Clayton Tune Continues Case to Start for Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals' rookie fifth-round pick Clayton Tune is in a supposedly open competition with longtime NFL vet Colt McCoy to be the starting quarterback during Kyler Murray's absence. McCoy has long been considered the favorite to come out on top, but Tune has flashed enough in camp to close the proverbial gap.
Tune had another uneven performance where there was a lot of good, bad, and everything in between. He finished 12 of 24 for 133 yards and carried the ball six times for 35 yards in last night's loss vs. Kansas City.
The Houston Cougars product flashed poise, his big arm, mobility, and the ability to move the chains downfield.
The two-minute drill he orchestrated was extraordinarily impressive and showed why he should be under serious consideration to usurp McCoy, who has been unspectacular thus far. The ball he delivered to Andre Baccellia in the above video is a perfect example of the ability he has flashed in Cards camp and preseason. The pocket was relatively clean, but he managed to step into an accurate, tight-spiraled throw on a good platform.
Despite all of the positives he displayed, there were some erratic throws, questionable decisions, and slight timing issues. These are typical rookies and he should continue showing gradual improvements in the more nuanced parts of playing quarterback.
Coach Jonathan Gannon touched on some of these things in his postgame presser, ranging from Tune's accuracy issues to giving the young quarterback a lot of reps.
The first-year head man said "I think he's got to step into throws and make sure his hand's over the ball... a lot of that's not just the delivery, it's footwork... So, we'll get that cleaned up."
The coaching staff is quite aware of the erratic accuracy in a vacuum and are actively working with him on getting more comfortable to consistently deliver accurate passes off of clean platforms. Gannon also recognizes the speed of NFL pass rushes are much different than those in the American Athletic Conference.
Alluding to Tune getting plentiful in-game action, Gannon said:
"I think he needs the reps... For being a rookie quarterback, he needs the reps to be able to see different things. Spags is really one of the best defensive coordinators there is, so he gave us a lot of looks... I thought he handled it well. He changed a couple of protections, changed some points in the run game. Missed a couple, too. ... I wanted to see him play."
Gannon sounds like a coach that's seriously evaluating Tune and potentially even considering the bold decision to start a rookie fifth-round pick over a fourteen-year NFL veteran.
At the end of the day, Tune's athleticism, big arm, and play extension ability is enough to make him a more desirable option than McCoy to lead a rebuilding team until their franchise player returns.
