Dennis Green was absolutely right to bench Josh McCown. While the majority believe that the Cardinals were winning with McCown, and everything was fine at the quarterback position for the Cardinals, it wasn't. McCown only had one game with multiple touchdowns on the season, and he only had one game over 200 yards on the season. Usually a low passing total would dictate that a team runs the ball frequently, but in fact, they don't. Arizona averages 104.8 rushing yards per game, 24th in the league, and only slightly better than their 29th ranked passing offense.
Another reason for the initial benching of McCown; turnovers. A 6-to-10 touchdown-to-turnover ratio isn't acceptable for any quarterback, as Denny realized. Usually coaches can live with turnovers, if the quarterbacks make plays and score touchdowns. For example, Marc Bulger has a 20-to-16 touchdown-to-turnover ratio, but no one is calling for his name in St. Louis. The reasoning? Bulger averages 274.1 passing yards per game, moving the ball downfield effectively for the NFL's 6th-ranked offense. McCown didn't move the ball downfield, and wasn't a playmaker by any means.
So when you don't have a quarterback that is making plays or leading an efficient offense, you need to make a change, despite your record. After acquiring Shaun King in the off-season, who showed flashes of starting potential in Tampa Bay, Green figured to give him a chance in the Cardinals offense. King led the Cardinals to two losses, with a QB rating below 57 each game. But King threw for more yardage in his first game than McCown ever has, thus leading people to believe that McCown possibly wasn't the quarterback of the future for this organization. [] Still, King's quarterback rating and turnovers weren't acceptable, and there was another man on the roster who deserved a chance. While John Navarre was a seventh-round draft pick, many believed that he could be the guy to take over the starting job and perform well for the Cardinals. Given his chance against the Detroit Lions, Navarre threw 4 interceptions, and a whopping QB rating of 25.8. Ouch. Granted, Navarre only had a weeks preparation with the starting offense, didn't have the luxury of having Emmitt Smith behind him, and was a rookie making his first start. But four turnovers isn't acceptable, and Green was left with a quarterback dilemma.
For the rest of the season, Arizona is probably going to go with Josh McCown as the starting quarterback. While he most likely isn't the quarterback of the future, McCown will be given a chance in these final four weeks of the regular season to prove critics wrong in his ability, especially the biggest critic of them all; Dennis Green. Even if McCown plays well in these final weeks, look for the Cardinals to go after someone in the off-season, at least to push McCown.
The 2005 draft class looks good near the top with Matt Leinart of USC and Aaron Rodgers of Cal being the top two quarterbacks in the class, and possibly the only two first round prospects, if they choose to declare. Drew Brees and Matt Hasselbeck are big name free agents, but neither shows the ability to throw the deep ball-a must in Dennis Green's offense. The answer to the Cardinals quarterback woes may have been Ben Roethlisberger, who Green passed on in the draft, and will be criticized for the rest of his tenure in Arizona.
