Should Andrew Luck be the choice IF the Cardinals get top pick?

With the Arizona Cardinals at 1-6 and losers
of six straight, you almost have to mention the
possibility that the team that could end up with the No. 1
overall pick come next April. Under the assumption Andrew
Luck puts his name in the draft, he’ll be the favorite to
be taken with that selection. Hell, he was last year
before the 2011 draft even started.

Tyler Bassett wants to go Lee Corso and say — not so
fast. Adam Green thinks the Cards should not turn
their
back such good, ummm, luck. Instead of disagreeing while
sitting in their (neighboring) cubicles they decided to
do it through email. Tyler’s up first.

Tyler

IF the Arizona Cardinals end up with the No. 1 pick next
April they should not take Andrew Luck with the pick if
they are going to keep Kevin Kolb on the roster. The team
invested way too much money in Kolb this past season to
give up on him after one year. Yes, if you draft Luck you
have given up on Kolb. A team can’t trade for a
“franchise” QB and give him $21 million guaranteed —
$63.5 overall, trade a good cornerback (DRC) and a second-
round pick and put him on the bench after one year. It’s
bad business and bad investing. You gave up — and gave
him — a whole lot and it’s the guy you are stuck with for
the foreseeable future. Andrew Luck should not be an
Arizona Cardinal no matter what. They have way too many
other holes to fill.

Adam

First, let me preface this by saying I don’t think the
Cards will land the top pick in the draft. They may suck,
but not enough to land Luck. However, if they were
selecting first overall it would mean one very simple
thing: Kevin Kolb stunk. That being the case, why would
you pass on the most sure-thing QB the league has seen
come out of college in decades just to get another year of
Kolb? At 27 the guy may not have much more room to
improve, and it’s fairly likely what you see now is what
you’ll get three years from now. Did the Cardinals give up
a lot to get Kolb? Absolutely. But don’t compound one
mistake by making another. Admit you were wrong and be
happy it only cost you a shaky corner, a high pick and a
signing bonus and not the franchise’s next decade of
football.

Tyler

I disagree that them getting the first pick means Kevin
Kolb stunk. It certainly doesn’t say he played well but
this team is a roster full of issues right now. I don’t
think the QB position is one of their biggest needs. I
like Luck, but with all rookies I won’t sit here and say
he’s a sure thing. Even saying the most-sure thing in
decades doesn’t sway me. I would much rather see a left
tackle that could protect and help Kolb’s mental state
when he drops back or a guy coming off the edge with the
speed of a safety and the reach of a power forward. After
watching seven games I think this team can succeed with
Kolb at QB (I don’t see another nine completely changing
my mind, not with all the other holes). I only think he’ll
continue to get better (injury may prevent that for a few
weeks). Give him this entire season, plus a full off-
season and a full season with that off-season to build off
of. With what the Cardinals did to make it happen this
past August plus their other holes, it makes the most
sense.

Adam

I’ll grant you the Cardinals have plenty of
issues, with some maybe even being worse than QB. However,
if there is one thing we’ve learned the last couple of
years it’s that a great quarterback can make up for a lot
of problems. Kurt Warner had the Cardinals in the playoffs
and without him they are the worst team in the NFC West.
The Colts are a perennial playoff team, take away Peyton
Manning and they may not win a game. An accurate QB who
can read a defense and get the ball out quickly will
neutralize a bad offensive line and a QB who can put
points on the board will help his defense look adequate.
The point is you cannot win without an elite QB unless you
have a dominant defense and running game, and the
Cardinals are quite a few pieces short of having either.
While there are no guarantees Andrew Luck will be great,
all signs (minus Phil Simms) point in that direction. Plug
him into this offense and watch the team magically become
good again.

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