The Arizona Cardinals are in quarterback limbo. Going into the playoffs, they face insecurity at the most crucial position in football. The recent injury to backup-turned-starter Drew Stanton puts them in an even more uncomfortable spot, being forced to start Ryan Lindley and design a package for rookie Logan Thomas for the last two games of the regular season.
12th year veteran quarterback Carson Palmer was having an efficient year, throwing 11 touchdowns and just three interceptions in the six weeks he played before going down for the season in Week 10 against St. Louis with a torn ACL. Palmer wasn’t blowing the doors off of defenses every week, but the Cardinals offense was producing at the right times and winning games.
Excluding the St. Louis game in which he was injured, Palmer had been averaging 277 yards a game, and he’d thrown about three touchdowns a game. The offense averaged 362.8 net yards a game with Palmer at the helm, with his strong arm leading to big plays downfield and his veteran experience guiding the team to an undefeated record.
Drew Stanton hasn’t been exceptional while filling in for the former AFC player of the year, but that’s easier said than done. The Cardinals are 5-3 with Stanton as a starter, for which Bruce Arians deserves a lot of credit. In the games Stanton started this year, the Cardinals offense only generated an average of 265 yards, almost 100 yards less than with Palmer and haven’t scored 20 points more than once – something they did almost every game with Palmer. Arians has shown unwavering support in Stanton despite his struggles, and has gone on the record saying that he believes the Cardinals can win the Super Bowl with Stanton as the starter.
Stanton went down last Thursday night against the St. Louis Rams with a partially torn ACL and might be out for a month. With that timeframe he may be able to return to the Cardinals for the playoffs if Arizona gets a bye.
For now, the Cardinals are starting 2012 sixth round pick Ryan Lindley and mixing rookie Logan Thomas in for packages. There has been a bit of controversy about who to start, with both quarterbacks unproven, and Thomas looking like the future for Arizona at quarterback. Lindley came into the game last week when Stanton was injured and played poorly, going four of ten and almost throwing an interception late in a tight game. In his 181 career attempts, Lindley has zero touchdowns and seven interceptions. His two years of experience with the Cardinals, however, gives him the advantage over Thomas.
Lindley’s strengths are his prototypical pro frame, strong arm, and solid leadership skills. Larry Fitzgerald gave him an endorsement this week, telling the NFL Network “We really believe in Ryan, he can make all the throws. We just got to protect him, make some plays for him outside, run the ball. We’re going to be just fine.” While Fitzgerald is right about him being capable of making the throws, one of Lindley’s pitfalls has been his poor and inconsistent accuracy. Throughout his college and professional career Lindley has struggled to complete passes, as he never had a season with a completion percentage higher than 60% in his four years at San Diego State and has a career completion percentage in the NFL of 51.3%.
The last time Ryan Lindley played a game against the Seattle Seahawks, the Cardinals lost 58-0. Lindley didn’t start, but came in for John Skelton and went 8/17. The score wasn’t indicative of Lindley himself, but it doesn’t exactly give fans a lot of confidence looking forward.
For Thomas, he is the Cardinals premier prospect at quarterback. He has all of the intangibles you look for at the position – he’s 6’6″, 250 pounds, and ran a 4.5 40-yard dash at the combine. Thomas can gun it short or deep, but needs more work on his touch passing. He looked good in a pre-season game against the Texans, making good anticipation throws into tight windows. Where Thomas still needs work is his vision and his decision making – it was one of the criticisms for him after a three year career at Virginia Tech and it still remains his biggest flaw. Only time will help Thomas, as he needs to develop a consistent professional work ethic and develop a relationship with Bruce Arians.
As it stands, the Cardinals have the weapons and the coach to compete in their final two regular season games, but the playoff questions surround the quarterback position. Lindley can throw to eight-time Pro Bowler Larry Fitzgerald, or sling it to young receivers Michael Floyd and John Brown. Floyd at six foot three is a big physical target, and Brown has been a dynamic receiver in his rookie season, catching four game winning touchdowns.
The Cardinals might be able to weather the storm of the rest of the regular season, but Cardinals fans should desperately be hoping that Drew Stanton can heal in time for their first playoff game. Stanton is the only hope for Arizona, and calling it hope is a bit of stretch in and of itself. The Cardinals will be lucky to win out the rest of the season with Lindley at quarterback, and even luckier if they win a game in the playoffs against any team outside of the NFC South winner.
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