Green Says Rookie Will Start at QB

Dennis Green, head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, pulled a mild stunner at his press conference Monday by naming rookie John Navarre his starting quarterback for Sunday’s contest with the Detroit Lions. The move, however, shouldn’t come as that big of a shock for those looking at the big picture.

Green is in the first year of rebuilding a franchise that has chronically underperformed, and he apparently has seen enough of Josh McCown and Shaun King to realize that neither is the answer. So now he simply wants to see what he has in the youngster out of Michigan before deciding whether to burn the team’s top pick in the 2005 NFL Draft on a potential franchise signal caller like California’s Aaron Rogers or USC’s Matt Leinart.

Green has nothing to lose in giving the rookie a shot, but it’s not likely the former Wolverine will exceed expectations enough to keep the head coach from bringing in a guy he can build around for the not-too-distant future. Of course, if Navarre would happen to pull a Tom Brady, who was also a late-round pick out of Michigan, it would free up that first pick to select a franchise ball carrier like Cedric Benson of Texas or one of Auburn’s duo of Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown to take over for the 35-year-old Emmitt Smith.

The Cardinals also have the option waiting for a QB like Arizona State's Andrew Walter or Akron's Charlie Frye to fall to them early in the second round so they can use that first pick to get a franchise back. But with the depth at running back that is expected in this year's draft pool, selecting a top-ranked QB in the first while holding off until the second round to get a ball carrier might present the best value for the Cardinals in the long run.