Now this one...........it hurts to write! But it is one of the larger storylines to come out of the draft and as much as I'd like to deny that there's a problem, I just can't. First though, let me give you a little context so you can understand my pain a little better.
Look, I'll admit it proudly; I am an Arizona Cardinals fanatic!! And before you even start thinking about the word "bandwagon" or any of that crap, let me make it clear that I have been a fan of this franchise since the sad days of outdoor September games in Sun Devil Stadium in the 100+ degree Phoenix sun. Yep, I was one of the few proud Cardinals fans sitting in the stands of a 75,000 capacity college stadium occupied by no more than 20,000 people, with 19,000 of them being Cowboys/49ers fans. Those days were rough and painful and nothing that myself or any other of the Cards faithful ever want to endure ever again. And for the most part, people would agree that the franchise has turned that corner. They hired a head coach who brought the mindset and philosophy of tough, disciplined, passionate football that the players have bought into completely. They went 3 straight years with out a losing season, back to back division titles and even mixed in a Conference Championship and Super Bowl appearance during that stretch as well. They now play in one of the premier facilities in the league and regularly sell out home games thanks to a re-energized and enthusiastic fan base. And most importantly, they have some great players in all-world WR Larry Fitzgerald, Pro Bowl DBs Adrian Wilson and Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, and they play in a division that is up for grabs every single season.
Then......Kurt Warner retired, and the franchise took a major nose dive in 2010 going 5-11 and finishing last in the division. After 2006 first round pick and supposed "heir apparent" Matt Leinart was cut during the preseason, the Cards started 4 different guys at QB, two include two rookies and a QB playing in the UFL by the name of Richard Bartel. Needless to say, it was a forgettable campaign, and the team has said many times that it feels they are just one or two players away from being back in the postseason. By the way, those 1 or 2 players, well they better be a starting QB and a solid #2 QB, because no one on the roster is going to be the guy. Sooooo, knowing all of this, understanding the entire dyanmic of this team, knowing that you need a quarterback that has a great arm, with the ability to push the ball down the field on the deep throws, with the football IQ to read and dissect coverages, with the accuracy to make every throw on the field, the Cards used one of their draft picks to select.....................................
NO ONE! They drafted zero QBs. Think about that.....a big fat f$*#ing goose egg!!! Now, I love the Patrick Peterson pick, best overall player in this year's draft class. No problem with that one at all. Likewise, I love the pick of Ryan Williams, a RB out of Virginia Tech. I got to see Williams play in person on multiple occasions and he has an amazing blend of power and speed coupled with great instincts. We have needed more production out of the RB position and its been apparent that Beanie and Hightower just aren't cutting it anymore. So no problem with that one either. But in the 3rd round, with Ryan Mallett still on the board, the Cards chose Robert Housler, a TE from Florida International or some place like that. I, along with the rest of the Cardinals faithful, was speechless (Well....that's not entirely true, but I won't write what I did say because I don't want to be that crude).
I know there were character issues with Mallett, but with his elite abilities a 3rd round pick is well worth the risk. I'm sorry, I just don't buy John Skelton as a starting QB in this league. I think he is a moderate talent at best and will be a career clipboard holder. The Cardinals passed on an amazing talent that they could have gotten for mere peanuts compared to what the Panthers, Titans, Vikings and Jags will have to pay their guys. The other thing to consider is that with a 3rd round pick there is much less pressure to start him as a rookie, opposed to say, Christian Ponder in Minnesota (#12 overall pick). But the Cards passed, and have opted to put all of their eggs in to the proverbial free agent basket whenever the lockout ends. With a number of veteran QBs set to hit free agency when the lockout is permanently lifted (Matt Hasselback, Donavan McNabb, Marc Bulger) as well as the ability to deal with teams in trade negotiations (ala Kevin Kolb), all of that is still very much in doubt. It's always better to have a veteran QB to guide your team, someone that is used to the speed of the game and has shown the ability to manage an NFL level offense. But let's be real, QBs that hit free agency are on the loose for a reason. It's not an absolute certainty that they can come in and play at the highest level. We got lucky with Kurt, but I have a hard time believing that lightning is going to strike twice for us like that. We don't know how free agency will be affected by these labor talks. We don't know what those guys have left in the tank either. But we did know that Mallet had every quality from a physical standpoint that you would want to see in a young QB and we passed on him.
I really hope I'm wrong on this one and the Whiz is right!
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