ESPN’s Jaworski: Arizona Cardinals’ Drew Stanton has had too many ‘mechanical breakdowns’

Arizona Cardinals backup quarterback Drew Stanton filled in adequately when Carson Palmer missed three games early in the 2014 campaign.

But now that Palmer is out for good and Stanton once again has the keys to the offense, the fanbase may be getting a little restless, especially in light of the team’s first back-to-back losses of the season.

Even though Arizona’s defense shares a good portion of the blame for a 29-18 loss in Atlanta last Sunday, ESPN football analyst Ron Jaworski said he was never convinced the Cardinals could keep up their winning ways without their starting QB.

“We’ve known this all along: When Carson Palmer went down, this offense would become very pedestrian, and it has been since,” Jaworski said Thursday on Burns and Gambo on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. “Bruce (Arians) tried to sell everyone real hard that Drew Stanton could lead them to the Super Bowl. Well, it was a good sales job, but I told you three weeks ago I wasn’t buying it. This team was going to have to win other than the quarterback making plays. Yeah, (Stanton) made some plays, but not enough where this team is going to challenge to go deep in the playoffs.”

The 30-year-old Stanton threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns in his first full game since Palmer was placed on injured reserve, helping Arizona to a 14-6 home win over the Detroit Lions. However, the seven-year quarterback also threw two interceptions in the Nov. 16 win, and he tossed three picks over the next two games before recording a passing touchdown late in the fourth quarter against Atlanta.

On the season, Stanton has completed 55.3 percent of his passes for 1,363 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions. He’s already seen more action this year than in any other campaign.

Jaworski said he’s seen Stanton makes some fundamental missteps in the veteran’s latest round of starts for the Cardinals.

“I saw some mechanical breakdowns in the game (against Atlanta), which always bother me — when you feel pressure and start drifting back, when you’re not staying on your back leg and driving the football, when you’re not finishing your throws because you sense defensive linemen around you,” said the analyst, who played quarterback for four teams over 15 NFL seasons. “Those are the little things that bother me about quarterbacks. The one thing you have to do is be tough. You’ve got to hang in the pocket; you’re going to get hit if you complete it or not, and you’d better make sure you complete it.

“But you can’t have mechanical breakdowns — and fundamental breakdowns in those mechanics. And I’m seeing too much of them from Drew Stanton.”

Even though Jaworski thought Stanton looked rattled in the Cardinals’ most recent game, the analyst agreed that getting Larry Fitzgerald back from an MCL injury could help the signal caller regain some confidence.

“Every quarterback likes that security blanket: the guy he trusts (and) he knows where he’s going to be,” the ESPN football expert said. “And Larry certainly is that guy. And there clearly has been that communication issue, I believe, as I watch these routes develop with the timing of the quarterback and the wide receivers. And when you have a Larry Fitzgerald, he certainly is a guy that Drew Stanton is going to look for because he knows where he’s going to be.”

Stanton will be under center Sunday as the 9-3 Cardinals host the 7-5 Kansas City Chiefs at 2:05 p.m. The game can be heard on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.