Gabbert hoping for stability with Cards
QB has had 6 offensive coordinators since 2011
If Bruce Arians had any concerns about Blaine Gabbert memorizing the playbook, he should have been with reporters when the Cardinals’ newest quarterback was asked if he could name all the offensive coordinators he’s had during his half-dozen years in the NFL.
Gabbert rattled them off like they were standing right in front of him.
“Dirk Koetter, Bob Bratkowski, Jedd Fisch, Greg Roman, Geep Chryst and Curtis Modkins,” Gabbert said upon completing his first official practice with the team last week.
He forgot the partridge in the pear tree, but he does have two new names to add to the list: Cardinals offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin and Arians, who actually is the one calling the plays on offense.
Arizona becomes Gabbert’s third team following three years in Jacksonville, which drafted him 10th overall in 2011, and three years in San Francisco, where he won only four games as a starter. He was benched five games into last season in favor of Colin Kaepernick, who can’t find a job.
That Gabbert found one with the Cardinals was an eyebrow-raiser, not only because the team has its starter, Carson Palmer, and its backup, Drew Stanton. Arians apparently has been intrigued with Gabbert since the quarterback’s college days at Missouri and has publicly compared him to Tim Couch, one of the coach’s all-time favorites.
Arians believes that, like Couch, known best for his five years of getting beaten down as quarterback of the Cleveland Browns from 1999-2003, Gabbert, 27, has been a product of his environment. The lack of protection and talented offensive weapons at each of his first two NFL stops have stunted Gabbert’s abilities.
It’s the easiest way, Arians has said, to explain Gabbert’s 9-31 career record as a starter.
“He’s a pocket passer. That’s where he was at his best in college,” the coach said. “He is a hell of an athlete, which you can see when he was running the spread-option thing last year. He’s got velocity, he’s got accuracy and he’s got stature. He’s had, what, six offensive Recap, 5C