The Arizona Cardinals (3-6) host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at 2:05 p.m. at State Farm Stadium, and Carson Beck will make his first NFL start at quarterback. Gardner Minshew is out for the year after going on injured reserve with a torn UCL in his right elbow, and Jacoby Brissett was dealt to Baltimore last week, so the job is Beck’s.
NFL Network’s Kurt Warner talked about Beck’s spot on the Rich Eisen Show, and his message was to check the boxes, not to expect a savior. “Carson Beck, man, I don’t know who he’s going to battle with,” Warner said. “The guys that were slated as starters and difference makers aren’t going to be out there.”
Michael Wilson is out for the year, too, and Warner said that’s the whole point of the exercise. “If those guys show something from a competitive standpoint, I think that checks a huge box,” Warner said. “That lets you kind of perk your ears up and go, hey, maybe we got something here. Whereas I don’t think you beat them up too much if things don’t look pretty, especially in the short term.”
Beck still has one star to lean on. “Well, I guess he’s got Trey McBride still,” Warner said. “So he’s still got a dude.”
Warner said the plan has to fit the players who are actually out there, not the ones who are hurt. He went back to his own playing days in Arizona, when Steve Breaston took over a year after Anquan Boldin got banged up and Breaston went for a thousand yards. “Let’s take those handful of things that Stevie does really well and let’s build those into our plan,” Warner said. “It’s not say, hey, we’re just going to make this next guy do what Michael Wilson does. No, we gotta figure out what these guys do well and we gotta build that into our plan the best we can to give ourselves and give those players the best chance to succeed.”
Warner said it’s the same kind of situation as any young quarterback thrown in early. He likened it to his time in New York, when Eli Manning took over and the team went 1-6 down the stretch. “It wasn’t always pretty football, but he was learning, he was growing, he was checking some boxes,” Warner said. “When he had some struggles he was bouncing back and doing some good things and showing that he has the resiliency.”
So the standard for Beck on Sunday isn’t 300 yards and a win. It’s the boxes — compete, show something, and give the Cardinals something to build on.
© Old Town News Scottsdale — oldtownnews.us
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