Cardinals still haven't named starting QB against the 49ers, but it should be Hoyer

The Arizona Cardinals' season is basically over, with no chance of reaching the postseason for a third consecutive year. The main thing to blame for that is a lack of talent at the quarterback position, which has been abominable this season with Ryan Lindley and John Skelton under center for most of the snaps.

Lindley was so bad against the Bears last week that Cards coach Ken Whisenhunt decided to put veteran journeyman Brian Hoyer into the game to take his place. Hoyer has only been on the team for a little over two weeks, which meant that he had little understanding of the playbook to this point.

Still, it seemed that Hoyer played decently given the position he was in. He certainly was not any worse than Lindley or the inactive Skelton for that matter.

So there really should be no question as to who starts against the 49ers for the Cardinals' season finale. San Francisco will be playing all of their starters, as they still have not completely locked up the division. The Cards could play the spoiler role in beating them, allowing the Seattle Seahawks to take the NFC West crown.

The only way the even have the slightest of chance of beating the 49ers is if Hoyer plays. They know what they have in Lindley and, honestly, I don't even think he will make the roster next season. The team would have been better off keeping Rich Bartel. They also know what they have in Skelton, which is why he was inactive last weekend. He is as good as gone and his days in the NFL could be numbered.

So starting Hoyer is a no-brainer. He has proven to be the most active of the three quarterbacks (Kevin Kolb is on injured reserve) and the team would like to see if he is worth retaining for next season. If he plays well, he could at least get a training camp invite.

The decision hasn't been made publicly, but it is almost a virtual certainty that Hoyer will be the starter this Sunday. And it would be the right call.

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