View: Tampa Newspaper Wants To Give McCown Back To Bears

(CBS) The backup quarterback is seemingly the most popular player in any city in which a football team is struggling mightily.

As for being the starter? That brings constant praise in victory, constant criticism in defeat. Josh McCown has found this out the hard way.

After performing admirably last season as a backup with the Bears, McCown landed a two-year deal worth up to $10 million this past offseason to be the Buccaneers' starter.

And it's only taken 11 games for the public sentiment to turn on McCown, much like it turned on Bears quarterback Jay Cutler last season. After Tampa's 21-13 loss at Chicago on Sunday in which McCown threw two interceptions and lost a fumble, the Tampa Bay Times took him to task on the front page of its Monday sports section.

"Take him back" is what the headline screamed, with two stories below the giant photo that explained his failures.

The Bucs are 2-9 this season in the first year with McCown at quarterback and Lovie Smith as coach. McCown has thrown for 1,350 yards with seven touchdowns, eight interceptions and a quarterback rating of 77.9.

In:
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Lovie Smith