This whole talk of Kolb at QB has got me yelling at the radio in my truck. There are just too many reasons its a bad move. But throwing in DRC is over the edge. Let me explain.
First off, the 2010 debacle on offense is Whisenhunt's fault alone. I'm fully convinced. End of story. And no, I don't believe they were bad because of the lack of talent at QB. Yes, I believe that to be great you have to have a stud QB. But when you don't have one, you have no option but to run the air out of the football. The great recent examples are KC with Cassel, Chicago with Grossman, and the Ravens with Dilfer. (If Chicago can win with Rex Grossman than the Cards can win with my grandma at QB) Coach Whiz ran this offense like Kurt Warner was still back there and not DA, Hall, and Skelton. No one bears the blame on this offense but the head coach. Why didn't the players execute? Because they weren't put in positions to be successful. Think about this, with D.A. struggling the Cardinals threw the ball 64% of the time. 64%! Who's genius idea was that? The best friend of a struggling QB is supposed to be a good run game. Instead they just had him throw more. And remember, this run offense posted a top 10 yards per carry average in the league(4.3). A coach should know what he has and should do anything to make it work. He tried to pound these guys into being Kurt Warner, and I'm sorry, only 3 guys I can think of can do what he does, and they are under contract in Indi, N.O. and N.E. My point, QB wasn't the problem with the 2010 Cards, it was philosophy. Sadly, the former OC in Pittsburgh didn't know how to change from a hall of fame QB system to an average QB system. Plain and simple.
Now about this trade. Kolb is obviously unproven. In 2009, Kolb had his best season; he played two and a half games and had an 88.9 QB rating. He posted a very respectable 64.6 completion percentage and looked amazing against a very bad KC team. But he was very average against the Super Bowl Champion Saints team. That's it. Two games. In 2010 he gets his first real look as starter and his horribly average; starting 5 games with a 76.1 QB rating 7TD's 7 INT, and gets a concussion. He still posts a very good completion percentage(60.8%), which is a major plus for me. But it isn't enough. This is an uproven player with concussions in his history.
Also, any stock broker worth a lick knows to sell high and buy low. Well, Kolb's stock is skyrocketing. Not because he did anything, but because everyone's desperate for a QB and they keep outbidding each other. This reminds me of the fantasy football draft when I see guys go "all in" for Chris Johnson while I relax and grab Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne and Arian Foster for the same price. The worst thing you can do is panic and sacrifice your future for a questionable commodity now. This is the worst time to buy Kolb. What about DRC? Well, he's coming off easily his worst season. So his stock is way low. Absolutely the worst time to sell.
Mark my words: DRC will be a probowler in 2011 if he's in AZ. Ray Horton is the new DC and he will light a Herculean torch under DRC's butt. No one knows how to get more out of a DB than Horton. This guy made Brian McFadden look good. And if DRC doesn't perform well, then Ray'll do what the useless DC refused to do in 2010 and sit his butt on the bench. I am salivating at the thought of Ray Horton leading Adrian Wilson, Kerry Rhodes, Patrick Peterson, Greg Toler, and DRC in the backfield next year. It could be the makings of greatness.
I don't know about you but I thought John Skelton looked good. Not great, mind you. Just good. The thing that stood out in my mind is his poise under pressure. He reminded me of Big Ben. I don't know if he's gonna be that good, but he has definite similarites that helps teams win. That is, if they know how to run the football. And I see his stock rising. There is ample potential there to be cultivated. No matter what veteran they get this year, John will push for the starting spot. With that in mind, should the Cardinals give up a lot to get Kolb who "might" be the future or just roll with an average veteran and coach Skelton up? I'm going with the latter.
As for picking up a veteran, there a plenty of serviceable QB's out there at a low cost. For one year I could see Hasselbeck, Orton, or even Bulger coming in. Only Orton might give you more than a year, but Skelton should overtake all of them before 2012. Hasselbeck seems like the natural fit, but I don't know if he'll have the fire that Orton will have. Orton wants to earn a job somewhere in this league while Matt just wants to finish another season safely. If Orton doesn't cost much (3rd rounder or later), I'd nab him.
One last thing on Kevin Kolb: he wants big money. I hear he wants to be paid like the big boys and that has me petrified. This guy has done NOTHING. NOTHING! You're putting all your chips on a guy that has a lifetime QB rating of 73.2. That's nuts.
I'm actually not against getting Kolb. But it has to be the right price. I think I'd give up a 2nd rounder for him if he'd listen to reason and take a moderate contract. But I'm not breaking the bank for him. And I'm certainly not giving up a 1st rounder (which will end up being a good player) or DRC (who will be a star). This trade wreaks of needless desperation.
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