Conventional wisdom with the Arizona Cardinals and the NFL Draft

Some things in life are so simple you hardly need to think about them.
Instinct takes over.

When you’re tired, you sleep. Thirsty, you drink. When you’re driving cross
country and need something mellow to listen to, you pick Springsteen’s
Tunnel of Love. When you’re hung-over, you eat In-N-Out Burger. Want to
turn off your brain for a little bit, you watch Jersey Shore.

After the season the Arizona Cardinals just had, if a quarterback is
available
in the draft….you take the quarterback and ask no questions.

That – all together now – is CONVENTIONAL WISDOM. It’s logical, rational
and
absolutely the common sense thing to do.

So why am I not buying it?

I’ve seen the latest mock drafts and both ESPN guru’s believe it
will
be Blaine Gabbert, the QB out of Missouri. It goes as follows: The
Cardinals need a quarterback. Von Miller’s stock is rising and he may not
be
there. Cam Newton is probably going number one to Carolina. If Gabbert is
there at #5 we’ve been told they’ll “spri
nt” to the podium to get him.

Conventional Wisdom. Take that big empty space and fill it up. Problem
solved.

But I don’t see it that way.

I think the Cardinals are in “now” mode and will take a “now” player.
Gabbert is a “later” player. A down-the-road player. Not only that, but I
don’t get the sense that anyone is absolutely convinced Gabbert is a bona
fide, put-it-down-in-ink future superstar at the position.

Ask yourself what the bigger gamble is. Taking a quarterback at number
five that you’re not completely sold on (if that’s indeed the case)? Or
counting on getting a “now” quarterback when the league is officially open
for business?

As an amateur degenerate gambler, I choose the second option.

In an effort to avoid painting myself as some dissenting voice living on an
island somewhere, I’m hardly the only one to think this way. Maybe this is
too much of a generalization but it seems that most of the national media
types are saying Gabbert while the local media is leaning more toward Ken
Whisenhunt and the crew going a different direction.

Are the local types too close to the situation to see the obvious or are the
national types too far away to know what’s really going on here?

Or maybe – and I refuse to rule this out – maybe the Cardinals are more
macro than I’m giving them credit for. Maybe they’re willing to take their
lumps another season while a rookie QB figures out how to play in this
league, all while the best receiver in the NFL contemplates his future.

But I doubt it.

Follow @Tyler_Bassett