I am surprised nobody has posted this yet.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/1121cards1121.html
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 21, 2004 12:00 AM
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Cardinals begin today within inches of cresting Mount Mediocrity. If they're to reach that summit, it apparently will be with a new starting quarterback.
Coach Dennis Green has decided to bench Josh McCown, who started all nine games this season, in favor of Shaun King, a person close to the situation said. McCown and King split work with the first team last week in practice, and Green informed players of the decision Saturday night.
Cardinals coaches and players were not available for comment late Saturday night.
Cardinals practices are closed to the media, but Green said this week that the two quarterbacks had split repetitions during the week. While it was speculated that Green might be quick to replace McCown during today's game against Carolina, there was no indication he planned a change in the starting lineup.
The Cardinals (4-5) are in the playoff race, thanks to a stingy defense, and Green often has voiced his dissatisfaction with the offense. Until this weekend, however, he had firmly backed McCown, a third-year pro in his first full season as a starter.
But McCown has struggled the past two weeks. Last week against the Giants, he threw for just 90 yards and missed some open receivers downfield. He also took a vicious hit while running for a first down , although he was healthy enough to practice all last week.
McCown has completed 57 percent of his passes this year and has been intercepted only four times. But he also has only six touchdown passes, and Green has bemoaned the lack of big plays produced by the passing game.
King, in his sixth NFL season, signed with the Cardinals as a free agent last spring and has played in only one game this year. He spent his previous five seasons with Tampa Bay and hasn't started a game in two years.
Reaching .500 is goal that has teased and eluded the Cardinals for most of their previous 16 seasons in Arizona.
That doesn't diminish what they could accomplish today with a victory over Carolina at Bank of America Stadium.
The Cardinals have made a long, arduous ascent since starting the season 0-3. They've won four of their past six games. At 4-5, they're in the playoff hunt - like most every other NFC team - and are within a win of being .500 with six games to play.
They haven't been .500 after 10 games since 1998, the only time they've been to the playoffs since moving to Arizona.
"I think if you start the season and lose your first game, you're striving from that point on to get back to where you started," Green said last week.
Winning today would allow them to look ahead to another big climb - making the playoffs. The Cardinals are only a game out of first in the NFC West, and a 9-7 record probably would be good enough to earn a wild-card berth in the playoffs.
Green has preached to his players that winning in November sets them up for the stretch run. Three of their last four games are against division foes.
"So far," said safety Ifeanyi Ohalete, checking the calendar on an electronic device that does everything but his laundry, "we're 2-0 in November. If we're able to win this game, that will make us 3-0."
You still with him?
"There will be some 4-5 teams that will lose this week and there will be some 5-4 teams that lose this week," he said. "If we get to 5-5, that will put us right in the thick of things."
Really, the Cardinals are in the thick of things now. Nine NFC teams are either 4-5 or 5-4, and only two teams, Atlanta and Philadelphia, have fewer than four losses.
A loss today would severely damage the Cardinals' playoff hopes. It would drop them two games below .500 with six to play. Because it likely would take nine victories to make the playoffs, they would have to win five of their final six games.
"Each game is going to be close," defensive end Bertrand Berry said. "At this point, everybody knows everybody pretty well, so there is not going to be room for much error."
The Cardinals have done a better job of closing out games since blowing the San Francisco game last month. They beat Miami two weeks ago with a touchdown drive in the final two minutes, and last week they held the Giants scoreless in the second half.
"I think we learned a big lesson, even though it was hard and hurt at the time," Berry said of the overtime loss to San Francisco.
"I think we learned that you can't allow a team to get any kind of momentum when the game is close."
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http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/1121cards1121.html
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 21, 2004 12:00 AM
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Cardinals begin today within inches of cresting Mount Mediocrity. If they're to reach that summit, it apparently will be with a new starting quarterback.
Coach Dennis Green has decided to bench Josh McCown, who started all nine games this season, in favor of Shaun King, a person close to the situation said. McCown and King split work with the first team last week in practice, and Green informed players of the decision Saturday night.
Cardinals coaches and players were not available for comment late Saturday night.
Cardinals practices are closed to the media, but Green said this week that the two quarterbacks had split repetitions during the week. While it was speculated that Green might be quick to replace McCown during today's game against Carolina, there was no indication he planned a change in the starting lineup.
The Cardinals (4-5) are in the playoff race, thanks to a stingy defense, and Green often has voiced his dissatisfaction with the offense. Until this weekend, however, he had firmly backed McCown, a third-year pro in his first full season as a starter.
But McCown has struggled the past two weeks. Last week against the Giants, he threw for just 90 yards and missed some open receivers downfield. He also took a vicious hit while running for a first down , although he was healthy enough to practice all last week.
McCown has completed 57 percent of his passes this year and has been intercepted only four times. But he also has only six touchdown passes, and Green has bemoaned the lack of big plays produced by the passing game.
King, in his sixth NFL season, signed with the Cardinals as a free agent last spring and has played in only one game this year. He spent his previous five seasons with Tampa Bay and hasn't started a game in two years.
Reaching .500 is goal that has teased and eluded the Cardinals for most of their previous 16 seasons in Arizona.
That doesn't diminish what they could accomplish today with a victory over Carolina at Bank of America Stadium.
The Cardinals have made a long, arduous ascent since starting the season 0-3. They've won four of their past six games. At 4-5, they're in the playoff hunt - like most every other NFC team - and are within a win of being .500 with six games to play.
They haven't been .500 after 10 games since 1998, the only time they've been to the playoffs since moving to Arizona.
"I think if you start the season and lose your first game, you're striving from that point on to get back to where you started," Green said last week.
Winning today would allow them to look ahead to another big climb - making the playoffs. The Cardinals are only a game out of first in the NFC West, and a 9-7 record probably would be good enough to earn a wild-card berth in the playoffs.
Green has preached to his players that winning in November sets them up for the stretch run. Three of their last four games are against division foes.
"So far," said safety Ifeanyi Ohalete, checking the calendar on an electronic device that does everything but his laundry, "we're 2-0 in November. If we're able to win this game, that will make us 3-0."
You still with him?
"There will be some 4-5 teams that will lose this week and there will be some 5-4 teams that lose this week," he said. "If we get to 5-5, that will put us right in the thick of things."
Really, the Cardinals are in the thick of things now. Nine NFC teams are either 4-5 or 5-4, and only two teams, Atlanta and Philadelphia, have fewer than four losses.
A loss today would severely damage the Cardinals' playoff hopes. It would drop them two games below .500 with six to play. Because it likely would take nine victories to make the playoffs, they would have to win five of their final six games.
"Each game is going to be close," defensive end Bertrand Berry said. "At this point, everybody knows everybody pretty well, so there is not going to be room for much error."
The Cardinals have done a better job of closing out games since blowing the San Francisco game last month. They beat Miami two weeks ago with a touchdown drive in the final two minutes, and last week they held the Giants scoreless in the second half.
"I think we learned a big lesson, even though it was hard and hurt at the time," Berry said of the overtime loss to San Francisco.
"I think we learned that you can't allow a team to get any kind of momentum when the game is close."
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