The reality is that the Cardinals — since moving to Phoenix in 1988, at least — haven’t had 10 good quarterbacks. But a Top 4 list doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.

One of the oldest teams in professional football, dating back to 1920(!) when they were the Chicago Cardinals, the franchise traditionally has been mediocre to terrible for much of its history. And the same goes for a century’s worth of its quarterbacks.

Since relocating to Arizona from St. Louis, the team has had roughly once-a-decade dalliances with success, its fortunes rising and falling when it stumbles upon a decent passer.

This list does not take into account the men who suited up for the Cardinals in the Chicago and St. Louis eras. Even if it did, identifying 10 all-time greats wouldn’t be much easier.

Years as a Cardinal: 2006-2009

Awards & achievements: Numerous honors as one of USC’s best quarterback of all time.

Iconic moment: In the 2008 offseason, Leinart was photographed partying with four women in a hot tub. Head coach Ken Whisenhunt said at the time he was “disappointed” in his third-year QB.

After 105 seasons of mostly heartbreak, Cardinals fans know not to get their hopes up too much about the quarterback. Not that they haven’t been optimistic about a few of them, though. Near the very top of that list is Matt Leinart, the former USC standout drafted No. 10 overall by the Cardinals in 2006. Leinart led USC to two national championships and picked up a Heisman Trophy for his efforts in 2004, so long-suffering Cardinals fans were more than a little excited about the idea of lighting it up in the NFL. When the Cardinals benched veteran Kurt Warner after Week 3, Leinart looked the part of a player who’d signed a six-year, $51 million deal, setting a rookie record with 405 yards passing in Week 6. That was as good as it got in the Matt Leinart era. His second season ended in Week 5 with a sack that knocked him out for the rest of the season, paving the way for Warner to retake the reins and lead the Cardinals to (almost) glory.