Loss of Drew Stanton Could Be Final Straw for Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl Hopes
https://woozybook.blogspot.com/2014/12/loss-of-drew-stanton-could-be-final.html
When you were growing up, your parents would always tell you the following: "Do you want the good news first, or do you want the bad news?"
Depending on your outlook on life as a young buck, you would choose your answer very carefully.
In the case of the Arizona Cardinals, let's go with the good news first. The good news is, barring something outlandish, the Cardinals are headed to the playoffs after a churning out a hard-fought 12-6 victory against the St. Louis Rams.
NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano explained the only scenario that would delay the process:
So, what's the bad news? Well, the bad news is that the team's first trip to the postseason under second-year head coach Bruce Arians comes on the heels of yet another potential catastrophic injury.
Quarterback Drew Stanton, the man who replaced Carson Palmer after he tore his ACL in Week 10, was carted off the field in third quarter of Thursday Night Football's broadcast live from St. Louis, Missouri.
Unfortunately, according to Mike Jurecki of Fox Sports 910 in Arizona, the news doesn't look good:
The injury occurred after he was hunted down by Rams rookie defensive tackle Aaron Donald. Trying to avoid pressure, Stanton scrambled looking for running room before he was awkwardly dragged down to the turf.
Arizona's official Twitter account shared the somber news that no Cardinals fan wanted to hear:
Stanton lay on the ground for what felt like an eternity before he got up and hobbled off the field. Without the ability to put any weight on his knee, he eventually slid his way onto the cart and was whisked off into the locker room.
You have to feel for the Cardinals at this point. They're a talented, well-coached team that has been hammered by the injury bug since training camp. The list of players who have missed time is deep like an Ernest Hemingway novel.
| Name | Injury | Occured | Length of Injury |
| Darnell Dockett | Torn ACL | Training Camp | Season-Ending |
| John Abraham | Concussion | Week 1 | Season-Ending |
| Carson Palmer | Torn ACL | Week 10 | Season-Ending |
| Troy Niklas | High Ankle Sprain | Week 11 | Season-Ending |
| Tyrann Mathieu | Thumb Injury | Week 13 | Undetermined |
| Andre Eillington | Hernia | Week 14 | Season-Ending |
| Drew Stanton | Knee | Week 15 | Undetermined |
Looking at that chart of major injuries, you have to think to yourself, "how in the world is this team 11-3?" For starters, the Cardinals have a productive defense.
Under the tutelage of defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, the Cardinals have played the run well, surrendering just 92.1 yards per game. They've also mixed in pressure take take rival offenses out of their comfort zone.
Against the Rams, that formula worked to perfection, as they were able to hold their division rivals to a feeble 280 yards of total offense.
Having a defense that can play at that level is great. It really is. But even with Bowles running the show, the Cardinals' Super Bowl hopes are fading fast.
Rick Scuteri/Associated Press
It's been one blow after another for the Arizona Cardinals.
To begin with, Stanton isn't nearly as good of a quarterback as Palmer was. In the eight starts he made under center, Stanton's numbers look like this: 1,602 yards passing, seven touchdowns and five interceptions to go along with a 54.5 completion percentage.
On the other hand, Palmer threw for 1,626 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions, completing 62.9 percent of his tosses in his six games as the starter.
Coach Arians may have told Peter King of The MMQB that his team "can win the Super Bowl with Drew Stanton." But there's a reason the front office gave Palmer a three-year extension worth $50 million before he tore his knee up.
That being said, the worry is if Stanton is forced to miss a lot of time, the Cardinals will have to hand the keys of their offense over to either a former sixth-round pick named Ryan Lindley, or a rookie quarterback who's learning how to play the position in Logan Thomas.
Thursday night in St. Louis we saw what life will be like with Lindley as the guy.
The moment he entered the game, he looked off. Besides a designed quick slant pattern to wide receiver John Brown on a 3rd-and-7 play early in the fourth quarter, Lindley couldn't hit water if he fell face first out of a boat.
You know things are really bad when you overshoot your tight end Darren Fells—who happens to be 6'7"—twice.
Jeff Roberson/Associated Press
Any chance the Cardinals have at making a playoff run ends with Ryan Lindley.
On the 10 tries hurling the pigskin, Lindley completed four of those for 30 yards.
What makes things so much worse is that all of the throws he attempted were designed to be easy. When Stanton departed, the offense immediately leaned on the rushing attack, which was done to chew clock and give Lindley clean throwing lanes.
Obviously, that strategy didn't work.
Giving Cardinals fans a real Wes Craven-like vibe, the sample size on Lindley isn't as small as one would think a third-string quarterback's would be. Back in 2012, he actually started four games for the Cardinals, and in that timespan, he threw zero touchdowns.
Seriously, zero TDs.
Bleacher Report's Ian Kenyon shared exactly how bad his numbers have been:
So if its not Lindley, where does Arians turn next, assuming Stanton is sidelined for an extended period of time? The next man up would be Thomas.
Thomas is a 6'6", dual-threat rookie who played his college ball at Virginia Tech. On paper that sounds really enticing. You'd like to think he could add another dimension to this offense. But in reality, that's not the case.
The tape we saw coming out of college wasn't very good. Thomas' mechanics were desolate, his accuracy was way off and he seemed more like a project than a quarterback.
Jeff Roberson/Associated Press
Bruce Arians has done a remarkable job this season despite all of the injuries.
With Arians teaching him, he could very well become a nice long-term solution. That doesn't mean you want him leading an 11-3 team into the playoffs as a rookie.
In his one regular-season appearance against the Denver Broncos, Thomas completed one of his eight passing attempts for 81 yards and a touchdown—a miraculous wheel route to halfback Andre Ellington.
Look, the pickings are slim right now for the Cardinals, but at least they have Arians. He's hands down the favorite to win Coach of the Year. If anyone can find a diamond in this pile of rubble, it's him.
Let's hope for this franchise that Stanton is able to bounce back and bounce back quickly. Because whether you root for the Cardinals or not, no playoff team deserves to see its Super Bowl hopes dashed at the end of Week 15.
