Raising Zona
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Arizona Cardinals: Backup quarterback competition is over

By Jon West

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 01: Quarterback Drew Stanton #5 of the Arizona Cardinals throws a pass in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on January 1, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 01: Quarterback Drew Stanton #5 of the Arizona Cardinals throws a pass in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on January 1, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) /
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Drew Stanton will be the backup quarterback, but the Arizona Cardinals hope they won’t need him

Yesterday Bruce Arians announced that Drew Stanton will be Carson  Palmer’s backup quarterback for the upcoming season.

This should not be a surprise as Drew Stanton has been Palmer’s backup for the previous three seasons. The coaching staff appears to be comfortable having Stanton in the backup role.

However, the competition he was going up against was not very steep. Blaine Gabbert was Stanton’s primary competition.

Yes, this is the same Blaine Gabbert who flamed out with the Jacksonville Jaguars and San Francisco 49ers. It’s the same guy who owns a 56 percent completion percentage and a win/loss record of 9-31.

Remember the 2014 season, when Carson Palmer tore his ACL ? Drew Stanton started eight games for the Cardinal’s, and the team went 5-3. Doesn’t sound too bad so far, right? Let’s dig a little deeper and see what the stats say.

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Stanton completed a putrid 55 percent of his passes, and threw only seven touchdowns compared to five interceptions.  If that isn’t bad enough, he went one and done in the Playoffs that season.

That Cardinal’s team was extremely rich with offensive and defensive talent that year. With the awful stats Stanton produced during that season’s games, it is clear the team carried Stanton, and that is the only reason the Cardinals won those five games.

Also, keep in mind that is basically the same team Carson Palmer led to a 13-3 record, and guided his team to the NFC Championship game the very next season.

With only three weeks till the start of the regular season, there is not much that can be done to help this situation.

This should have been taken care of after the 2014 season, when it was clear Stanton is not an adequate passer in this system.  Now all that can be done is hope Carson Palmer does not go down with an injury.

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