Comfort with Offense Leads to Confidence for Weeden

Dallas Cowboys interim quarterback Brandon Weeden’s last and only start for the team did not go well.

Last year, his first with the Cowboys, Weeden was called on to start against the Arizona Cardinals in a November 2 matchup at AT&T Stadium. He finished 18 of 33 passing for 183 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. His passer rating was 55.5 and his QBR was 7.4.

But he’s a lot more confident this time around, mostly because he’s been in the offense for a year and a half, as opposed to the eight months--and those include offseason months--he had under his belt going into the Cardinals game. In fact, this year marked the first time in his career that Weeden has been in the same offense two years in a row.

“Being here for the second year in the same system,” Weeden told the team’s official website. “Being around the same guys, hearing the same language, being around Tony. I’ve learned a lot from him. Playing this position is hard. Whether you’ve been in this league 5, 10,12 how many years, it’s a challenging position. I’m in a system I love and comfortable in.

“It gives me a lot more confidence than my second year in Cleveland where I’m having to learn a whole new offensive and grinding out the playbook. Here, we’ve got a system in place and now it’s just going out and executing ball plays.”