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Green opts for McCown vs. Cowboys
Starter isn't big secret this week
Odeen Domingo
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 27, 2005 12:00 AM
No secrets this week. The Cardinals announced Wednesday that Josh McCown will be their starting quarterback Sunday at Dallas.
Last week coach Dennis Green said he thought keeping the starting quarterback a mystery gave his team an advantage. This week, Green apparently thinks McCown, over Kurt Warner, gives the Cardinals an edge.
Why? _
"Oh, I'm not going to get into that," Green said. "I'm not going to let you (know my thoughts on that), but again, we make decisions. That's what we do. We think this is going to help us win."
The Cowboys defense ranks seventh in the league in yards allowed per game, and it is no secret what his offense needs to do, Green said: have fewer penalties, fewer turnovers, get and maintain field position and make big plays.
The Cardinals are 31st in the league in rushing, and it will be particularly difficult for them to run against the Cowboys, who are allowing just 91.7 rushing yards a game.
McCown's mobility gives him an advantage over Warner, especially against the 3-4 defense, which relies on speed and emphasizes blitzing.
The Cowboys blitz at least one player on every play. They have recorded 21 sacks this season, fifth in the league, led by rookie outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware, who lines up on either side.
McCown has been sacked 10 times in three-plus games, but he can at least elude pressure and scramble for yardage.
His legs also add the option of rollouts and bootlegs to the passing game.
If McCown can get them the ball, the Cardinals receivers could do some damage in the Dallas secondary. Dallas' defensive backs are better hitters than cover guys, susceptible to double moves.
Getting past the front seven is the tricky part.
So is taking care of the ball. Dallas has 14 takeaways this season.
"You just have to play smart football," McCown said. "Against Carolina, we had over 400 yards but we had (four) turnovers and we lost. Then we came out (the next week against the Titans) and we did not have a great game offensively numberswise but we were plus-1 in the turnover column. Because of that, we won the football game. If you play smart football, you're going to give yourself a chance to win."
McCown is 2-1 since taking over for Warner, who suffered a torn groin Sept. 25 against Seattle, but he didn't play well in his last start. After completing 66.3 percent of his passes for an average of 391.5 yards in his first two starts, he was just 12 of 28 (42.9 percent) for 140 yards, a touchdown and an interception Sunday against the Titans.
Warner, the starter coming into the season, appears 100 percent healthy and declined comment on Green's decision to start McCown.
McCown doesn't consider the situation a quarterback controversy. He prepares every week as if he is the starter, he said, and didn't pay attention to last week's guessing game.
"You guys (the media) consider it a controversy, but it was just a tactic that we used last week and obviously we don't feel like we need to use it this week," McCown said.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/1027nucards1027.html
Starter isn't big secret this week
Odeen Domingo
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 27, 2005 12:00 AM
No secrets this week. The Cardinals announced Wednesday that Josh McCown will be their starting quarterback Sunday at Dallas.
Last week coach Dennis Green said he thought keeping the starting quarterback a mystery gave his team an advantage. This week, Green apparently thinks McCown, over Kurt Warner, gives the Cardinals an edge.
Why? _
"Oh, I'm not going to get into that," Green said. "I'm not going to let you (know my thoughts on that), but again, we make decisions. That's what we do. We think this is going to help us win."
The Cowboys defense ranks seventh in the league in yards allowed per game, and it is no secret what his offense needs to do, Green said: have fewer penalties, fewer turnovers, get and maintain field position and make big plays.
The Cardinals are 31st in the league in rushing, and it will be particularly difficult for them to run against the Cowboys, who are allowing just 91.7 rushing yards a game.
McCown's mobility gives him an advantage over Warner, especially against the 3-4 defense, which relies on speed and emphasizes blitzing.
The Cowboys blitz at least one player on every play. They have recorded 21 sacks this season, fifth in the league, led by rookie outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware, who lines up on either side.
McCown has been sacked 10 times in three-plus games, but he can at least elude pressure and scramble for yardage.
His legs also add the option of rollouts and bootlegs to the passing game.
If McCown can get them the ball, the Cardinals receivers could do some damage in the Dallas secondary. Dallas' defensive backs are better hitters than cover guys, susceptible to double moves.
Getting past the front seven is the tricky part.
So is taking care of the ball. Dallas has 14 takeaways this season.
"You just have to play smart football," McCown said. "Against Carolina, we had over 400 yards but we had (four) turnovers and we lost. Then we came out (the next week against the Titans) and we did not have a great game offensively numberswise but we were plus-1 in the turnover column. Because of that, we won the football game. If you play smart football, you're going to give yourself a chance to win."
McCown is 2-1 since taking over for Warner, who suffered a torn groin Sept. 25 against Seattle, but he didn't play well in his last start. After completing 66.3 percent of his passes for an average of 391.5 yards in his first two starts, he was just 12 of 28 (42.9 percent) for 140 yards, a touchdown and an interception Sunday against the Titans.
Warner, the starter coming into the season, appears 100 percent healthy and declined comment on Green's decision to start McCown.
McCown doesn't consider the situation a quarterback controversy. He prepares every week as if he is the starter, he said, and didn't pay attention to last week's guessing game.
"You guys (the media) consider it a controversy, but it was just a tactic that we used last week and obviously we don't feel like we need to use it this week," McCown said.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/1027nucards1027.html
