Quincy's precision passing a stunner
Randy Galloway commentary
Eating crow and liking it:
It wasn't just the "good game" for Quincy Carter on the national stage Monday night. It also wasn't necessarily about such an improbable win, which is not meant to downgrade what the "W" meant to coach, team, quarterback, etc.
Even the oldest of the local old-timers is struggling this week to remember the Cowboys ever snatching victory from such an impossible predicament -- down three points, 11 seconds to play and receiving a kickoff that, if it's the usual knuckleball down the middle of the field, prevents a return and burns probably five precious seconds.
But there at the end of regulation, what if everything had gone right for the Giants?
Today, Quincy is still the local story. Positive, too.
It was almost as if DNA was necessary for positive proof this was Quincy Carter making the throws he made.
Accuracy. Accuracy. Accuracy.
The short stuff. The slants, the little out routes, the skinny post patterns. Repeatedly hitting receivers in stride. And doing so even while on the run.
Even the armchair amateur quarterback coach, meaning media and fans, knows none of the above has ever been on display from Quincy, not on a remotely consistent basis. Without it, he could never be the quarterbacking answer for the Cowboys, which I think this column has mentioned more than once. Well, that and several other items that made Q a waste of time for Big Bill.
But Monday night, out of nowhere, that was a real quarterback skillfully at work. Even with the occasional wounded duck, he was making the toughest throws, and the throws a quarterback has to be able to make to keep possessions alive and to maximize scoring chances.
The Giants' defense took away what was thought to be Quincy's one possible strength -- the deep ball. Carter was invited to beat the Giants underneath. It was a sound and logical strategy, until, that is, Carter became Mr. Accuracy.
Nine of 25 completions went for 20 yards or more, the longest 27. Even those, however, were catch-and-run throws. Short completions that produced added yardage. The average on his 25 completions was a solid 13 yards, moving the chains. Very good stuff.
The obvious concern is with all that offense, and with Q throwing for 321 yards, there was only one offensive touchdown. And despite two games of over 400 yards total offense, there have been three offensive TDs.
But first things first. The end zone will come if Carter continues his Monday-night performance. A big if, yes, but still, a new starting point has been established.
"I like Quincy Carter," John Madden says on TV late in the game.
Because the Cowboys are not exactly a MNF regular, Madden was not working the telecast with a vast mental portfolio of Q the quarterback. What John saw was easy to like. None of us had seen that before.
Including Parcells, by the way.
Private media sessions with Parcells are not allowed by Bill, unless, of course, it's the Monday night duo of Madden and Al Michaels. They told on the telecast of a Sunday night sit-down with Parcells.
Asked about his timetable for turning around the Cowboys, they said Parcells told them he had no clue. "Depends on Quincy Carter," he said. "If he can play, the turnaround will be shorter. It not, it will be a long, long time."
But the kicker was when the big-time TV guys said Parcells added, "I will know in six or seven games."
For those of us locally who had been wondering about the short leash Bill had on Quincy, we had our answer. Six or seven games. After Monday night, however, Carter just bought himself more time.
New York friends of Bill who had talked to him before the New York return reported he sounded less optimistic about the Cowboys situation than they had heard him in previous coaching stops.
Just a guess, but maybe that quarterback thing had him baffled. If so, Parcells must be feeling better this week.
As a side note to all this, Parcells wasn't the only Cowboys coach coming back to the Meadowlands. It got little media play, but assistant head coach/quarterback coach/passing game coordinator (whew) Sean Payton once appeared to have some deep Giants roots. But those roots were yanked when head coach Jim Fassell removed Payton as his play-caller last season and took over those duties himself. The Giants' offense suddenly became more productive.
In the off-season, Payton ended up with Parcells at Valley Ranch.
So let's see here -- Payton is the QB coach and the passing-game coordinator, and suddenly Carter was a better quarterback and better passer than we've ever seen, plus the Cowboys won the game in a huge upset. Seems like to me that Mr. Payton got the last laugh.
Do understand that Parcells' staff is off limits to the media grunts, so whatever Payton's role has been with Carter will have to go without explanation from the assistant coach. But something was different. Very different, and very much improved. Carter did things with his arm he wasn't considered gifted enough to do.
Wednesday at Valley Ranch, Quincy talked fondly of Payton and offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon. But he credited offensive assistant coach David Lee, another newcomer to the staff and also a newcomer to the NFL, as the guy who has worked extensively with him on his throwing fundamentals. The emphasis from Lee, who has 27 years of college coaching experience, has been on improving accuracy.
Whatever or whomever, the same old quarterbacking pup we thought we knew showed some new tricks Monday night.
Randy Galloway's Galloway & Co. can be heard weekdays 3-6 p.m. on ESPN/103.3 FM.
rgalloway@star-telegram.com