Arizona Cardinals Ryan Lindley Looked The Part Of An NFL QB
By Earl Burnett
Arizona Cardinals third string quarterback Ryan Lindley played Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers like it was his last.
In fact, it could have been exactly that had he not looked so good, now the NFL has seen him look at least like a back-up quarterback that some team can use.
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Lindley finished with some impressive numbers for someone his caliber and past struggles, finishing 23 out of 39 for 316 yards and 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
The three pics may standout to most and blemish the performance a bit, but if you have watched Lindley play since 2012 you would appreciate why the buzz from Cardinals nation.
This back-up did not look like a third string quarterback in that game, he looked more the part of a second string. According to Head Coach Bruce Arians “He is a very confident individual, and that’s what I like the most about him” and he looked exactly that.
Lindley himself even added. “I felt the most comfortable I ever have in the NFL”. The throws in this game were very accurate and had zip on them. Even two of the three pics were not so much bone headed as one would think.
The in route to John Brown could easily have been a miscommunication and the last one was trying to force one in a dire situation. For the most part he looked the part of an NFL quarterback. The Cardinals offense has not moved for 300 yards in a long while, even with Drew Stanton at the helm.
Quarterbacks have interception issues learning Bruce Arians system, and until they get really comfortable, that’s something the coaches just live with good or bad, just ask Carson Palmer when he had to learn it last year, as a veteran.
After a loss to the 49ers 20-17, hats off to Ryan Lindley for giving himself an opportunity to continue his NFL career, and give the Cardinals some hope going into next weeks wild-card playoff game verses the Panthers.