It's not a bad life to be a backup quarterback in the NFL.
Brian St. Pierre, formerly of St. John's Prep and Boston College, has been doing it since the 2003 season. He's gained considerable knowledge and made a fair amount of money.
He was also on a Super Bowl team last year with the Arizona Cardinals, and there are a lot of players in the league who would envy him for that because they've never gone that far in their careers.
However, St. Pierre will turn 30 this season. The Danvers native jokes that it's the first time he's felt a little "self-conscious" about his age. By no means is he over the hill, but this season he'd also like to be under the gun — a quarterback who plays meaningful minutes for a team that is aching for a return to the postseason after losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-23, in the Super Bowl.
"There are only 32 jobs in the whole world for starting quarterbacks (in the NFL)," St. Pierre, who now lives in Georgetown, said just before leaving for the Cardinals' training camp in Flagstaff, Ariz. "The rest of the 60 guys are backups, but you try to get yourself in a position to play. "Everyone places a premium on that position. The money is great and all that, but all I'm thinking about is the best way to get myself in a position where my number is called."
Most observers would say that St. Pierre, who had a quarterback rating that exceeded 100 in the 2008 preseason, doesn't have a prayer of getting into a regular season game with Arizona. He's still behind 37-year-old Kurt Warner, who threw for 4,583 yards and 30 touchdowns last year and who signed a two-year contract in the offseason. Theoretically, he's also behind 26-year-old Matt Leinart, who was the 10th overall pick out of USC in the 2006 draft.
But St. Pierre, who's always been considered an astute guy in a career that has seen him stick with teams such as the Steelers (two separate stints) and the Baltimore Ravens along with the Cards, wouldn't have re-signed with Arizona if he thought it would lead to a dead end. He could've gone to the Kansas City Chiefs after last season, but he likes the future in Arizona. Not just the team's, but his own.
"I had a chance to go to KC with Todd Haley (the former Cardinals' offensive coordinator who was signed as the Chiefs head coach less than a week after the Super Bowl) and it was enticing," said St. Pierre, "but I'm comfortable in Arizona and they made it clear I had a future there.
"They promised me an honest shot (as Warner's backup) in a sit-down meeting (with head coach Ken Whisenhunt). I know that entails a lot of factors. We've got a first round draft choice and Heisman Trophy winner (in Leinart) and everyone knows this is a business. But when I look at the long term, this is a great place to play and a fairly young team. I'd love to take my chances with the receivers we have."
Confident in his ability
St. Pierre makes it abundantly clear that he wishes Leinart no harm. This is purely about competition against a teammate with, hopefully, both players getting better because they'll push each other. But St. Pierre would like to overtake Leinart and become the No. 2 guy overall.
For what it's worth, Leinart has fallen out of favor with NFL bloggers in the offseason. They feel he parties too hard and doesn't take his job seriously enough. One blogger went so far as to say that St. Pierre has a better arm than Leinart and Warner.
St. Pierre is the one who comes up short in experience, so he would never paint a teammate in a negative light. All he wants to do is get to training camp, play the best football of his life, and see where that takes him.
"I'm confident in my ability," said St. Pierre. "I have nothing against Matt (Leinart) personally — we get along great. Let's just find out how it shakes out (leading to the regular season). I had a really good preseason last year and I'd like to do that again. I just want to put my best foot forward.
"I'm going to have to play really, really well because of the guys we have here," added St. Pierre, who's had some back problems in the offseason. "There's only so many things you can control, but I just want the offense to move when I'm in there. I'll take what (playing time) I can get, and I'll rest easy at night if I know I've played well. There are reasons they want me around, and I want to show them what I can do."
St. Pierre relishes the thought of throwing to Arizona's enormously talented receivers, led by Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston, who combined for 262 catches and nearly 3,500 yards in the regular season last year. To this day, St. Pierre will tell you that Fitzgerald is superior to the Patriots' Randy Moss.
"Talent-wise at the skill positions, this is the best team I've ever been on," said St. Pierre. "Defensively, we've got a lot of athletes, a lot of guys that can continue to improve. Yeah, we gave up points last year, but our defense (caused) a lot of turnovers and put our offense in good field position."
Valued member
After a 9-7 regular season and a magical run through the playoffs, the biggest issue the Cardinals had to address this offseason was the lack of a running game. Tim Hightower is the projected starter at running back until first round draft pick Beanie Wells (Ohio State) proves himself.
The bottom line is that as great as the passing game is for the Cardinals, they can't afford another lackluster year in the running game.
"There's no question that we need to (upgrade) the running game," said St. Pierre. "We were 32nd out of 32 teams last year and coach (Whisenhunt) was embarrassed about it. The reason was made a successful run to the Super Bowl was that we started to run a little more and teams couldn't play us strictly for the pass. I'm sure there will be more emphasis on the running game this season."
St. Pierre feels he's a valued member of the team even if he doesn't play a single down. The coaches will take his input in the week leading up to a game and on gameday itself. "Coach Whisenhunt respects my opinion very much," said St. Pierre.
As long as he remains productive in some capacity, St. Pierre wants to stay in the NFL.
"Until someone tells me I can't play, I want to be part of a team," said St. Pierre. "As long as my body allows it, I'll be here. When somebody tells me I can't do it anymore, I'll take my body and go home."
Ideally, he'll go home with considerably more playing time in his portfolio.
