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| Stanton now the AZ starting QB. Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports |
Though Carson Palmer was lost yesterday for the rest of the season, don't tell head coach Bruce Arians that their season is done now.
By: Michael Hanley
Drew Stanton came in and went 3/5 for 85 yards and a touchdown to help the Cardinals win 31-14 over the Rams yesterday afternoon. It showcased what he was able to do earlier in the season for this team, come in, engineer the offense and make big plays to help the team win.
Their is a familiarity between Stanton and the first team offense, so their is no concern of having them gel together and work on timing etc. That is why Bruce Arians has full confidence in him leading this team the rest of the way.
Today, Arians actually went a step further in that confidence of Stanton with this comment:
"We can win a Super Bowl with Drew Stanton" Arians told Peter King of MMQB.com
"There is no doubt in my mind"
That is quite a string statement for a head coach to make on a backup quarterback's ability and ceiling of how far he can lead a team but no one knows quarterbacks like Arians does. Stanton is familiar with how Arian's offense works, the calls, signals and language that is involved with it. His football IQ cannot be underrated as seen in this comment about a play he picked up on:
“All week at practice, Carson loved this deep throw to John Brown,” Stanton told King. “We had it in the game plan, and at halftime we said, ‘We want to take our shot with this play. It's going to be there.'”
And what do you know, that exact play was there for him to make and he did just that as he made a beautiful to John Brown for a 48 yard touchdown and give Arizona it would not give back for the rest of the game. It is that type of acumen and attention to detail that can be the difference between winning & losing a close game.Having that already built into his mindset is a huge asset for not only himself but for the team moving forward.
It also does not limit what Bruce Arians can call from his play call sheet, he can still can call a regular game as if Palmer was in there. Stanton has gotten enough first team reps to be comfortable with the various plays that Arians has in his playbook and execute them at a high level.
He has had success in games within this offense, leading the team to two wins in the three games he has started this season. The wide receivers and other members of the offense have had nothing but positive remarks about Stanton and his command of the offense and how to execute it come game time.
Though their stands to be rough patches for both Stanton and this offensive unit moving forward, more likely than not they will find a way to adjust and make the plays needed in order to generate consistent scoring drives and put the team in a position to win more games.
