The Arizona Cardinals are in a free-fall with no end in sight.
The team has lost eight-straight games after starting 4-0, including Sunday's 7-6 loss to the New York Jets on the road, and currently has no starting quarterback.
Head coach Ken Whisenhunt did not name a starter for next Sunday's game at Seattle and said on Monday that he would evaluate film from the game before deciding on keeping rookie Ryan Lindley or going to backup John Skelton
Lindley has started the past three games, all losses for the Cardinals. In the loss to the Jets, Lindley went 10-of-31 for 72 yards and threw one interception. Arizona was awful on offense against the Jets, gaining just five first downs and failing to convert on all 15 third-down conversion attempts.
According to AZCentral.com, Lindley became "just the second quarterback since the NFL merger in 1970 to finish with less than 75 yards on at least 30 passing attempts."
Whisenhunt said he resisted bringing in Skelton because he said that Lindley gave the team the best chance to win at the time.
"I wouldn't say I've lost confidence in John's ability," Whisenhunt said on Monday, according to AZCentral.com.
Reporters continued to ask about Skelton and how much confidence Whisenhunt has in him.
"We're talking about Ryan," he said. "The decision we made about John we've already talked about. We don't need to go back and revisit that."
Lindley, a sixth-round draft pick in the 2012 NFL draft out of San Diego State, hasn't completed more than 59 percent of his passes in any of his three starts and has only passed for more than 72 yards once. In last Sunday's 31-17 loss to the St. Louis Rams, Lindley threw for 312 yards, but also gave up four interceptions.
"There were 6-to-10 throws that I wanted back," Lindley said to the Daily News. "But three of those were absolutely horrible."
Lindley has thrown for 448 yards and five interceptions this season with zero touchdowns.
One of the biggest issues for the Cardinals this season has been getting the ball downfield to wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. According to ESPN.com, Lindley is only completing 29.2 percent of his passes that travel 11 yards or more down the field, ranked worst in the NFL.
Adding even more trouble, starter Larry Fitzgerald leads the NFL with highest percentage of over/under thrown targets with 37 percent this season, according to ESPN.com.
The Arizona quarterback situation has been in flux for the entire year, including in the preseason.
Whisenhunt was the final NFL coach to name a starter, with Skelton opening the season as the quarterback after beating Kevin Kolb in training camp. But then Skelton was injured in the opening win against the Seahawks, giving Kolb his chance.
Soon after, Kolb himself suffered ribs and shoulder injuries, giving the job back to Skelton until Nov. 18 against the Atlanta Falcons, when Whisenhunt pulled him for Lindley.
"It's frustrating," said Skelton to the NY Daily News. "But it's all part of the game. You have to keep your head down and keep working."
Skelton has thrown for 1,058 yards and two touchdowns this season with five interceptions.
Kolb practiced on a limited basis last week, but was not healthy enough to start on Sunday. He has missed six games with a rib injury and Whisenhunt was still unsure of his status for next week.
"The only way we'll know is when he can do it in practice. He's making progress," Whisenhunt said on Monday, according to AZCentral.com. "Until we get out there and see if he can make the throws and be able to do those kind of things, then we'll know."
Kolb was traded to the Cardinals in 2011 and later signed an extension with the team. He has passed for 1,169 yards and eight touchdowns with three interceptions this season.
The Cardinals have not won since September and has been one of the worst teams in the NFL.
"You ever been in a pool and struggling for air and how hard you fight to get to the top?" Arizona wideout Fitzgerald asked, according to the Daily News. "That's kind of how we all feel right now, we're drowning and we're struggling and fighting to do anything we can to get to the top. We're desperate. We're desperate for a win."
