Cardinals Need to See Quick Improvement from Developing Logan Thomas: It seems appropriate that the Arizona Cardinals will be starting a raw, developing rookie quarterback in their season finale. There’s really no other suitable way for the 2014 Cardinals to play a critical season-ending game, with an NFC West title and home-field advantage still a possibility. It’s all fitting and poetic, and if the Cardinals can beat the San Francisco 49ers (or really, any NFL opponent) with Logan Thomas at quarterback, we need to give head coach Bruce Arians more than just one statue. He’ll need a separate statute just for his kangol too. Arians announced Monday that Thomas will replace Ryan Lindley and start in Week 17. Lindley was awful during a 35-6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, a beatdown that removed control of the division (and the conference) from Arizona’s hands. But a third-string quarterback being lost and drowning in his own incompetence wasn’t exactly a shocking development against the Seahawks’ buzz saw defense. Throwing and generally existing doesn’t get much easier for any Cardinals quarterback against the 49ers, and their also high-quality defense despite piling injuries. So with Drew Stanton still out, Arians was left with one of the worst choices a playoff-bound head coach has ever faced at quarterback: stick with what you know, or go with what you don’t know at all. Put another way: keep rolling with Lindley and his zero touchdown passes over 225 career attempts (a league record), or switch to a rookie who could either boom or bust—and do either fast. He didnt choose a path thats less traveled. He chose one thats almost never been traveled. Why? Mostly because in a decision between two wildly inaccurate passers, Thomas offers something Lindley doesn’t have. We have to look back on Thomas’ collegiate career to see exactly what he is and what he isn’t, because his professional career has consisted of only 17 snaps and nine regular-season pass attempts. When we do that, the difference between what Thomas offers and what Lindley doesn’t smacks you pretty hard in the face. Thomas is a uniquely gifted athlete because of not only the body he was given (6’6”, 250 lbs), but more importantly how fast he can make that body move even with all the pounds he’s carrying around. At the 2014 scouting combine, Thomas ran the 40-yard dash in 4.61 seconds, the best time among quarterbacks. He also posted position-best results in the vertical jump (35.5 inches) and broad jump (910). He’s not at all even a little bit normal, and the table above shows only his most recent full season of running at any level. His single-season high at Virginia Tech came in 2012 when Thomas rushed for 524 yards and nine touchdowns. Thomas’ speed and record-setting arm strength (he became the first quarterback to hit 60 mph with his football fastball at the combine) offer a far greater opportunity to connect on a home run play. We saw that when he zipped a ball into a tight hole against the Broncos, and running back Andre Ellington did the rest for an 81-yard touchdown. As Chris Simms noted shortly after the draft, if he’s groomed properly by Arians—a known quarterback whisperer—Thomas has the natural tools to be a successful future starter. But the future isn’t now, because that’s not how the future works. Unfortunately, time and patience are luxuries the Cardinals dont have. They’re forced to move forward with a quarterback who may have speed with both his legs and arm, but he severely lacks accuracy, pocket awareness and fundamental decision-making skills. Thomas completed only 55.6 percent of his passes in college, and over his final two seasons at Virginia Tech his touchdown-to-interception ratio left much to be desired (34 touchdowns, 29 interceptions). He’s simply not ready to be a professional quarterback yet, and even Arians admitted to a lack of confidence by inserting Lindley when Stanton first injured his knee in Week 15. Remember that quote if Thomas is yanked early Sunday or if he doesn’t make it onto the field at all. During a radio interview on Arizona Sports 98.7, Arians doubled down on his only lukewarm confidence in the fourth quarterback he’s had to use this season, saying he’ll have a quick hook with Thomas (via ESPN). There’s also a chance that ax could fall during practice this week if Arians isn’t satisfied with Thomas’ progress. Let’s try to look past Week 5 when Thomas was thrown into a fiery quarterback hell during the middle of a game, and Broncos pass-rushers DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller were teeing off. To do that through game film and the limited supply of it Thomas has provided, we have to go back to the preseason. That’s when he was throwing against many defenders who would soon find homes on practice squads. And that mattered little, as he was still wildly wayward. Thomas started (and finished) the Cardinals’ preseason finale against the San Diego Chargers. It was an experiment and a way for Arians to gauge just how much time his quarterback project needed. Thomas responded by completing only nine of is 21 pass attempts (42.9 percent) for 73 yards and an interception. What’s odd and/or frightening is that of Thomas’ total yardage in that game, 38 yards came on the first drive. A fine start, but it also meant he passed for only 35 yards on the Cardinals’ other 11 drives (not so fine). He was sacked three times, which was expected from a rookie adjusting to the speed of the game at the next level. Thomas sack total itself wasn’t alarming, and instead the way he went about losing massive chunks of yards makes you cringe and dive for cover. He lost a total of 32 yards on those three sacks and was taken down 12 yards behind the line of scrimmage twice. For perspective, the 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick is currently the leagues most sacked quarterback, and he’s losing an average of 6.5 yards per sack. The core problem for Thomas even against preseason nobodies was the same one we saw in Week 5 when he was sacked twice on only 10 dropbacks. He has little feel for the speed of edge-rushers and therefore no sense for when to step up into a clean pocket. He had a chance to do that and avoid disaster on the Chargers first sack. Instead of stepping up into a pocket that would have at least momentarily offered safe space to make a play, Thomas kept drifting back for three more yards while keeping his eyes glued down field. By the time he finally planted, he had dropped 10 yards into the backfield. At that depth, his left tackle had no chance whatsoever to maintain an angle and ride the defensive end wide. Thomas avoided the first pass-rusher, but by then the damage had been done and he was gobbled up by defensive tackle Chas Alecxih. Later in the second quarter, the result of Thomas’ pocket blindness was even worse. He lost 12 yards again, and he lost the ball too. In fairness, he was victimized by horrible protection and linemen who did a nice job of imitating air. But that’s going to happen with the second-team offensive line, and we see again that Thomas completely missed a wide slice of safe harbor as he continued to drop back. At the very worst he had a chance to step up, minimize the yards lost and protect the ball while taking a sack. But too often with Thomas in his brief opportunities the worst-case scenario has been the outcome. He still hasnt acquired pocket awareness and the always-coveted quarterback mental alarm. For quarterbacks who experience immediate success, those skills come naturally, and they just need to be refined at the next level. But for Thomas, his natural skills are all based on athleticism. That’s what he is right now still: an athlete, not a quarterback. The hope is Thomas may start to resemble a quarterback after a full week of practice. Without borderline miraculous improvement it’s difficult to see him doing enough to give his team an opportunity to win. A loss to the 49ers means Arizona’s first-round playoff fate will be sealed, and after losing only one game at home all season they’ll travel during Wild Card Weekend. The Cardinals desperately need a quarterback. But for now, they may have to get by with an athlete. Read more NFL news on BleacherReport #Football #NFL #NFCWest #ArizonaCardinals
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 23:44:23 +0000
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