Clifford
Footballguy
Please explain how this would be possible.
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Kolb to AZ... (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter hustedj
- Start date
You mean you want your pocket passer to get hammered every other play in the pre-season? Set him up with a sub 2 second pocket and then blame him when he can't find an open reciever that quick, even if the play had no quick outlet designed in it?Sorry...I can't buy it. Kolb might well be a failure...but he's had not bad protection, but HORRENDOUS protection. You can't ask and expect your QB to stand tall and firm in a pocket that RARELY holds up past two seconds. You just can't.Skelton has nads...no doubt about it. He should start right now until they shore up that line, because he is able to stand taller in it. That doesn't make him a better QB, and it won't get the Cardinals anywhere. I've watched every snap of Kolb's career..every single one. I've watched every snap of this pre-season. He is not getting anywhere close to adequate protection. He's getting hit too often, too easily, and far too quickly. I keep hearing he's hanging onto the ball too long, yet he's getting hit in less than 2.5 seconds ROUTINELY. These aren't coverage sacks people.If your QB get's hammered four times in a row in sub 3 seconds...you can't than blame him for not trusting his line. His line hasn't earned the trust.
Pretty easy. Skelton has played against backups who aren't blitzing as much. Arizona's backup lineman aren't being overwhelmed as easily and quickly by other team's second stringers.PREDICTION: Skelton takes three sacks and throws one pick with no TD's in his start this week. Kolb throws for 60% and 2 TD's with the backups.
It's not the 'Zona starters that matter to my point.I've watched the games. Skelton has come in when the opposing teams starting lineman have largely been replaced with backups. He's seen fewer blitzes and less pressure.We'll see next week when Skelton starts.
kutta
Footballguy
So you are saying that pretty much every Cardinals fan, the Cardinals beat writers, national reporters, and players on the opposing teams are all wrong about Kolb?Everyone sees it but you. Did you watch the 2nd preseason game? Skelton started that one and Kolb came in later. Kolb still looked like a scared little girl back there.
Craig_MiamiFL
Footballguy
renesauz's infatuation with Kolb is beyond creepy
I ask with all seriousness here, are you a family member or friend of his??
So we've learned Kolb is a better QB with a clean pocket.
Great analysis here.
I ask with all seriousness here, are you a family member or friend of his??
So we've learned Kolb is a better QB with a clean pocket.
Great analysis here.
Again, and for the last time...I am NOT saying Kolb's the answer. He has looked bad, and hasn't shown enough.What I'm saying is that the protection and play calling have been so bad that I don't think changing the QB is going to do much to improve the outlook of the Cardinals. I think the problems start on that O-line.renesauz's infatuation with Kolb is beyond creepy
I ask with all seriousness here, are you a family member or friend of his??
So we've learned Kolb is a better QB with a clean pocket.
Generally speaking, NFL analysts, beat reporters, and especially fans are far too quick to blame a QB when an offense struggles. (And too quick to give credit to them when an offense dominates.) When a QB is consistantly being hammered in under 2.5 seconds, I'm looking at the line first, not the QB. The natural tendency is to look at a QB first regardless...that tendency is wrong.
When I get the time (will be a few days), I'll try to DVR and break down his attempts, WITH TIMES from that last game.
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Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
Wouldn't be surprising to see the Cards bite the bullet, eat some cap and cut Kolb. Tarvaris Jackson and Colt McCoy would give them similar production and a solid backup for a fraction of the cost with a sensible contract extension.
LHUCKS
Footballguy
Abraham
Footballguy
I tend to agree that they could go another way pretty easily. I realize that McCoy and Jackson are the guys everyone is thinking of. That said, I'd offer up a couple others that might make their way in to the mix:Josh Johnson - doubtful San Fran would trade him within the division, but are they going to keep 3 qbs?Tyler thigpin - has starting experience, likely to be cut in buffalo.
Ministry of Pain
Footballguy
If Kolb is not the answer I would expect AZ to tank this year and try to draft a QB in 2013. I wouldn't be making long term plans here.
Abraham
Footballguy
How much time is whisenhunt going to get?
Ministry of Pain
Footballguy
Number of human beings walking the planet that can put "Took Arizona to the Super Bowl in the last 5 years" on their resume?
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
No chance. That defense is solid, and so are the skill positions outside of QB. The o-line is a disaster zone though.If Skelton can improve even marginally from last year he'll be on the average/poor border with room to keep getting better over the next few years. He may not develop any further and the Cards may not let him play until he's 26, but it's far from hopeless in AZ.
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Ministry of Pain
Footballguy
We'll just disagree on this one DC.
Goat Herders
Footballguy
That's fair. And I actually think they have a fairly solid team outside of the quarterback. I'd like kolb to be a great player as I own him in a couple leagues. But even with poor line play he has been very very bad. His numbers last year were better than Skelton but came from short dump offs that were turned upfield and other odd things. Outside of last years preseason game where he threw a deep touchdown to fitz, I can't remember his last impressive throw.
mad sweeney
Footballguy
That would be a giant feather in Carroll's cap. To pawn off his 1 year tackling dummy QB to a division rival would not only net him a "free" draft pick, he'd be assured of another year or two of no good QB in AZ. If anyone is really keeping track, this is exactly the reason why Carroll and Co. waited for 2 years to choose an actual QB prospect, picking up temporary nobodies with zero chance of staying on the team past their tackling dummy phase, and not sending them into the fire to get skittish and abused before they have a chance to succeed.
OK...so I went and watched last weeks game with a stopwatch, and a DVR with slo-mo and rewind options readily available and heavily used. I've defended Kolb for the most part, when most are dumping on him. I wanted to be able to look closer at both QBs.
We have a bad tendency to judge QBs too quickly based on limited snaps. All too often, a QB is successful or not based on the team around him. Skelton had THREE pass attempts last week...and looked great. Kolb dropped back nine times, and the perception is that he looked terrible. WIthout rewind and slow-mo...he did look terrible, but read on!
FIRST SERIES: Kolb goes 3 for 3 and leads his team to a TD. Twice he went to at least his second read, and he had a clean pocket for all three passes although he got hit hard immediately after releasing the third pass. The passes were released at 1.8, 2.6, and 2.9 seconds, respectively. Looked good on this drive.
SECOND SERIES: ON 2nd and 4 from his own 11, Kolb drops back to pass. Oakland blitzes, bringing 6 rushers. An edge rusher beats the RB to the INSIDE (no chance for Kolb to step up) Kolb spins around to the outside letting the RB push the rusher further in. Meanwhile, the LT is also schooled on the outside. Kolb tries to throw the ball away under intense pressure and gets called for intentional grounding since it didn't make it to the LOS. Kolb had to move from pressure in under 2.0 seconds, has a defenders hand on him at 2.9 seconds, and released the ball at 3.2 seconds. Without the benefit of caoches tape and knowledge of the play call, it's hard to know who to blame, but Kolb didn't hold the ball a terribly long time here, and was 2 yards from a simple incomplete.
This play kills me! It's 3rd and 14 on your own ONE YARD LINE. They line KK up in shotgun. Oakland only rushes 4, dropping 9 into coverage. Oaklands left DE and DT stunt. The RG initially has the DT handled but lets him go to pick up the DE coming around to the inside. Again... pressure is present up THE MIDDLE on KK and there's no way he can step UP. The RT fails to pick up the DT the G let go (basicly, the RT picks up NOBODY while the RG slows down two men, but stops neither). Kolb has his eyes DOWNFIELD when the DE fills his vision. He slides to his right to allow the G to push the stunting DE past him...and the DT who went outside then gets a hand on him and drags him down. First contact comes at 2.9 seconds, but would have been sooner had Kolb tried to step up. ALso noted on replay that had the RT slowed down the DT even a hair...KK would have escaped to the open right flat area easily (DT got a hand on him and held him up...another 10 inches of clearance and KK escapes.) Basicly....while you can blame KK for not "getting rid of the ball", an O-line up against a 4 man rush should have provided better protection than this. Safety. Bad play all around, but not necessarily on KK.
NEXT SERIES: 2nd and 8 from his own 21, KK releases the ball at 3.3 seconds under mild pressure. 4 man rush but very good coverage. KK could have steped right then forward, but had his eyes left the whole play....and slid that way as the rush got close up THE MIDDLE (again...no way to step forward.) He looks like he's slinding to find a throwing lane more than to escape. Nobody is open. Ball is incomplete where nobody can catch it. Nothing wrong with this.
3rd and 8: Oakland sends an all out blitz with 7 rushers. Kolb gets avalanched by 4 defenders simultaneously at only 2.4 seconds. There was no hot read. Safety showed blitz before the snap, but LBs didn't, and WR's were both covered well. No chance, no blame.
LAST SERIES: 2nd and Goal from the 3. Kolb made at least two reads, and then tried to throw the ball away under duress, but hit his lineman for illegal touch penalty. He was hit as he threw, at 3.1 seconds, against only a 4 man rush. That's not very good protection folks...but this play is one where I agree he should have thrown it away sooner.
3rd and goal at the 13: Kolb is looking to the end zone but finds nobody open. Again only a four man rush, and this time his protection is OK at first. When pressure does come, it's UP THE MIDDLE AGAIN (nowhere to step up). KK slides right and throws to his relief valve as pressure finally starts to get close at 3.3 seconds, but his reciever stepped OOB for incomplete pass. Announcer says he had nowhere to go downfield.
Kolb ends the day 3 for 6 and got sacked a couple of times. When he had protection, he looked fine. ON a couple of plays, he had no help at all.
Skelton come in and goes 3 for 3 with a TD. All three pass attempts started with a clean pocket, and he never had to come off his first read on any of them..all three were WIDE OPEN. The TD came off play action to the FB releasing toward the flat clean and uncovered. ...they get no easier than that. As good as Skelton looked..he only got three plays, and was NOT challenged in any way on this series.
IN the end....I can't see how anyone could judge this competition over based on this game. Neither QB made any big mistakes (sorry... that sack in the EZ, while ugly, was not all on KK), nor did either QB do anything special. I'm sure we'd all like to see what Skelton does tonight with a few more plays/attempts.
We have a bad tendency to judge QBs too quickly based on limited snaps. All too often, a QB is successful or not based on the team around him. Skelton had THREE pass attempts last week...and looked great. Kolb dropped back nine times, and the perception is that he looked terrible. WIthout rewind and slow-mo...he did look terrible, but read on!
FIRST SERIES: Kolb goes 3 for 3 and leads his team to a TD. Twice he went to at least his second read, and he had a clean pocket for all three passes although he got hit hard immediately after releasing the third pass. The passes were released at 1.8, 2.6, and 2.9 seconds, respectively. Looked good on this drive.
SECOND SERIES: ON 2nd and 4 from his own 11, Kolb drops back to pass. Oakland blitzes, bringing 6 rushers. An edge rusher beats the RB to the INSIDE (no chance for Kolb to step up) Kolb spins around to the outside letting the RB push the rusher further in. Meanwhile, the LT is also schooled on the outside. Kolb tries to throw the ball away under intense pressure and gets called for intentional grounding since it didn't make it to the LOS. Kolb had to move from pressure in under 2.0 seconds, has a defenders hand on him at 2.9 seconds, and released the ball at 3.2 seconds. Without the benefit of caoches tape and knowledge of the play call, it's hard to know who to blame, but Kolb didn't hold the ball a terribly long time here, and was 2 yards from a simple incomplete.
This play kills me! It's 3rd and 14 on your own ONE YARD LINE. They line KK up in shotgun. Oakland only rushes 4, dropping 9 into coverage. Oaklands left DE and DT stunt. The RG initially has the DT handled but lets him go to pick up the DE coming around to the inside. Again... pressure is present up THE MIDDLE on KK and there's no way he can step UP. The RT fails to pick up the DT the G let go (basicly, the RT picks up NOBODY while the RG slows down two men, but stops neither). Kolb has his eyes DOWNFIELD when the DE fills his vision. He slides to his right to allow the G to push the stunting DE past him...and the DT who went outside then gets a hand on him and drags him down. First contact comes at 2.9 seconds, but would have been sooner had Kolb tried to step up. ALso noted on replay that had the RT slowed down the DT even a hair...KK would have escaped to the open right flat area easily (DT got a hand on him and held him up...another 10 inches of clearance and KK escapes.) Basicly....while you can blame KK for not "getting rid of the ball", an O-line up against a 4 man rush should have provided better protection than this. Safety. Bad play all around, but not necessarily on KK.
NEXT SERIES: 2nd and 8 from his own 21, KK releases the ball at 3.3 seconds under mild pressure. 4 man rush but very good coverage. KK could have steped right then forward, but had his eyes left the whole play....and slid that way as the rush got close up THE MIDDLE (again...no way to step forward.) He looks like he's slinding to find a throwing lane more than to escape. Nobody is open. Ball is incomplete where nobody can catch it. Nothing wrong with this.
3rd and 8: Oakland sends an all out blitz with 7 rushers. Kolb gets avalanched by 4 defenders simultaneously at only 2.4 seconds. There was no hot read. Safety showed blitz before the snap, but LBs didn't, and WR's were both covered well. No chance, no blame.
LAST SERIES: 2nd and Goal from the 3. Kolb made at least two reads, and then tried to throw the ball away under duress, but hit his lineman for illegal touch penalty. He was hit as he threw, at 3.1 seconds, against only a 4 man rush. That's not very good protection folks...but this play is one where I agree he should have thrown it away sooner.
3rd and goal at the 13: Kolb is looking to the end zone but finds nobody open. Again only a four man rush, and this time his protection is OK at first. When pressure does come, it's UP THE MIDDLE AGAIN (nowhere to step up). KK slides right and throws to his relief valve as pressure finally starts to get close at 3.3 seconds, but his reciever stepped OOB for incomplete pass. Announcer says he had nowhere to go downfield.
Kolb ends the day 3 for 6 and got sacked a couple of times. When he had protection, he looked fine. ON a couple of plays, he had no help at all.
Skelton come in and goes 3 for 3 with a TD. All three pass attempts started with a clean pocket, and he never had to come off his first read on any of them..all three were WIDE OPEN. The TD came off play action to the FB releasing toward the flat clean and uncovered. ...they get no easier than that. As good as Skelton looked..he only got three plays, and was NOT challenged in any way on this series.
IN the end....I can't see how anyone could judge this competition over based on this game. Neither QB made any big mistakes (sorry... that sack in the EZ, while ugly, was not all on KK), nor did either QB do anything special. I'm sure we'd all like to see what Skelton does tonight with a few more plays/attempts.
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kutta
Footballguy
Wow. You really have to give this a rest.No one is making decisions based on this one game. Most of us in here are big Cardinals fans and have seen every snap this guy has taken since being here. He just isn't a good QB. It's not that hard to see.We'll see how Skelton does tonight. Hopefully he puts an end to this thing.
VaTerp
Footballguy
Thats a lot of work to defend your guy but sorry your hand timed releases of the ball and film breakdown arent as convincing as my own eyes.Kolb repeatedly senses pressure that is either not there or that he could avoid with better pocket presence. It's clear to see that he is shook as Tommy Kelley noted. Is 100% of the blame on Kolb? No. The O-line has been subpar. But I place much more of it on him than you seem to be willing to do.As a Skins fan it sort of reminds me of Jason Campbell. For years I would argue that it was the change in playbooks, the O-line, this or that. As I've said before, lots of guys can play QB with ideal conditions but in the NFL you are rarely going to get that. Good NFL QBs are able to overcome things. At some point you just realize a guy isnt that good. I'm sure Kolb will get more opportunities but at this point, he's simply NOT THAT GOOD. Just admit it and you'll feel better.
The problem is that this pre-season...the pressure HAS BEEN THERE. REad my big post more carefully. He was pressured on every pass except the first three (which were all complete). In most cases, the pressure was UP THE MIDDLE and in much less than 3 seconds. People say he isn't stepping up...yet all too often there's no pocket to step up into. People say he's bailing when there's no pressure...yet at least in this game, he might have been too slow to bail.I'm NOT sold on Kolb being a good QB. Far from it...he hasn't shown s%#%$ since he arrived in Arizona. But on the flip side he's gotten far more blame than he deserves. This O-line has to play much better or it won't matter who's behind center for 'Zona.
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ImTheScientist
Footballguy
VaTerp
Footballguy
I hear ya. Still think you are not giving Kolb enough of the blame. But as I type this Skelton gets sacked and throws a pick.This Cards O-line IS dreadful. They are gonna get one of these guys killed.The problem is that this pre-season...the pressure HAS BEEN THERE. REad my big post more carefully. He was pressured on every pass except the first three (which were all complete). In most cases, the pressure was UP THE MIDDLE and in much less than 3 seconds. People say he isn't stepping up...yet all too often there's no pocket to step up into. People say he's bailing when there's no pressure...yet at least in this game, he might have been too slow to bail.I'm NOT sold on Kolb being a good QB. Far from it...he hasn't shown s%#%$ since he arrived in Arizona. But on the flip side he's gotten far more blame than he deserves. This O-line has to play much better or it won't matter who's behind center for 'Zona.
Raider Nation
Devil's Advocate
Andy Reid ... smartest man ever.
Donsmith753
Footballguy
There's been gang rapes less brutal than that trade.
LHUCKS
Footballguy
yes and yesBeen sayin it since day 1
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Iwannabeacowboybaby!
Footballguy
Td Kolb, there,s your starter for Week 1.
LHUCKS
Footballguy
azgroover
Footballguy
:notSoFast:
ImTheScientist
Footballguy
5 for 5 ...80 yards against the prevent
I dunno..... They all look like ####. It's going to be a long year for Arizona ..... Barkley in the draft.
I dunno..... They all look like ####. It's going to be a long year for Arizona ..... Barkley in the draft.
kutta
Footballguy
I'll agree Kolb looked a little better tonight, but even with better protection he was skittish. All his completions were less than 10 yards (except the one long one that he underthrew to Fitz). It sucks that Skelton didn't really step up and take the job, but holy cow, 67 sure had a bad game at LT.
Clifford
Footballguy
Whisenhunt is a freaking idiot. He's looking at one bottle of poison or the other, and it's not doing his team any favors to continue stressing about which one he'll drink first. By sitting Skelton after 1 quarter of play last night and never letting him get back into the game, all he did was muddy the waters and he doesn't know any more about who he should start than he did before the game.
John Skelton - QB - Cardinals
Coach Ken Whisenhunt admitted that his quarterback situation is getting murkier instead of clearer.
Kevin Kolb almost took a giant step forward on Thursday night, but two mind-numbing interceptions cost him dearly. His battle with John Skelton now figures to press on for another week. Through four preseason games, the two quarterbacks have combined to throw two touchdowns and five interceptions.
Meanwhile he is killing the confidence of both QBs by playing this game with them. Both are INT prone. Both are inexperienced. Neither is going to rise above the other. So you either go with the guy you spent the money on and make sure you're not leaving anything on the table, or you go with the bigger youngster with the stronger arm.
Guy is a tool and I don't expect him to be their coach by the end of the season.
John Skelton - QB - Cardinals
Coach Ken Whisenhunt admitted that his quarterback situation is getting murkier instead of clearer.
Kevin Kolb almost took a giant step forward on Thursday night, but two mind-numbing interceptions cost him dearly. His battle with John Skelton now figures to press on for another week. Through four preseason games, the two quarterbacks have combined to throw two touchdowns and five interceptions.
Meanwhile he is killing the confidence of both QBs by playing this game with them. Both are INT prone. Both are inexperienced. Neither is going to rise above the other. So you either go with the guy you spent the money on and make sure you're not leaving anything on the table, or you go with the bigger youngster with the stronger arm.
Guy is a tool and I don't expect him to be their coach by the end of the season.
ImTheScientist
Footballguy
If that kills your confidence you are not an NFL caliber starting QB.
kutta
Footballguy
Calling him a tool is not accurate. Wiz is a good coach, though I agree with most of what you said. He has let this drag on too long and needs to make a decision.
Both QBs showed some good and some bad last night. The line still sucks, and both guys are pressing a little. Kolb's first pick was a bad throw, but he had the underneath reciever open...just missed him badly with the off balance throw (it looked like he was throwing to the blanketed deeper receiver, but I'm not sure that's the case.) Kolb's second pick and Skelton's pick were both ugly as they get...terrible decisions.I don't think I've ever seen an O-line get beaten so often by a four man rush. I mean...there is no hot route when there's no blitz. So when a 4 man rush gets home in sub 3 seconds...it's gonna make any QB look really bad. The line looked better later after Whiz switched it up but I don't know if that was the line switch or the tempo switch.Folks here think I've argued strictly for Kolb but I've actually been arguing more against that line. I think either QB could be succesful with a little better protection. I like Kolb's accuracy and his mobility better than Skelton's, but Kolb also seems to make at least one boneheaded ugly pass every game, and Skelton is bigger/stronger and better built to survive the beating that line is sure to cause. IN the end, I think Whiz should just pick one and put it to rest so these guys can both just relax and PLAY instead of fighting and forcing it. We need to remember that both QBs are still pretty young/inexperienced. Regardlessm of who they go with, it won't likely matter much until that line plays better. "Zona fans should be praying for more/better lineman before they worry about replacing either QB.
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Craig_MiamiFL
Footballguy
I think Wiz is a solid coach. He just has to pick one of 2 mediocre QB's.
This is Derek Anderson/Matt Leinart II.
This is Derek Anderson/Matt Leinart II.
LHUCKS
Footballguy
Wiz is a good coach...the problem is and always has been the Bidwills and/or the GM, in this case Rod Graves.If Graves isn't canned this year, I'm forever ditching the Cardinals. I now live in SF, so the Niners will be a nice transition.
kutta
Footballguy
Please don't do that.
JetMaxx
Footballguy
I found it fascinating last night that Dilfer kept harping on the playcalling for these young QB's and the horrible line. He used the term "playcalling is the secret sauce for a qb"(huh?) repeatedly when he saw the ridiculous drops Wiz was calling. Say what you want but Wiz isn't helping that awful product on the field.Bringing Rapelsberger into this is a complete hijack. Kolb is struggling, no doubt. He isn't getting rid of the ball. However, after watching last night, I'm starting to seriously question the play calling and structure of the offense. On the play that resulted in a safety, Kolb had just been sacked on the 1, narrowly missing a safety. It's 3rd down, 14 yds to go on the 1 yd line, they put in the 3rd team RB, James, AND PUT KOLB IN THE FREAKING SHOTGUN. Are you serious?!? What play caller in their right mind after that series of events, down and distance, etc does that to a QB that's clearly struggling and has a woeful OL? A play call like that has such a high fail level and shows such little regard for the state of your team that it would be an embarrassment to take responsibilty for it. That's high school level bad coaching IMO.think he means getting hit by rushers, not women trying to fend off an attack.BigBen.
I wouldnt look into this too much.
sometimes a coach calls a bad play in exhibition to see what his QB will do in a certain situation rather than to try to win the game.
At the end of the day, the coach will make a call based on what he sees every day. We only have the luxury of seeing what happens at the actual game.
sometimes a coach calls a bad play in exhibition to see what his QB will do in a certain situation rather than to try to win the game.
At the end of the day, the coach will make a call based on what he sees every day. We only have the luxury of seeing what happens at the actual game.
Craig_MiamiFL
Footballguy
Hated the Floyd pick.1) He's going to have trouble separating at this level. Always thought the guy was stiff / looks very awkward running routes. He can't get out of his breaks. Thought the Boldin comparisons were terribly exaggerated. 2) They needed O-line help. Surprised they didn't grab the OT outta Iowa.Fitz/Roberts/Doucet isn't a bad top 3. Worse case they grabbed Manningham/etc... for pennies as a WR2 or another WR later. And you've got Housler to potentially pick up slack in 2TE sets.Teams picking in the top half of draft shouldn't be making luxury picks when they have a gaping hole everywhere.JMO The Cards would be best off to make the 2TE set their base set (Heap or King inline & Housler split at times) and pray after 5 years in the league, Kolb grows some stones to stay and step up in the pocket.
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LHUCKS
Footballguy
This has always been the issue in AZ...we have never had a top 10 line. The Warner years the pass blocking was decent, but the run blocking was still atrocious.
Loan Sharks
Not a Wolf
My best guess is they will go with Kolb as the starter for 3-4 weeks and when he totally blows it he will never be heard from again. I think it is less risky for Wisenhunt to start Kolb and have him fail than to start Skelton and have him fail then bring in the big ticket qb and have him do well.
Clifford
Footballguy
I found this incredibly odd...
Beanie Wells - RB - Cardinals
Beanie Wells and Ryan Williams will both play in Thursday's preseason finale.
It's a bit odd, as important players typically sit out the exhibition closer, and coach Ken Whisenhunt has already said John Skelton and Kevin Kolb won't play. Wells and Williams could both use the live reps, however. Williams has begun to close in on Wells in Rotoworld's running back rankings, checking in at No. 38. Beanie is No. 30.
After the last game the blurb said they would both play. Now this is saying they won't, even after Wis admitted the QB situation was "murkier" following the last contest.
Here are the possibilities of what's going on IMO:
1. (Most likely) Wis had already made up his mind to start Skelton for the week 1 game, and wanted to do two things. Make sure Skelton was the player he thought (only threw three passes last game); and make sure Kolb is the player he thought he was. If this is the case, the murkier comment makes no sense.
2. Wanted to give Skelton one chance to slam the door shut, which he failed to do. Also wanted to give Kolb one chance to keep the door open, which he did. In this scenario Wis must have made up his mind to start Kolb after watching film on the game. Otherwise, the two of them not playing in the final game makes no sense.
3. The QB battle was always a farce, and Kolb was going to be the starter no matter what.
My money is on #3. I think Kolb starts, gets shell-shocked behind that line, and then Skelton is started sometime around week 5.
Beanie Wells - RB - Cardinals
Beanie Wells and Ryan Williams will both play in Thursday's preseason finale.
It's a bit odd, as important players typically sit out the exhibition closer, and coach Ken Whisenhunt has already said John Skelton and Kevin Kolb won't play. Wells and Williams could both use the live reps, however. Williams has begun to close in on Wells in Rotoworld's running back rankings, checking in at No. 38. Beanie is No. 30.
After the last game the blurb said they would both play. Now this is saying they won't, even after Wis admitted the QB situation was "murkier" following the last contest.
Here are the possibilities of what's going on IMO:
1. (Most likely) Wis had already made up his mind to start Skelton for the week 1 game, and wanted to do two things. Make sure Skelton was the player he thought (only threw three passes last game); and make sure Kolb is the player he thought he was. If this is the case, the murkier comment makes no sense.
2. Wanted to give Skelton one chance to slam the door shut, which he failed to do. Also wanted to give Kolb one chance to keep the door open, which he did. In this scenario Wis must have made up his mind to start Kolb after watching film on the game. Otherwise, the two of them not playing in the final game makes no sense.
3. The QB battle was always a farce, and Kolb was going to be the starter no matter what.
My money is on #3. I think Kolb starts, gets shell-shocked behind that line, and then Skelton is started sometime around week 5.
