Rookie QB Ryan Lindley Talks About Being Behind Kolb/Skelton Competition

While the Arizona Cardinals have a battle for starting QB between Kevin Kolb and John Skelton, rookie Ryan Lindley, drafted this past April by the Cards in the sixth round, gets to watch and learn. Even though writers like Peter King believe that Lindley could actually start this season, we know that is not going to happen unless something goes terribly wrong with the season.

However, he is definitely not just collecting a paycheck. He is taking advantage of the QB competition, according to what he said in a radio interview on Arizona Sports 620.

"If anything I'm kind of taking advantage of it," Lindley said. "At this level, I want to gain experience as fast as I can, and whether that's stealing reps and watching Kevin work and doing stuff like that, and then watching a quarterback competition right now.

"It's something I'm going to get a chance to see, and hopefully in the near future, and sometime, whenever that will be, I'll be able to be in one and compete for my time."

The reference to Kevin Kolb is interesting. Reading between the lines a little bit, you get a sense from Lindley that he either 1) respects the way Kolb goes about his business more than he does Skelton, 2) thinks that Kolb has a leg up in the competition, 3) is just closer to Kolb or 4) randomly picked a guy to use his name.

Coming as a rookie, a late round pick, the mindset has to be a little different. He has to have a balance of believing that he is or will be the best player of the three, as you want that attitude in your quarterback, but he also has to have the attitude that he has a ton to learn and that he doesn't even have a guarantee to be on the roster.

As a fan, the development of Lindley will be interesting to see. If he develops into a starting QB, it means that neither Kolb nor Skelton pulled it off, which would be very disappointing. If one does, Lindley won't get a shot. However, if he gets some playing time and shows something off, he could be traded to a needy team. That is hopefully what happens, because unless he comes in because of an injury and just lights it up (a la Tom Brady), it means that we have suffered through, at best, average QB play for yet another season or more.

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