Ryan Lindley: ‘Worst case scenario, I’ll be ready to go’
Oct 18, 2012, 7:01 PM | Updated: 7:02 pm
John Skelton won a long and much publicized competition to become the Arizona Cardinals’ starting quarterback, only to go down with a sprained ankle and lose his job to backup Kevin Kolb in the season opener.
Five games and an injury to Kolb’s rib later, Skelton has been given the reins to the offense again.
But what about the quarterback that wasn’t even in the running for the starting position? Ryan Lindley, the Cardinals third quarterback, has bounced back and forth between the third and second spot in the depth chart all season.
“Ryan’s kind of the one in between everything here. He’s kind of in limbo all the time,” said Skelton. “But we’ll make the most of it and Ryan will be ready if need be.”
Lindley, a sixth round draft pick out of San Diego State, already served as the Cardinals backup when Skelton was sidelined for four games with his ankle injury.
“I’ve been there the first couple weeks with John being out when I was backing up Kevin,” said Lindley. “You’ve just got to be ready. You’ve got to prepare all week like you’re going to play and prepare for the worst case scenario. I think John is going to do a great job and he’s going to go out and play well. But, worst case scenario, I’ll be ready to go.”
When asked if he was ready to face a starting NFL defense if Skelton went down again, Lindley said his only focus was being able to get the job done if they needed him.
“There are people coming at you quicker, coming at you harder. At the quarterback position you can’t worry about that a whole lot. Your job is to get the ball out and move the chains. That’s the number one thing that you have to worry about.”
Lindley went on to credit Kolb for helping with his preparation for the different schemes and fast style of play NFL defenses will bring.
“I attribute that a lot to Kevin because he’s kind of taken me under his wing and shown me how he does things and how he looks at things from Monday to Sunday,” said Lindley. “It’s helped me grow and understand the game better.”
