The Cardinals are going to need a new starting QB, plain and simple.  I can see the Cardinals keeping John Skelton as a backup and maybe Max Hall as a #3 QB but that’s about it out of this crew.

27-year old Derek Anderson won the starting job by beating out Matt Leinart for the job.  Anderson played in 12 games for the Cardinals last season and he completed 169 of 327 passes (51.7%) for 2,065 yards with 7 TD passes and 10 INTs (65.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 5 times for 25 yards (5.0 ypc) in this game.  Anderson has now played in 51 games in his NFL career and he has completed 756 of 1,436 passes (52.6%) for 9,148 yards with 53 TD passes and 55 INTs (68.8 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 76 times for 205 yards (2.7 ypc) with 5 TD runs in his career.  Anderson has a great arm but he doesn’t complete enough passes and he turns the ball over way too much.  He won’t be back with the Cardinals in 2011.

22-year old rookie John Skelton started at the end of the season for the Cardinals last year and he was below average but not awful.  He played in 5 games for the Cardinals last season and he completed 60 of 126 passes (47.6%) for 662 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs (62.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 10 times for 49 yards (4.9 ypc) last season.  Skelton could turn into a decent developmental QB for the Cardinals going forward. 

25-year old undrafted rookie Max Hall had a rough time as a rookie.  He played in 6 games for the Cardinals last season and he completed 39 of 78 passes (50%) for 370 yards with 1 TD pass and 6 INTs (35.7 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 1 time for -5 yards last season.  He will have a hard time sticking with the Cardinals in 2011.

27-year old Richard Bartel got into the season finale for the Cardinals last season which was his NFL debut.  He completed 16 of 28 passes (57.1%) for 150 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (57.1 QB Rating).  I don’t see him coming back either.

VERDICT:  Derek Anderson, Max Hall and Richard Bartel should all be looking for new teams in 2011.  John Skelton showed enough to come back to the Cardinals in 2011.  I think the Cardinals will bring in a veteran to start in 2011 and they might also bring in another one to back him up with Skelton serving as the #3 guy.  That is a best case scenario for the quarterbacking situation for the Cardinals in 2011.

The Cardinals must not have thought they had a game yesterday based on the way they played.  John Skelton start this game and he didn’t play too well.  Skelton completed 14 of 25 passes for 92 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 9 yards (4.5 ypc) in this game.  The Cardinals let Richard Bartel finish this game at QB.  Bartel completed 16 of 28 passes for 150 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (which was returned 62 yards for a TD by CB Tarrell Brown of the Niners).  Tim Hightower led the way on the ground for the Cardinals in this game with 30 yards rushing on 12 carries (2.5 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 2 yards.  Jason Wright pitched in with 3 carries for 23 yards (7.7 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 8 yards.  Beanie Wells pitched in with 5 carries for 16 yards (3.2 ypc) in this game.  Larry Fitzgerald led the way in the passing game for the Cardinals with 11 grabs for 125 yards (11.4 avg) with a TD grab.  WRs Steve Breaston (4 rec, 26 yards) and Andre Roberts (4 rec, 23 yards) also pitched in through the air for the Cardinals.  The Cardinals finished up with 78 yards on 22 carries (3.5 ypc) and they also completed 30 of 53 passes for 201 yards.

LBs Paris Lenon (5 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and 2 passes defensed) and Clark Haggans (5 tackles) led the way for the Cardinals’ on D in this game.  The 49ers finished up with 100 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 29 passes for 262 yards.  The Cardinals finished up in last place in the NFC West with a 5-11 record.

The Arizona Cardinals have won two of their last three games as they might start to be feeling good about themselves.  The 49ers pasted them in the first meeting 27-6 at Arizona just five weeks ago.  The Cardinals are also a very awful 1-6 on the road this year.  The 49ers have lost two games in a row and they will have an interim coach (Jim Tomsula) in charge tomorrow.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Cardinals have the ball:  For some reason the Cardinals keep throwing the ball even when they should be running the ball.  Rookie QB John Skelton likely doesn’t scare the 49ers at all as they will likely double Larry Fitzgerald and dare Skelton to beat them throwing to someone else.  Steve Breaston and Andre Roberts could benefit from that line of thinking against the Niners who are allowing 233.1 yards passing per game this year.  Niners’ standout inside linebacker Patrick Willis is out for this game so I think the Cardinals would be smart to give the ball to Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells more than usual.

When the 49ers have the ball:  The Cardinals have to key on stopping the running game as the 49ers rushed for 261 yards in the first meeting between these two teams.  Brian Westbrook and Anthony Dixon are likely going to get the ball a lot in this game for the Niners.  Alex Smith is getting the start at QB for the Niners which means he will likely be throwing more to the WRs than the TEs.

PREDICTION:  49ERS 24, CARDINALS 10