Arizona Cardinals’ Drew Stanton shines in first game action since 2010
Sep 16, 2014, 1:00 AM | Updated: 1:16 am
It’s been so long since he had played in an NFL game, one might have begun to think Arizona Cardinals quarterback Drew Stanton’s name was actually ‘Drew Stanton, who hasn’t taken a snap since 2010.’
That unwieldy moniker no longer fits Stanton, who started in place of the injured Carson Palmer and helped the Cardinals to a 25-14 win over the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.
Stanton, a guest of Bickley and Marotta Monday on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, says he’s glad he’s no longer attached to that streak.
“I guess so,” he said. “It was something I wasn’t really worried about. I’ve been doing everything and being prepared every single week, trying to get ready for opportunities as they come.
“Whether it’s one snap or an entire game, I want to be prepared.”
Prepared he was. Stanton completed 14-of-29 passes for 167 yards in the win. The most important number in Stanton’s stat line, however, was the ‘0’ in the turnovers column.
“Obviously, the numbers look bad. But I’ve got bad career numbers, so I’m not really worried about any of that,” Stanton said with a laugh. “The biggest thing I was focused on was zero turnovers and being smart with the football and being decisive with my reads and trusting my eyes, and I feel like I did that.”
Head coach Bruce Arians has raved about Stanton since they signed him prior to the 2013 season. In fact, Stanton was pegged to be the starter until general manager Steve Keim pulled off a trade to acquire Palmer from the Oakland Raiders. The belief that Stanton could do the job was ever-present in the coaching staff, but his ability was still an unknown to Cardinals fans…until Sunday.
“It’s a huge confidence boost to myself to be able to go out there and do that and show the fans,” he said. “We’ve got some very loyal fans here. I got here after a rough season two years ago for them, and they’ve stuck by us.
“To be able to show this fan base here a little bit of what I can do, because nobody really knows me from Adam, like we’ve talked about and everybody that I talk to says I haven’t played since 2010. So now (I’ve given them) just a little sample of who I am, and they type of person that I am and what I try to do to help this team win.”
