The Quarterback Conundrum

When you look back, it’s not unfair to say that the Cardinals’ 2017 season was over when star running back David Johnson went down in game one. Johnson has the ability to paper over the cracks in an offence. To turn a check down into a huge play and to make a lacklustre offensive line look like they were King Canute holding back the tide. The offence never really recovered. Any remnants of a Super Bowl window then slammed shut when Carson Palmer was also sidelined.

After venerable head coach Bruce Arians announced his retirement, Palmer followed suit with Drew Stanton and Blaine Gabbert leaving as free agents. And so the Arizona Cardinals skipped into free agency like Dick Whittington down to London. Tired and hungry but with a passing pocket full of dreams.

There were some big names available too. Redskins’ starter Kirk Cousins and unlikely breakout Case Keenum were the two hot names for most fans. Perhaps a trade was on the cards for Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles? GM Steve Keim needed to act fast. Sitting at 15th in the draft meant the consensus top QBs were out of his reach and he was never going to give up the draft capital required to move up into the top 5 picks. So what’s a GM to do? With Cousins heading to Minnesota and Keenum taking off to Denver, the Cardinals signed part-time QB and part-time medical dummy Sam Bradford to a 1 year, $20 million contract.

If any fans were starting to question Keim’s judgement, they were silenced in spectacular fashion during the first round of the 2018 draft. Somehow, due to collective insanity within the NFL, Josh Rosen had fallen out of the top 5 picks. Widely seen as the most NFL-ready of the QB draft class, Rosen had been touted as a possible 1st overall pick for the Cleveland Browns. Yet he was passed over again and again. Trading up to take the Oakland Raiders’ 10th pick, Keim took the Rosen One and sparked an immediate debate down in the desert over who should start under centre and revitalise the Red Sea.

Passing

‘You only had one job’, well maybe that’s not strictly true. But you simply cannot judge a QB without first looking at their ability to sling a Duke. And Sam Bradford can sling it. In 80 games, Bradford has 101 touchdowns and a little over 19,000 yards. He holds records for single-season completion percentages at the Eagles (65%, 2015) and the Vikings (71.6%, 2016). In week one of 2017, his last full game, he completed 27 of 32 attempts for 346 yards and 3 touchdowns. His knee injury got the better of him but that is what Bradford offers when he’s healthy. He has plenty of critics who’ll point out a high interception ratio or a relatively low career passer rating and they’re both valid points. But when you look at his career breakdown, he’s consistently improved as teams have upgraded their offensive options. He put up career numbers behind the Vikings’ monstrous offensive line and excellent receiving corps.

Bradford has almost been wrapped in cotton wool during training camps so far, so it’s difficult to assess how he’ll perform with a weaker offensive line. But he has a fearsome set of weapons in Larry Fitzgerald, rookie slot receiver Christian Kirk, promising tight end Ricky Seals-Jones and a returning David Johnson.

Rosen has looked technically solid in OTAs, showing a level of mobility that took many by surprise. There’s a reason he was seen as the most polished quarterback prospect. With 9,339 yards he sits 3rd in UCLA’s history after winning the starting role during his freshman year. NFL schemes are far more complex than the collegiate level though, and that makes a direct comparison almost impossible. There is a tendency to not realise when a play is over, leading to reckless downfield throws similar to Jameis Winston and indeed Sam Bradford. That being said, he’s still learning his craft and expect OC Mike McCoy and new head coach Steve Wilks to quickly iron out such creases. Rosen has the raw talent and the skill set to reach the very top. It’s all about whether he lives up to his billing.

Health

Unfortunately, you can’t mention Sam Bradford without talking about injuries. His last full season was way back in 2012 with the then St. Louis Rams. Last year he only made one appearance after his electrifying opener, starting the week 5 game at Chicago before being replaced by Case Keenum. His knee injury is degenerative and no amount of wishful thinking will fix what years of surgery can’t. If there is to be any hope of Bradford playing 16 games this season, the offensive line will have to put in superhuman levels of effort after every single snap as Bradford doesn’t have the mobility to escape the pocket. In short, its not going to happen.

But Rosen isn’t exactly injury free, he required surgery on his throwing arm after a huge hit and has suffered from concussions. This became an issue for several analysts in the build up to the scouting combine but in my humble opinion, it’s hugely overblown.

Injuries are a problem when they are chronic, degenerative or reoccur. Since surgery, Rosen’s shoulder seems fine. There’s certainly no Andrew Luck level of mystery. Rosen simply suffered behind a poor offensive line. If the Cards can protect him, there should be no reason to worry.

Mentality

Enter the ‘intangibles’. The make-or-break factors that set apart draft busts from Canton busts.

Sam Bradford seems every inch the quiet professional. He’s shown extraordinary resilience in his never-ending battle against his own body. He’s almost certainly chosen his love of football over his long term health as he could have walked away with a sack full of cash years ago. He’s clearly backing himself and coming into the 2018 season he’ll be aware of two things. Firstly, he’s been here before. In 2016 he was traded to the Vikings following the Eagles’ acquisition of rookie passer Carson Wentz. Secondly, there may not be a next team. Bradford should be raring to go and live up to the potential that has sadly eluded him. And that is an exciting prospect.

Josh Rosen could not be more different. Brash and outspoken, his personality is the reason he fell down the board to #10. Questions were asked about his love of the game, his background, his focus and his toughness. He was subject to a level of scrutiny bordering on the obsessive. Of course teams will want to do their homework on a potential franchise player, but all of these questions were already answered. Josh Rosen doesn’t need to play football. He’s from a very privileged background so why would he put his body through college & professional football if not for a love of the game? His toughness? He sustained a concussion in an opening drive and tried to play through it. Extremely dangerous, yes, but tough nonetheless. Focus? He led a 34-point comeback victory against collegiate giants Texas A&M.

Arizona have struck gold by landing Rosen where they did. Picking up not only a very talented signal caller, but one who is angry. He took his draft day slide personally (which is good because it definitely was personal) and he has a Grand Canyon sized chip on his shoulder. He will be out to punish those who doubted him and I firmly believe he’ll do so in emphatic fashion.

However, Sam Bradford is the Cardinals’ starter. No, it’s not exciting. Not because he’s a bad player, but because we all know it’s a temporary solution, in a hard season, in a division in which Arizona cannot hope to compete this year. Maybe it’ll happen on the first snap, maybe it’ll happen in week 9, but the knee will go. It’ll be horrible to watch because at that point, Bradford may well be facing the end of an extremely unfortunate career. But when it happens the Red Sea will rise and the Rosen One will emerge to take his rightful place. I’m pretty sure that Dick Whittington lifted the Lombardi trophy in the end, right?