Mike LaFleur doubles down on Jacoby Brissett as Cardinals’ starting QB

TEMPE — Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur said it Sunday after the franchise’s loss to the Denver Broncos. He said again on Monday.

Despite calls for a change, veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett remains the Cardinals’ starter as the team stares at a 2-5 record and looks to right the ship against the Dallas Cowboys.

 

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“He’s still the starter. … It’s collective,” LaFleur said “If the ball was just stagnant for 60 minutes and you couldn’t even cross the 50-yard line, it’d be one thing. But we’ve been down inside the 10-yard line 10 times over the last two games. The ball is moving, but we got to finish jobs. And again, that starts with me, but that’s a collective effort.

“The players got to go execute and I got to put them in better positions and give them the clarity to go do so. And then when they do have that clarity, they got to make the place. We know that. We’re not going to shy away from that. We got to finish the job when we’re down there and I don’t even think we’re having these conversations right now.”

LaFleur isn’t wrong when it comes to Arizona moving the football. The offense has logged 14 12-play drives through seven weeks. It is a top five unit when it comes to red-zone trips this year.

The only problem? The Cardinals’ 43% success rate (12-for-28) where it matters most.

Brissett rekindling his connection with wide receiver Michael Wilson, who hasn’t produced nearly as the same rate as he did when Marvin Harrison Jr. was still on the team, can certainly help move the needle.

The same goes for getting more out of a run game that could see Jeremiyah Love back in the mix this week and an offensive line that has been battered by injuries. And as LaFleur said, it’s on him to properly scheme up his offense to succeed.

But while there are multiple factors at play outside of Brissett, it’s not going to stop the chatter for change from growing.

The clock continues to tick on rookie Carson Beck’s expected NFL debut. Just how much tape are the Cardinals going to have on the signal caller before the offseason takes hold and decisions need to be made?

And what about Gardner Minshew II? Will his Cardinals tenure be nothing more than a backup role or will he get a chance to run the offense?

We might not be that far off from those questions getting answered, especially if the losses continue to pile up.

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