azdad1978
Championship!!!!
We'll know soon whether McCown is ready for QB job
By Scott Bordow, Tribune Columnist
FLAGSTAFF — Cardinals coach Dennis Green has velcroed himself to Josh McCown, but this is where it gets sticky.
The regular season begins in 38 days and no one can be sure if McCown is the gutsy, athletic kid who played well in the final three games of the 2003 season or the panic-stricken quarterback who flipped the ball backwards in his end zone to tackle L.J. Shelton during a loss to San Francisco in early December.
The answer will in large part define the Cardinals' season — and their future.
If McCown is who Green thinks he is — a facsimile of Brett Favre — the wonder years may soon be upon us.
If he's not, well, is it too late to draft Philip Rivers or Ben Roethlisberger?
McCown has the physical skills. Strong arm, quick feet, a big heart. In his three starts last season he completed 59-of-98 passes for 670 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Just as important, McCown earned the respect of his teammates. He didn't try to play the part of a big-time NFL quarterback. He was confident yet humble, and the veterans quickly accepted him into the huddle.
It didn't hurt that he was the polar opposite of Jeff Blake, who blamed everybody but himself for the Cardinals' problems.
“He's a likeable guy,” former Arizona center Pete Kendall said of McCown. “He's been given a great deal of respect by the nature of his position, but he's also trying to earn more. There's a social hierarchy to football, and Josh knows who he is.”
The question is whether McCown's audition made him ready for prime time. Three games does not a quarterback make.
“Everybody has to start somewhere,” said McCown, a third-round pick of the Cardinals in the 2002 draft. “You can ask me about this now and hopefully by the end of the year I don't have to answer it anymore.”
Until then, the questions are fair game.
Can McCown read defenses and make the right calls at the line of scrimmage?
Can he pick up blitzes?
Can he find a second, third or fourth receiver if his primary target is covered?
A quarterback can have Dan Marino's arm and Michael Vick's legs, but if he can't think his way through a game, he'll soon be carrying a clipboard.
“The biggest transition for Josh is going to be transferring the knowledge of the game from the chalkboard to the playing field because it happens real fast out there,” Kendall said.
Too fast for a lot of young quarterbacks. But when it's suggested to Green that McCown may hit a few rough patches this season, the Cardinals coach reacts as if you've questioned his manhood.
“He's not that young,” Green said. “Most players by the time they get into their third year you'd expect them to start. Josh is ready.”
Green compares McCown, 25, to St. Louis Rams quarterback Marc Bulger and Seattle Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck, both of whom became starters after long apprenticeships.
“One of the things I struggle with is that you guys (reporters) have been very good over the years of taking a situation and making it seem like it's unique to Arizona,” Green said.
“How many starts did Marc Bulger have before last year? He had none to answer the question. So why wouldn't we expect the same thing from Josh McCown? If somebody can give me an answer, then I'll listen to you.”
Well, other than the obvious — Bulger can hand off the ball to Marshall Faulk — there's this: Green's wrong.
Bulger started seven games for the Rams in 2002 before becoming the full-time starter last season. The extended test run didn't adequately prepare Bulger; he threw as many interceptions (22) as touchdowns last season.
That doesn't mean McCown will trip over his shoelaces this year. He works as hard as anyone on the team, and he desperately wants to prove his worth.
But he is what is, an inexperienced quarterback being thrown to the Bill Belichicks. “Right now I have three games, but I learned more in those three games than in two years of being a backup,” McCown said. “You get out there and you're able to make mistakes and learn from them. I did.
“You see it happen all the time, guys coming out of nowhere, like Marc Bulger or (Carolina Panthers quarterback) Jake Delhomme. There has to be a starting point. Hopefully this will be mine.”
http://www.aztrib.com/index.php?sty=25800
By Scott Bordow, Tribune Columnist
FLAGSTAFF — Cardinals coach Dennis Green has velcroed himself to Josh McCown, but this is where it gets sticky.
The regular season begins in 38 days and no one can be sure if McCown is the gutsy, athletic kid who played well in the final three games of the 2003 season or the panic-stricken quarterback who flipped the ball backwards in his end zone to tackle L.J. Shelton during a loss to San Francisco in early December.
The answer will in large part define the Cardinals' season — and their future.
If McCown is who Green thinks he is — a facsimile of Brett Favre — the wonder years may soon be upon us.
If he's not, well, is it too late to draft Philip Rivers or Ben Roethlisberger?
McCown has the physical skills. Strong arm, quick feet, a big heart. In his three starts last season he completed 59-of-98 passes for 670 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Just as important, McCown earned the respect of his teammates. He didn't try to play the part of a big-time NFL quarterback. He was confident yet humble, and the veterans quickly accepted him into the huddle.
It didn't hurt that he was the polar opposite of Jeff Blake, who blamed everybody but himself for the Cardinals' problems.
“He's a likeable guy,” former Arizona center Pete Kendall said of McCown. “He's been given a great deal of respect by the nature of his position, but he's also trying to earn more. There's a social hierarchy to football, and Josh knows who he is.”
The question is whether McCown's audition made him ready for prime time. Three games does not a quarterback make.
“Everybody has to start somewhere,” said McCown, a third-round pick of the Cardinals in the 2002 draft. “You can ask me about this now and hopefully by the end of the year I don't have to answer it anymore.”
Until then, the questions are fair game.
Can McCown read defenses and make the right calls at the line of scrimmage?
Can he pick up blitzes?
Can he find a second, third or fourth receiver if his primary target is covered?
A quarterback can have Dan Marino's arm and Michael Vick's legs, but if he can't think his way through a game, he'll soon be carrying a clipboard.
“The biggest transition for Josh is going to be transferring the knowledge of the game from the chalkboard to the playing field because it happens real fast out there,” Kendall said.
Too fast for a lot of young quarterbacks. But when it's suggested to Green that McCown may hit a few rough patches this season, the Cardinals coach reacts as if you've questioned his manhood.
“He's not that young,” Green said. “Most players by the time they get into their third year you'd expect them to start. Josh is ready.”
Green compares McCown, 25, to St. Louis Rams quarterback Marc Bulger and Seattle Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck, both of whom became starters after long apprenticeships.
“One of the things I struggle with is that you guys (reporters) have been very good over the years of taking a situation and making it seem like it's unique to Arizona,” Green said.
“How many starts did Marc Bulger have before last year? He had none to answer the question. So why wouldn't we expect the same thing from Josh McCown? If somebody can give me an answer, then I'll listen to you.”
Well, other than the obvious — Bulger can hand off the ball to Marshall Faulk — there's this: Green's wrong.
Bulger started seven games for the Rams in 2002 before becoming the full-time starter last season. The extended test run didn't adequately prepare Bulger; he threw as many interceptions (22) as touchdowns last season.
That doesn't mean McCown will trip over his shoelaces this year. He works as hard as anyone on the team, and he desperately wants to prove his worth.
But he is what is, an inexperienced quarterback being thrown to the Bill Belichicks. “Right now I have three games, but I learned more in those three games than in two years of being a backup,” McCown said. “You get out there and you're able to make mistakes and learn from them. I did.
“You see it happen all the time, guys coming out of nowhere, like Marc Bulger or (Carolina Panthers quarterback) Jake Delhomme. There has to be a starting point. Hopefully this will be mine.”
http://www.aztrib.com/index.php?sty=25800
