All-Access with Bruce Arians: Gabbert seen as ‘starter-in-waiting’

TEMPE, Ariz. – Head coach Bruce Arians, now in his fifth year with the Arizona Cardinals, meets the media several times leading up to gameday.

Here, in this space, with help from the Cardinals’ media relations staff, we’ll highlight many of the key topics and personnel conversations he has with reporters following practice.

Opening statement:

“Alright, the only person out for the game is Corey Peters. He’ll travel with us, but he will not play.

“Blaine (Gabbert) will start at quarterback. Drew (Stanton) has made really good progress, so it’ll probably be a gametime decision whether he’s the backup. See him run around a little bit more, but he’s made progress. If not, Matt (Barkley) will be the backup and we’ll still just dress two quarterbacks.

“I thought it was a really good week of practice. Everything has been extremely positive.”

Did your comfort level with Gabbert grow at all this week?

“It’s been there. I’ve always kind of seen him as a starter-in-waiting.”

Has he gone over with you the certain plays that he likes to run?

“Oh yeah, we’ll have that meeting here shortly and then another one Saturday night, like we always do.”

Where have you seen his biggest growth since his addition to the team?

“Just his understanding of what we do and how we do it. You have to lean the protection schemes, to know your hots and sights, that’s the hardest thing for all quarterbacks is to find those things, especially when teams get exotic blitzing wise. Once you’re comfortable with that and you know your system, you can pretty much just go back and play.”

He’ll obviously want to make a good impression so do you have to remind him to stay within in himself and not do too much?

“No. This isn’t a rookie guy. It’s a big opportunity for him, but he’s been around the block a few times.”

How is his deep ball compared to Stanton and Carson Palmer?

“I don’t know if there’s anybody that compares to Carson that I’ve ever seen. But, Drew and he both throw a flatter, harder deep ball. They can work on it. Blaine has long range but, again, accuracy long is a different thing.”

Do you want him to stay in the pocket more?

“No. You can’t take that away from a guy if that’s his natural instincts. Just hold on to the damn ball because he scrambled around in that one preseason game and dropped it. Just learn from that. If the play’s dead, throw it away.”

Can you do more planned-movements with him?

“Probably not any more than we do with Drew but maybe a little bit more with Carson.”

How did the receivers look in practice after the number of drops last week?

“Again, practice, they look fine. It’s still, when those lights turn on—it’s going to be a big week for them.”

Regarding the Larry Fitzgerald contract extension, did that seem to give the team a boost?

“I don’t think anybody needed one but everybody is happy for him, and hopefully he comes back and catches 100 more.”

Has he told you he’s coming back next season?

“Well, he just signed a deal. I just said, ‘Congrats’ and that was about it.”

What does it mean to have a player like that remain with the team?

“He’s been the face of this organization for so long and what he’s done off the field and on the field. You’d hate to see those type of guys retire.”

How does that impact you and your future?    

“Really, that’s totally different. They’re separate entities.”

Doesn’t hurt, though, does it?

“No.”

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