Analyst: Have little faith in Sanchez, but less in Lindley

Outside of two first-half touchdown drives and a 312-yard passing day, quarterback Ryan Lindley looked every bit the part of a rookie making his NFL debut in the Arizona Cardinals’ 31-17 loss to the St. Louis Rams last Sunday.

Not only did he throw four interceptions on the day, Lindley of course also became a footnote, as cornerback Janoris Jenkins became the first rookie in Rams history to return two interceptions back for touchdowns in the same game.

Combine that with the fact he completed less than 60-percent of his passes and failed to connect with Larry Fitzgerald after the first quarter, and it’s safe to say things cannot get much worse for Lindley over the final five weeks of the season.

Nonetheless, it’s important when evaluating the 23-year-old to remember that he’s less than a year removed from San Diego State, and that rarely are sixth-round selections anything more than projects during their rookie season.

While Kurt Warner and Ron Jaworksi seemed to understand that, ESPN.com’s Ross Tucker apparently didn’t feel the same way.

Speaking on the Football Today Podcast, Tucker was asked to address the Cardinals’ game Sunday against the New York Jets and wasted little time going after Arizona’s rookie quarterback.

“I don’t have a ton of faith in Mark Sanchez, but I have less in Ryan Lindley,” Tucker said. “Watching that guy play against the Rams, he threw some of the worst passes I’ve ever seen in the NFL.

“Those interceptions were just awful.”

Lindley was not known for his accuracy coming out of college, and that will definitely be a point of emphasis over the final few weeks of the season. With that said, taking shots at a quarterback with 72 career attempts is a bit much.