McCown understands worries over shuffling quarterbacks

CHARLOTTE -- No one knows what being jerked around can do to a quarterback's confidence more than injured Panthers backup Josh McCown.

That's why he chuckled when asked about the “will he or won't he” drama surrounding teammate Jake Delhomme this week.

McCown was the Arizona starter when the Cardinals boarded the plane for their 2004 trip to Charlotte. But when they reached their team hotel, then-coach Denny Green made a surprising switch, telling the team he was going with Shaun King instead.

That left McCown shaking his head, but at the same time, he acknowledged that having an uncertain future can have its benefits.

That's where Delhomme comes in, as the embattled Panthers starter had to endure two days of uncertainty before coach John Fox told him he could keep his job for today's game.

“Obviously it's never fun,” McCown said of the guessing game. “But I think the positive you draw from it, because you don't know you can only focus on what you're doing. And that's kind of a blessing if you're going through what he's going through. You just need to stop and focus on what you're doing.

“In a way it can help you. It can be unsettling, no question. But in a way it can help, because you say, ‘Hey, forget it, I'm just going to focus on what I'm doing.' That's probably what he needs to do anyway, just focus on what he's got to do, whether there's uncertainty or not.”

WHO ARE THESE GUYS? — The Cardinals will always be defined by their offense, as long as Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald are on the roster. But the reason they have avoided the Super Bowl loser slump so far is the way they have played defense.

The Cardinals are first in the league in run defense (facing the fewest attempts helps), and seventh in points allowed (18.1).

“I don't know about a surprise,” Warner said last week. “It is one of those things around here that we have felt for a long time that we have the talent defensively, it's just a matter of it coming together. You saw in the playoffs last year the potential of this defense and the players on our football team. I think they are feeding off that. They gained a lot of confidence throughout the playoffs. In the beginning, a lot of people were saying that they were the worst defense to ever play in the playoffs, because of some of the points we gave up last year during the regular season.

“They played lights-out in the playoffs and I think that they continued that this year. This team is feeding off of it, which is something new around here.”

Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt acknowledged the run stats could be misleading, since his offense allows them to play with leads and force teams to throw, but remains pleased with his defense. The Cardinals held New York to 107 rushing yards on 26 attempts last week, not exactly a stone wall but enough to win.

“I was happy with the way we played against the Giants because we know that they are a very good run team,” Whisenhunt said. “We know that we are going to have our work cut out for us this week because Carolina is every bit as good as the Giants at running the ball.

“We obviously have some confidence ... our guys have fed off of that a little bit. We certainly are aware of the challenge that we face and we are working hard to make sure that we play well.”

PRESS ON — Dwayne Jarrett has started before (once during Steve Smith's suspension last year), but there never has been more on the line.

No one knows how long Muhsin Muhammad will be out with a knee injury, but it's clear he's no longer a downfield threat. So the door is open for Jarrett, who has teased with potential but never delivered results.

The 6-foot-4, 219-pounder can be a physical player, but his biggest problem so far has been getting off jams at the line of scrimmage.

If he can do that, his size and long arms should allow him to be the kind of target that helps Delhomme and takes some pressure off Smith on the other side. Toward that end, Jarrett has gotten intense work with receivers coach Richard Williamson, in hopes he can finally show something.

“When I'm out there, I use my body a lot,” Jarrett said. “I'm a big guy. It's hard, because guys even if they get hands on me I'm so physical, I can push them off or bulldoze my way through it. I'm just working with Coach Rich everyday, it's the kind of thing you work on in one-on-ones and I can definitely improve.

“I just have to answer the call. Not do anything more or less, just be me, and answer the call.”