azdad1978
Championship!!!!
But both QBs serious about starting
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 4, 2005 12:00 AM
Cardinals quarterbacks Josh McCown and Kurt Warner have adjacent lockers, share the same agency and spend hours together on the field and in meeting rooms. So it would be pretty hard for one to backstab the other without the victim knowing whose fingers were on the handle.
They're friends, and everything is above board. McCown wants Warner's job. Warner knows it and encourages him to try to take it - if he can.
Maybe McCown took a step in that direction in the Cardinals' 31-14 victory over San Francisco on Sunday night. He passed for 385 yards, a career high, and two touchdowns, double the number the offense scored in the first three weeks.
Warner is not expected back from a torn groin muscle for two more weeks, so let's get ahead of ourselves a bit.
What if McCown plays well again? What if the Cardinals beat Carolina Sunday to win two straight heading into the open date? Could coach Dennis Green ignore that McCown would be 9-9 as a Cardinals starter? Could he bench Warner, who played well in the three losses?
"I haven't thought about that," Green said.
The quarterbacks have. McCown and Warner tease each other about it.
"He jokes and says, 'You're not going to let me back on the field are you?' " McCown said.
Green left that option open Monday afternoon when asked what would happen if McCown played well and the Cardinals beat the Panthers.
"I think we'll look at that later," he said. "We're just looking for whoever can help us win. We think both guys can help us win. We think John Navarre (the third quarterback) can do that, too."
McCown tries not to dwell on what the future might hold. Last year, he was benched the night before the Carolina game, even though the Cardinals had won three of four to improve to 4-5.
That taught him a lesson. Live in the present.
"I'm not in control of the future and all that stuff," he said. "They named me the starter for this week, so I go out and play as hard as I can."
Besides, Warner was not the reason the Cardinals started 0-3. He completed 63.4 percent of his passes for 696 yards. The Cardinals offensive problems went much deeper.
It's questionable, too, if those problems have been solved. San Francisco is the worst team the Cardinals have faced. They'll face a far more serious challenge against Carolina, which has one of the league's better defenses.
Warner is expected back Oct. 23 against Tennessee, a week after the Cardinals have their off week. If the Cardinals are 2-3 then, and McCown steps back into the No. 2 role, he'll be satisfied with the job he's done.
"Ultimately, in all honesty, my goal is that if he (Warner) gets back on the field, that he's in a position to take us to the playoffs.
"And then if things continue to go well and I play, that I'm in the position to take us to the playoffs. That's my goal right now."
Notes
Neil Rackers set an NFL record by making 16 straight field goals in the first four games of the season. He also had seven touchbacks on kickoffs Sunday. That's the most in the NFL since Detroit's Jason Hanson had seven in 1993.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/1004cards1004.html
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 4, 2005 12:00 AM
Cardinals quarterbacks Josh McCown and Kurt Warner have adjacent lockers, share the same agency and spend hours together on the field and in meeting rooms. So it would be pretty hard for one to backstab the other without the victim knowing whose fingers were on the handle.
They're friends, and everything is above board. McCown wants Warner's job. Warner knows it and encourages him to try to take it - if he can.
Maybe McCown took a step in that direction in the Cardinals' 31-14 victory over San Francisco on Sunday night. He passed for 385 yards, a career high, and two touchdowns, double the number the offense scored in the first three weeks.
Warner is not expected back from a torn groin muscle for two more weeks, so let's get ahead of ourselves a bit.
What if McCown plays well again? What if the Cardinals beat Carolina Sunday to win two straight heading into the open date? Could coach Dennis Green ignore that McCown would be 9-9 as a Cardinals starter? Could he bench Warner, who played well in the three losses?
"I haven't thought about that," Green said.
The quarterbacks have. McCown and Warner tease each other about it.
"He jokes and says, 'You're not going to let me back on the field are you?' " McCown said.
Green left that option open Monday afternoon when asked what would happen if McCown played well and the Cardinals beat the Panthers.
"I think we'll look at that later," he said. "We're just looking for whoever can help us win. We think both guys can help us win. We think John Navarre (the third quarterback) can do that, too."
McCown tries not to dwell on what the future might hold. Last year, he was benched the night before the Carolina game, even though the Cardinals had won three of four to improve to 4-5.
That taught him a lesson. Live in the present.
"I'm not in control of the future and all that stuff," he said. "They named me the starter for this week, so I go out and play as hard as I can."
Besides, Warner was not the reason the Cardinals started 0-3. He completed 63.4 percent of his passes for 696 yards. The Cardinals offensive problems went much deeper.
It's questionable, too, if those problems have been solved. San Francisco is the worst team the Cardinals have faced. They'll face a far more serious challenge against Carolina, which has one of the league's better defenses.
Warner is expected back Oct. 23 against Tennessee, a week after the Cardinals have their off week. If the Cardinals are 2-3 then, and McCown steps back into the No. 2 role, he'll be satisfied with the job he's done.
"Ultimately, in all honesty, my goal is that if he (Warner) gets back on the field, that he's in a position to take us to the playoffs.
"And then if things continue to go well and I play, that I'm in the position to take us to the playoffs. That's my goal right now."
Notes
Neil Rackers set an NFL record by making 16 straight field goals in the first four games of the season. He also had seven touchbacks on kickoffs Sunday. That's the most in the NFL since Detroit's Jason Hanson had seven in 1993.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/1004cards1004.html
