Best Acting By An Arizona Cardinals Quarterback Goes To…

Dec 9, 2012; Seattle, WA, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback John Skelton (19) is hit by Seattle Seahawks defensive end Chris Clemons (91) after passing the ball during the 1st quarter at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

John Skelton.  Man, this guy had us all fooled.  In 2010 when he was drafted out of Fordham, the Arizona Cardinals said he was going to be a project.  They told us not to expect to see him in a game for a long while.  Then, all bets were off when the Cards released Matt Leinart.  It became a three-quarterback circus in Arizona.

It was in 2011 that Skelton’s acting really started to shine.  He had a lot of people fooled, although not me, into thinking he was an NFL quarterback.  This was mainly due to his 7-2 record as a starting quarterback.  Many of those wins though really couldn’t be attributed to him though.

Then came 2012 training camp.  It was a two-man competition in which he “won” the starting job for the season opener against the Seattle Seahawks.  The Cards somehow felt this guy could play in the NFL.  Skelton got injured late in that contest and Kevin Kolb took over the reins once again.  Kolb played fairly well for the most part – until he too re-injured himself, which ultimately was the end of his season.

Skelton had everyone fooled by now.  He started in Atlanta against the Falcons.  He was so bad though, he finally couldn’t fool even the coaching staff.  They had seen the light.  Leading 13-0, Skelton was replaced by Ryan Lindley, who also was considered a project and unlikely to see regular season action.  For Skelton to lead coaches to believe he could be an NFL quarterback that long, that had to take some talent.  Skelton is a nice guy and by no means any of this his fault, don’t get me wrong.  He is just not suited for the NFL.  I have sincere reservations if we will ever see him in a regular season NFL game again.