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AJ McCarron suddenly finds himself in the NFL pressure cooker
A.J. McCarron and Tom Brady share at least two things in common.
They are quarterbacks with smoking-hot wives.
That's where the obvious similarities end.
When the resumes of their NFL accomplishments are compared, McCarron's is the equivalent of a sentence compared to Brady's voluminous curriculum vitae. McCarron has played extensively in one game during two seasons with the Bengals; Brady is a three-time Super Bowl MVP and four-time champ.
So when McCarron invoked Brady's name following last Sunday's loss to Pittsburgh, the online and media response was the equivalent of eye-rolling GIFs and LOL posts. The hubbub McCarron generated prompted him to clarify his statement the following day.
McCarron told Bengals media that he wasn't trying to proclaim himself the next Brady. McCarron explained he was only pointing out that Brady got a chance to shine as a backup in his second NFL season because of an injury to the starting quarterback, which is the situation that has now developed for him after Andy Dalton fractured his thumb against the Steelers.
"We have a great team. (Brady) had a great team," said McCarron, who will try to help keep the Bengals (10-3) in the hunt for a first-round playoff bye when making his first NFL start Sunday at San Francisco (4-9).
"That's what I was putting forth with that and talking about what he made with his opportunity."
Whether his initial comments -- "You have to love pressured moments. That's where the great ones really shine. I guess Tom Brady was in the same situation when he had the opportunity." -- were taken out of context or exemplified a shocking lack of self-awareness remains up for debate. But the man who served as Brady's backup for that famed 2001 season believes McCarron doesn't owe anyone an apology for what he said.
"He's absolutely right," Damon Huard told FOXSports.com in a telephone interview.
Huard speaks from experience. Before watching Brady's career take off, Huard served as Miami's starting quarterback for five games in 1999 after Dan Marino suffered a neck injury.
"I remember before my first start, Dan came up to me and said, 'Do you think there's no pressure? Well, there is,' " Huard said with a laugh. "It is what it is, man."
The Bengals can only hope McCarron, who won two national championships as the University of Alabama's starting quarterback, responds as well as Huard did when pressed into action. Huard guided Miami to a road win over the Patriots as a backup before posting a 4-1 record with Marino sidelined.
Huard, who went on to enjoy a 12-year NFL career, has the opportunity to reflect upon his performance against the Patriots when his oldest son asks to watch some of his father's NFL games.
"Phil Simms basically said on commentary, 'This is Damon's one opportunity. This guy wasn't drafted and he sat out of the NFL for a year (in 1996). This is his moment, his time,' " Huard said. "Phil was right. It was.
"You hate to put that much pressure on a kid, but here you are, bro. You sat on the bench for a few years. The (starter) got hurt and it's now your opportunity. At the end of the day, if you're prepared and ready to roll, you would hope good things will happen."
They did for Brady. When Bledose suffered a serious chest injury during a Week 2 loss to the New York Jets, Brady was thrust into action and Huard became his backup.
Huard's services were never needed that year. Brady went 10-3 as a starter during the regular season and led New England to an upset win with an MVP-winning performance in Super Bowl 36.
"Obviously, that's when Tom started writing his story," Huard said. "Did I know Tom would go on to win four Super Bowls and become arguably the best quarterback of all time? No. But I knew he was the most competitive guy I'd ever been around and the hardest worker. He was so driven to be great."
Asked whether he thought Brady was ever in over his head at any point during that 2001 campaign, Huard said, "No. My goodness, no. Man, he was so steady. If he was sweating, he never let you see it. He was unbreakable."
Huard said the Patriots adjusted their game plan to try and take some of the pressure off Brady, which is something the Bengals are likely to do with McCarron as well.
"We used a lot of the quick passing game early on and we had some really dynamic players in the slot," said Huard, referring to targets like Troy Brown and David Patten. "Tom didn't throw as much as he does now. We would pound the football with (running back) Antowain Smith, throw about 20, 25 times, and play great defense and special teams.
"Tom was so efficient. He also always made the big play when he had to."
Kurt Warner is another example of a backup who took full advantage when given the opportunity to play. After starter Trent Green suffered a serious knee injury during the 1999 preseason, the unheralded Warner took his place for a magical year that ended with a championship and MVP honors in Super Bowl XXXIV.
Warner, though, had an entire season to find his groove in the Rams' "Greatest Show on Turf" offense. McCarron, who was injured for almost his entire rookie campaign as a 2014 fifth-round draft choice, hadn't seen extensive NFL playing time until replacing Dalton against the Steelers.
"Everybody has been talking about this being the best Cincinnati team that Andy has had since he's been there and one of the best teams in the AFC," Warner said. "He comes into a situation where they're sitting up there with a chance for the No. 1 seed. Everybody was expecting this team to go into the playoffs flying high and really having a chance.
"When I took over in St Louis, although Trent was playing great, this was a team that was 4-12 the year before. If we win five, six games, I'm still all right. For a guy like A.J., there's a lot more pressure and expectations on him because everybody believes they have a really good team. If he struggles or they lose a couple, everybody is going to point the finger at him, which is unfair because Andy has been seasoned and played a lot."
McCarron's passing stats against the Steelers weren't bad on the surface (22 of 32 for 280 yards with two touchdowns). However, McCarron did throw two interceptions with Pittsburgh returning one of them for a touchdown in a lopsided 33-20 win.
"It's a tough spot to step into from a lot of different standpoints," Warner said. "He doesn't get 16 games to get into a rhythm. He's just got (three) games to get up to speed before he's got to be competitive at playoff time if Andy is not able to come back."
Cincinnati has another concern with Dalton out indefinitely -- having to play a quarterback with even less experience than McCarron if he gets hurt. The Bengals promoted Keith Wenning, a 2014 sixth-round pick by Baltimore, from their practice squad to serve as McCarron's backup while Dalton recovers.
Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians was forced to play a third-stringer (Ryan Lindley) after quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton were lost to injury in 2014. Like the Bengals, Arizona was in prime position to make a Super Bowl run at the time Palmer and Stanton went down. A Cardinals squad that opened 9-1 ultimately finished 11-5 before suffering a first-round playoff loss to Carolina in which the offense gained only 78 yards.
Besides the X's-and-O's aspect of quarterbacking, Arians said McCarron's success will hinge largely upon the level of belief his teammates have in him.
"It depends so much on the locker room and what the relationship with A.J. is," Arians said. "I don't know those dynamics. Here, it was very easy. They knew Drew could play. They saw him every day in practice. They knew what the guy's got and what he's capable of.
"We never felt when Drew played for us that we had to do anything different or special to win the game. When we got down to Ryan, we felt like, 'Hey, we've got to shut them out. We've got to run the ball a little better.' You've got two things there you've got to do more for your No. 3 than your No. 2."
After facing the 49ers, Cincinnati plays at Denver (10-3) before finishing against visiting Baltimore (4-9). The Bengals are jostling with the Broncos and New England (11-2) for a first-round playoff bye.
Cincinnati's worst-case scenario would be losing all three games, which would open the door for Pittsburgh (8-5) to win the division and even potentially keep the Bengals out of the postseason entirely.
Were that to happen, McCarron would never live down his Brady comparison. Huard hopes McCarron doesn't have to experience that humiliation.
"At the end of the day, if you're prepared and ready to roll, you hope good things would happen," Huard said.
"This is his moment. What else can you ask for as a player? Go make it happen."
Alex Marvez and co-host Bill Polian interviewed Kurt Warner and Bruce Arians on SiriusXM NFL Radio
