Kolb Should be Judged on How Long He Plays Friday Night
By Scott Allen
Many look at Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb and immediately dismiss him because of the 0.0 rating he is currently holding in the preseason. I’ve been saying it is overrated. Yes, Kolb has only completed 2-9 so far in two games. Look at it like this though, it is only two games and he only played sparingly in both games. It is hard to judge an overall body of work on just really less than two quarters of action. Hopefully that changes Friday night against Oakland Raiders.
It is those two quarters though most people have already in their minds named John Skelton the starting quarterback. In a sense, I understand why. However, many people are not looking at the overall picture. Kolb needs to play most or all of tomorrow night’s game for a proper evaluation. For whatever reason, coach Ken Whisenhunt last week took Kolb out before the two-minute drive to close out the first half against the Kansas City Chiefs. Kolb left the opener against the New Orleans Saints in the first quarter after getting injured.
Kolb may not allow us to give him a full game evaluation if he doesn’t stay healthy but the Cards need to leave him in to at least try to get through it. I don’t care if Kolb is playing against second and third stringers. He needs to play. Skelton hasn’t done enough to win the competition yet either, although he has played better.
Before anyone says it, and trust me, I’ve seen people talk about it, Ryan Lindley is not a part of the conversation. Period. This will be a learning year for Lindley. The only way he plays in the regular season is if something happens to either Kolb or Skelton or both.
Also, the notion the Cards will trade for a veteran quarterback is also ridiculous. At this point in the preseason, no one can come in and grasp the system quick enough to be ready for the regular season. Of course, if one or both quarterbacks gets injured, then you have to make a move out of necessity. It should be last resort only.
If Kolb ends up playing less than a half tomorrow because of performance or injury, then I project Skelton will end up being named starter, although I won’t necessarily agree.