One thing that Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt is quite adept at doing is giving an answer that really gives you no answer. He was at it once again on Thursday while talking on ESPN's Scott Van Pelt show, but this time it was a little different. There was actually one part of his answer that was not cryptic at all. And it dealt with the 2011 starting quarterback situation for the Arizona Cardinals.
Whisenhunt likened the quarterback situation to a multiple choice test. This is what he said:
"That's (The QB position) an area we want to address but like you said, it's like a test, there are multiple answers. There are a number of guys out there through free agency or trade that we're going to have an opportunity to get and we feel good about a number of those guys. We're going to come out of the gate trying to do our best to get one of those to have that question answered and I feel like we will."
If there is one clear thing that came out of that statement, it is that the 2011 starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals will be someone they acquire by trade or free agency. That means no John Skelton this year, barring an injury situation.
I know there are a few of you out there in ROTB that are hoping the second-year player will be the guy, just know that it is not happening. The Cardinals feel good about a number of options "out there" (meaning not currently on the team). At least for me, having Skelton start in 2011 would be the equivalent of knowingly taking a kick to the crotch every Sunday afternoon -- it's going to hurt, I know it and I let it happen anyway.
As for cryptic communication, Whisenhunt still was as careful as ever to not point to any particular player.
He goes on in the interview to say that he believes that the Cardinals will have a lot to offer in the way of being a good starting position.
"We've got a young team, we've got some talented players, we've got Larry Fitzgerald," explains Whisenhunt. "It's something that I would think would be very enticing to a quarterback to know this is a team that's been very proficient passing the ball in the years past."
As we have learned and discussed ad nauseum over the past few months, there are indeed many choices to answer the quarterback question. Let's hope that Coach Whiz and the rest of the Cardinals front office have studied enough to recognize which turns out to be the right answer.