The Cardinals haven’t announced who will be playing quarterback for them this weekend, but none of the options qualify as the kind of talent that has been missing from the team since Kurt Warner decided to retire.
While the entire Cardinals offense has struggled as a result of the revolving door of mediocre quarterback play, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald’s perceived missed opportunities have been discussed more than any of the other members of the team. One of the best wide receivers in the league has not been able to enjoy the benefits of working with a quarterback in the same class over the last three seasons.
Fitzgerald’s never made a stink about the play of the quarterbacks over the last three years, though, and he doesn’t seem to be on the verge of doing so. When asked about the play of quarterbacks John Skelton and Ryan Lindley in the 23-19 loss to the Falcons last weekend, Fitzgerald chose to talk about himself.
“I’m far from flawless. I make my mistakes week in and week out. I have to make sure I am doing everything I can to be the player I know that I am capable of being and [Sunday] wasn’t my best performance. I had the opportunity on 4th and 2 to make the play that I had made before in the past and I didn’t make it,” Fitzgerald said in an interview with Dial Global Network, via SportsRadioInterviews.com. “That wasn’t the youngster’s fault. That was my fault. I take responsibility for that, but as a leader and as a captain I have to always go out there with an optimistic mindset when we can go out there and accomplish our goals and that’s making the playoffs and I am not going to stray from that.”
It’s a classy response, but it goes without saying that Fitzgerald is way down at the bottom of the list of problems with the 2012 Cardinals. The fourth down play Fitzgerald refers to came late in the fourth quarter and was a catch that Fitzgerald certainly could have made. It was also one of dozens of chances the Cardinals got to grab a victory because Matt Ryan was completing more passes to the Cardinals than either Skelton or Lindley. They didn’t take advantage of enough of them and the quarterbacks were the major reason they fell short.