Green isn’t tipping his hand regarding Cardinals’ QB situation
Arizona
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After missing the last two games with a torn groin muscle, Cardinals QB Kurt Warner says he expects to be available for Sunday’s game against Tennessee. Yet, at this writing, head coach Dennis Green’s QB plans for the foreseeable future remained a mystery.--- nfl ---
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Our sources believe Green will wait to see how Warner looks in practice early this week before deciding between Warner and Josh McCown, who ignited Arizona’s stagnant offense in place of Warner the past two games to the tune of 783 passing yards, surpassing Neil Lomax’s team-record 768 yards in back-to-back games at the end of the 1984 season. --- nfl ---
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Conventional wisdom appears to favor McCown, taking into account the above numbers and the fact he’s much more mobile than Warner. McCown’s mobility would appear to give the Cardinals’ weak running game a badly needed boost and reduce the number of sacks allowed. --- nfl ---
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But in his relatively short time as the Cardinals’ coach, it’s become clear that Green and conventional wisdom go together like oil and water. Don’t expect whoever ends up getting the nod to feel comfortable in the starting role, since there’s every reason to believe Green will have his No. 1 QB on the same short leash McCown dangled on last season, when he abruptly lost the starting job to Shaun King on the eve of the Cardinals’ game in Carolina in Week 11.Past Arizona WWHI > --- nfl ---
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The Niners have suffered another major injury-induced blow with the season-ending loss of ILB Jeff Ulbrich, who tore his left biceps muscle attempting to tackle Colts RB Edgerrin James in the team’s 28-3 loss to Indianapolis in Week Five. Ulbrich, who fought off the injury to lead both teams with 10 tackles and a forced fumble, was considered by both head coach Mike Nolan and assistant head coach/LB coach Mike Singletary to be the heart and soul of a defense that put forth a very respectable effort against the dangerous Colts. --- nfl ---
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Ulbrich will be replaced by fourth-year player Saleem Rasheed, who has good speed and quickness but has also spent more time in the trainer’s room than the Niners would like. Like Ulbrich, Rasheed is a serious student of the game, but Singletary would like to see him become more aggressive in his new starting role. It’s worth noting that Ulbrich’s loss made the puzzling trade of LB Jamie Winborn to Jacksonville seem even more poorly timed, also taking into account that OLB Julian Peterson missed most of the last two games with a hamstring injury.Past San Francisco WWHI > --- nfl ---
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Seattle
It hasn’t taken long to convince the Seahawks they made out like bandits with their second-round draft pick for the second straight season. Following in the footsteps of SS Michael Boulware, the team’s instant-impact No. 2 pick last season, Lofa Tatupu has improved steadily each week as the team’s starting middle linebacker and is making a case for staying on the field in passing situations as a nickel linebacker after excelling in that role in place of an injured D.D. Lewis in the Week Five win over the Rams. Tatupu has done a solid job handling defensive signals, and his attitude and leadership ability have drawn rave reviews. After the Rams returned the opening kickoff for a TD in Week Five, Tatupu was dead serious when he offered his services on kickoff coverage to special-teams coach Bob Casullo. Tatupu isn’t the only rookie linebacker making his presence felt for the Seahawks. Third-round pick Leroy Hill continues to close in on Lewis for the starting WLB job. With his natural pass-rush ability, our sources believe Hill has quickly become the team’s most disruptive force at the LB position since Chad Brown when Brown was healthy.Past Seattle WWHI > --- nfl ---
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St. Louis
The emergence of converted WR Mike Furrey as the fifth player to start opposite SS Adam Archuleta since the start of the 2004 season was as much due to the ragged play of converted CB Michael Hawthorne at free safety as anything else. Hawthorne, who got his walking papers late last week, made at least “six huge mistakes” in the recent loss to Seattle, according to one team official. Included among the mishaps were blown coverages on a 52-yard catch by Seahawks WR Joe Jurevicius, a 29-yard TD catch by Seahawks TE Jerramy Stevens and a 35-yard pass-interference call on Rams CB Travis Fisher that set up Seattle’s first TD. We also hear third-round rookie Oshiomogho Atogwe, who hadn’t dressed for a game after making three special-teams mistakes in the Rams’ season opener, could begin to see more action at safety.--- nfl ---