Cards notebook: Monday Night Football director a former Devil

The man who directs "Monday Night Football" for ESPN knows the game. He's Chip Dean, who played safety at Arizona State from 1973-77. Dean's greatest memory was being introduced as a starter before about 65,000 people in 1973 as a freshman.

Read Mike Tulumello's blog, 'Bird Watching'

But he later suffered a severe injury and was eventually beaten out as a starter by John Harris, who was not only a star for the Sun Devils, but in the NFL for Seattle.

Meanwhile, Dean started production classes in broadcasting at ASU, where he graduated in 1977. He wound up taking a job in the technical end of the business at a TV station in his native-Connecticut, and learned the ins and outs of editing.

Following two years of production work in Danbury, Conn., he took a similar job at ESPN in 1979, which had just started 40 minutes away in Bristol.

He cut highlights for anchors Chris Berman and the late Tom Mees, going to work from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m.

"It was a lot of fun, and it exemplified ESPN," Dean said. "...They were guys who loved their job and loved sports."

Since then, he's worked his way up from those days of being a radio interviewer at the National Rifle Association in the late 1970s. First, he became a program director for college basketball and college football (both ESPN and ABC), then five seasons of Sunday Night Football until he moved to Monday nights in 2006.

He also spoke to classes at ASU's Cronkite School of Journalism while in town for Monday's game.

"The best part of my job is the three-and-a-half hours we're on the air," he said. "It's exhilarating and entertaining."

GREEN STILL IFFY

Cornerback Eric Green (knee) didn't participate in Saturday's practice but did some running drills on the side, and coach Ken Whisenhunt said Green will be a game-time decision Monday night.

Rookie Dominique Rodgers Cromartie may get his first start anyway against San Francisco, with Green being the nickel back.

If Green can't play, Ralph Brown could see more playing time in the nickel or dime packages, and Whisenhunt said Matt Ware and cornerback-turned-safety Antrel Rolle could also see time at cornerback.

"We feel comfortable with the guys we've got," Whisenhunt said. "We'd like to have Eric, no question about that."

HOLD DOWN THE HYPE

A talking point this week between Whisenhunt and his players has been staying calm for "Monday Night Football."

"We talk about it," Whisenhunt said. "It is a forum that guys get excited about. When you have a national audience and you know a lot of your peers are watching you, it's human nature to want to make a play."

But if too many players are trying to make plays, they can lose focus on their responsibilities.

"We hope we'll be able to manage that," Whisenhunt said. "It's a great opportunity to show who the Arizona Cardinals are."