It’s All About Drew…Drew Stanton
Drew Stanton has done something in the last two weeks that seemed unthinkable just a few months ago. He has created a quarterback buzz in Arizona. In previous articles I have been supportive of Carson Palmer and if Palmer is healthy and plays the arguments I presented before do still stand, but now there is a question to be answered regarding who plays if both are fit.
Drew Stanton until now perhaps most famous as being the QB that the New York Jets moved on as part of the Tim Tebow saga, has taken root under the coaching genius of Bruce Arians. In the last two weeks against the New York Giants and a divisional rival San Francisco 49ers the Cardinals have not missed a beat and progressed to a league leading 3-0 start.
Every season it seems that a so called backup QB comes in and takes the team on a run and in the process plays as well as the starter and questions are asked. This year it seems those QB’s are Drew Stanton and Kirk Cousins in Washington. Every time you will hear the starter cannot lose their place due to injury argument of course every time the counter argument is Bill Belichick when Drew Bledsoe went down and a young unheard of Tom Brady came in. When both were fit, Bill kept with Brady against conventional wisdom, and the rest as they say is history.
After two games nobody is saying that Drew Stanton is the new Tom Brady but the Cardinals have begun to find their feet on offense and Drew Stanton to John Brown is a combination that San Francisco fans in particular are already sick of. Malcolm Floyd has also had a productive couple of weeks with Stanton throwing the passes and even the legend that is Larry Fitzgerald has been targeted a few times, I am sure much to his father’s pleasure.
Bruce Arians coaching skills are the real reason of course that this has even become a question that is out there, but it seems the time may soon be here for the decision to be made, who will be the starting QB of the Arizona Cardinals.
Certainly Drew Stanton has done nothing wrong, but neither had Carson Palmer before the injury, and Palmer is now reporting that he is feeling much better and is presumably throwing again. So what will happen, I have a feeling people will come down on either side of this. For what it is worth, my belief is that Palmer will return if fit as there are some tough games ahead and I think the coaching staff will trust the experienced hand, but the slightest sign of a problem and Bruce will not hesitate to put Stanton in.
I also believe that Stanton may have just changed future draft strategy of the team, many people felt Arizona were nailed on for a QB next year but with Stanton and the young rookie on the books the Cardinals may be set for a while, maybe Stanton gets himself a Josh McCown type deal to go and play somewhere else next year, I am unsure just yet, but if I see number 5 coming out to play for the Cardinals I for one will not be as uncertain as I was in New Jersey for the Giants matchup.