributors, do you really get rid of them because they (rightfully) don't want to play through the great McCown experiment? Not to stir a certain pot, but perhaps that was the Pete Kendall issue. Would you cut 2 or 3 more PK-types who know that they have to perform to keep their jobs while they know that McCown does not?

DG is a GREAT coach, but his ego has gotten him in trouble before. If that is becoming the case again, it would be best to identify that early on.

 

[This_Guy]

It does apply to McCown. He's been yanked once already and clearly Green is trying to find out if he has to draft a QB next year to develop. If McCown fails, Shaun King will be the starter next year, while the new kid sits and learns for a few years.

Sorry, but I have to disagree. Like the Atlanta game, McCown would have been benched both of the last two weeks if he was being held accountable. And again, Green does not "develop" a QB. For the same reason he didn't draft one this year, he correctly believes that young QBs are generally not successful, and Green does not stand for "development". He stands for winning.

One part of DG continues to say he wants to go to the playoffs and that players are held accountable(which is historically his mentality).

The other part of DG continues to be firmly committed to McCown despite poor play. In DG's history, he has never watched any player, especially a QB play that poorly and not replace him. DG has only twice had an offense finish out of the top 10 and this year's is 28th.

I agree completely with Green's message of accountability, I just don't think he's adhered to it. Again, if players know that it doesn't hold true for everyone it creates a division and can impact trust.

 

[vince56]

When Green says something, it can change.

The press likes to jump on the "You said..." stuff. I kind of like the fact that Denny will do what Denny thinks best and that can change. It makes him impossible to predict.

So Denny Green "flip-flops"? Yeah, I don't mind that either, in fact I think that's healthy and it's an intelligent approach.

 

[Tangodnzr]

I dunno about flip-flops, but there certainly doesn't seem to be any shortage of Yo-Yo's around here.

 

[john h]

There's certainly some truth in that but I will say this, while I don't agree with every move he makes, I do agree with the notion that he had to change the philosophy of the whole team. So I do think there's SOME good in the notion that EVERYONE is afraid for their job.

Ideally you're not firing seasoned coaches for guys with 6 weeks of experience because of personal issues, but you can bet that every coach and player on this team is properly motivated knowing if they let up, Green will fire or cut them.

Russ when you talk about changing the philosophy of the "whole" team I wonder how many people we are talking about. Many of our players are playing their first year here. I wonder if it might be better said he needs to change the philosophy of the owners and management who have been here a long time. I am still at a loss as to what Dennis's philosophy and game plan is. The only thing I really seem to gleam at this point is it his way or the highway. He never really spells out what his plan is or what his philosophy is. What type of offense does he specialize in or have in mind for this team. When he came I heard he was a passing type coach but now I find our game plan recently is more of a running offense even though we are near the bottom of the league in running. Some coaches will arrive and say I am running the west coast offense so I know what they have in mind. They may indicate they will use a zone defense or man to man or use a 4/3 or 3/4 on defense. All I hear about DG is the so called "Denny System" or "Denny Philosophy". I cannot wrap my brain around that. I bet our fired OL coach had the same problem and questions. Does he micromanage his coordinators? I have no idea. With some of his move or lack of moves I think there are some serious question yet to be answered about DG. Heaven only knows we need for him to succeed.