Arians leaning toward starting rookie Logan Thomas

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espn NFC West blog
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest
Josh Weinfuss

When coach Bruce Arians said he was leaning toward starting rookie Logan Thomas in place of Ryan Lindley in the Arizona Cardinals’ season finale at San Francisco (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox), there was an element of surprise. Even, to a lesser degree, a sense of shock.

But it wasn’t because Arians chose to bench Lindley after the Cardinals’ 35-6 loss to Seattle in which Lindley completed just 18 of 44 passes and failed to throw a touchdown pass, extending his NFL-record streak of scoreless passes to 225. It was because Arians was going with the unproven rookie for an entire game.

Yet, it’s the right choice.

Arians figured out quickly the Cardinals weren’t going to win Sunday with Lindley. And with a division title and home-field advantage still on the line in a twisted, complex way, Arians can’t throw in the towel just yet. By starting Thomas, Arizona will keep the 49ers guessing.

All the tape on Thomas will come from an appearance in relief of Drew Stanton for almost two quarters against the Broncos and one errant pass Sunday against Seattle. That’s far from enough for the 49ers to prepare a game plan. They’ll see nine passes thrown by Thomas, one of which was completed, an 81-yard touchdown to Andre Ellington.

Looking at his collegiate history, San Francisco will see a mobile quarterback. Yet, the 49ers may not see any designed runs for Thomas. At the same time, he may just take off.

See? It’ll be hard to prepare for the unknown.

Arians gave himself an out, however, saying he’ll be quick with the hook of Thomas if he’s not playing well.

If Arians started Lindley, the 49ers would know what to expect. He was unproductive for the majority of Sunday’s loss to Seattle. And when he did manage to move the ball, it led to points — field goals, however, not touchdowns. For the third time in five games, Arizona failed to score a touchdown. With the playoffs looming, the Cardinals’ offense is going backward. Had Lindley led the Cards to at least one score, his status for Sunday likely wouldn’t have changed.

But the Seahawks dared the Cardinals to pass. They did. And it didn’t work.

It didn’t matter how Arians tried to spin his decision to start Thomas — “I think we need to find out what he can do for the future and the playoffs, if it were to come to that” — because it came down to the fact Arizona won’t win with Lindley guiding the offense.

That may not change with Thomas on Sunday against San Francisco, but at least neither team knows what it’s getting.