Cardinals make decision on QB, but no announcement made

Drew Petzing has a lot on his plate.

The first-year Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator was front and center for the competition to be the team's Week 1 starting quarterback on the road against the Washington Commanders, a decision that according to head coach Jonathan Gannon has already been made.

It's between Josh Dobbs and Clayton Tune, and even though no one is saying which quarterback gets the nod, Gannon told Arizona Sports 98.7 FM radio Tuesday afternoon that the team knows what it is going to do.

The Cardinals have three more practices this week to fine tune (no pun or suggestion intended) the starting quarterback and his backup. The team's depth chart for Week 1, released Tuesday, reads Josh Dobbs OR Clayton Tune at starting quarterback.

"It's been a great process. The guys in that room, I have a lot of faith in them. The way they work, the way they work together, type of personalities they bring to it. So it's been a lot of fun over these last couple of days, couple of weeks and excited to see kind of where it goes moving forward," Petzing said.

More: Arizona Cardinals release depth chart, roster for NFL Week 1 vs. Washington Commanders

While the quarterback battle has been the most prominent storyline with the team in Week 1, Petzing also has to focus on the Commanders' defense and draw up a game plan for his offense, whoever is running the show.

Petzing said there are things he likes about both quarterbacks. He worked with Dobbs in Cleveland last season when Petzing was the Browns' quarterbacks coach.

"Josh is a really smart player, comes in and works really hard to understand the offense and know his role," Petzing said. "And I think just some of the nuances that you've kind of tweaked and changed over the course of the offseason and training camp and some of those little details and familiarity with some of his teammates, and just getting a feel for how they see things, how they come out of the top of routes, what they're thinking in the run game. Those are the types of things we work through and he's done a great job of embracing them."

Dobbs showed an engaging side to himself when he first met with media members after he was traded from the Browns to Arizona. Petzing said Dobbs connects with teammates easily, even as Dobbs has so much to digest himself less than two weeks since joining the Cardinals.

"There's a lot going on. And I think the best part is I know he can handle it having been around him and just the type of player and person he is," Petzing said of Dobbs. "You're moving. You're dealing with all this stuff outside of football. And then on top of that, certainly you are getting to know a new system, new teammates, you've got an opponent you have to prepare for. So there's certainly a lot going on. But I think he's done a really nice job of handling it."

Offensive lineman and team captain D.J. Humphries said he can tell that Dobbs already knows Petzing's offense.

"The first thing that kind of struck me was like, Oh, okay. ... we're not coaching him up on anything. He knows. He's telling me what I should do," Humphries said. "That's the first thing I notice about him, is that he's very poised. He's very chill. And you can tell he knows this isn't his first time being in this offense, and it shows."

Tune, a rookie, emerged as a candidate to be the starter without big numbers in the preseason, but with an ability to do what the Cardinals asked of him.

"Clayton's done a really nice job in from the day he got here, just his work ethic, the way he's kind of committed himself to learning the offense, understanding the NFL game, doing things the way that we need that position to do them," Petzing said. "It's been really fun to watch. His growth has been tremendous, really excited about where he's at."

Dobbs has been in the NFL since 2017 and doesn't have a lot of regular season game action, but he's managed to stick around and help teams when called upon. Tune took advantage of all of the preseason and training camp snaps he got and has been learning the offense since after he was drafted in April, which was enough to release veteran Colt McCoy last week.

Dobbs and Tune have a couple of common character traits, Petzing said.

"Neither of them ever gets rattled, they can always handle whatever situation is thrown their way," Petzing said. "So there's a comfort level as a play caller, knowing that the guy with the ball in his hand is under control, in a good spot, ready to handle whatever comes and is ready to react. So I think that's been good to see."

Related: Cardinals name 17-player practice squad, which includes several veterans

Humphries backed up that assessment.

"I've seen enough from Clayton in camp to know that Clayton has enough to do it, and I've seen enough from Dobbs in the NFL to know that they're both capable quarterbacks," Humphries said. "It's just about who's gonna be the guy who I'm gonna be slapping fives with after we score touchdowns."

Petzing was asked that if he'd be comfortable knowing Tune is one play away from getting into the game should he end up being the backup.

"Very comfortable. I think that's the message to everyone in that offensive room. And that's the nature of the NFL is you're one play away, no matter what your role is, you've got to know your role," Petzing said. "You have to be prepared to excel in your role, but then you also have to be prepared to take on the next role if that comes to fruition."

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How OC Drew Petzing viewed Cardinals' QB competition between Dobbs, Tune