If Wednesday was supposed to be the day when Cade McNown’s Bears teammates angrily rose to the young quarterback’s defense with words of support and encouragement, it would not come to pass.
With the exception of sympathetic comments from another former top draft pick, Curtis Enis, McNown’s teammates reacted to a Tribune story that said several of them were in near revolt following McNown’s poor performance in San Francisco on Sunday with either passive agreement or by avoiding the issue.
And Bears coach Dick Jauron said his decision to start Shane Matthews over McNown this Sunday in Detroit was not a difficult one. “It was a decision I thought was pretty obvious and had to be made,” Jauron said.
McNown did not publicly quarrel with the move after completing just 9-of-29 passes for 73 yards and an interception and making numerous mental and physical mistakes in a 17-0 Bears loss to the 49ers.
“I felt like last week I didn’t play very well,” McNown said. “It’s a decision every week for the coach, and I didn’t feel like I played well enough to really warrant another start this coming weekend. It’s frustrating, but I’m going to stand by it. I just need to continue to work at things and get better, so this doesn’t happen very often.”
He may not get that chance, said Jauron and teammates, if he continues his current patterns.
Players said Wednesday that despite the fact that McNown showed up for many off-season workout days, his attendance did not match that of Matthews or quarterback Jim Miller; that he often left early or did not appear to be putting in his full effort.
Those same accusations arose this season and came to a head last week when, despite being physically cleared to play three weeks earlier, McNown was judged by teammates as not taking his first start in eight weeks seriously.
Asked if McNown is capable of being the Bears starting quarterback, veteran offensive tackle James Williams said that question has yet to be answered.
“He’s a young guy, he has to study, he has to prepare not only week in and week out but all off-season,” Williams said. “You have to be able to come in once the season starts and show that you’ve prepared.
“Not everyone’s going to be able to say that Cade prepared all off-season and came in this season and showed that he was ready to play. Whether or not he comes in next off-season [and] prepares, it all might change next year. We won’t know until next year.”
Jauron has seen enough that after installing McNown as the No. 1 quarterback before last summer’s training camp, he said that as of now there won’t be a No. 1 quarterback going into Platteville next summer.
“We’re clearly not where we wanted to be at the end of the second year at the quarterback position,” Jauron said. “We wanted to have a clear answer and we don’t have that. …
“I still believe Cade is going to be a good quarterback. I don’t know how soon that will be.”
Players were particularly upset last week and after Sunday’s game that while they were not quitting on the season, coaches apparently were by playing McNown despite the fact that Matthews gave the team the best chance to win.
That frustration gave way to talk among themselves of not wanting to play under those conditions. Asked if McNown was mostly responsible for Sunday’s loss, one player said Wednesday, “I can’t say, but you know the answer to that.”
But Jauron said he did receive specific complaints by players about McNown starting. “The team is always a consideration [but] I certainly don’t consult with the team to make a decision,” Jauron said. “In sports, a team that doesn’t complain is not really a professional team. There’s always complaints about everything going on all the time.
“[But] the decision was based on performance and he’s not ready to come back and start based on that performance.”
The instability at quarterback–there have been 10 starting-quarterback changes in two years–is starting to wear on players like Williams, whose linemates often take the brunt of criticism for an inefficient offense.
“This is something that should have been taken care of early,” said Williams. “We never really should have had to go through it.”
Enis said, however, that the offensive line didn’t do McNown any favors.
“Give him a fair chance,” Enis said of McNown. “With you guys [in the media] on him, I think that rotates around to the locker room and gets in some guys’ ears.
“He’s a young guy. He’s going to get rattled. He needs, for example, the offensive line to say, `Let’s go, let’s get it done.’ That makes a good player turn great.”
Williams said the latest change in quarterbacks was “inevitable,” a move that “had to happen.” But that doesn’t mean it has to be disastrous.
“I think change is good sometimes. Mix it up a little bit. You make people think. Sometimes you demote people and it makes them stronger. Sometimes you demote people and they go into a hole.
“We’ll find out. We’ll all find out together.”
More inside Bears forced to make a major decision. Back Page. Lions’ Batch also had his detractors. Back Page.
