Minnesota 34 Arizona 10
The kind of progress that Kevin Kolb is making this year makes you wonder if Derek Anderson was really all that bad last year. I mean there is no question that D.A. got worse and worse as the season progressed, but there is also no question that Kolb is getting worse. I just wonder if D.A.s outcome might have been different under a coach who knew how to get a lot out of a QB. And as it comes down to how to handle and new QB, Ken Whisenhunt has shown zero competency in that department.
I've been teaching math for about 7 years to the non-accelerated students. That is to say, your above average to lowest students. When working with students who don't easily grasp new concepts you have to simplify the content early. The reason for this is that when a struggling student handles concepts that they hadn't previously been able to grasp, the class starts to slow down for them. As they see success build over time they start to gain confidence. Some students even can go from being mainstream to honors if they are truly gifted in the area. However, if they feel like the class is going too fast and they don't understand the material, their minds jump ship. You have to hit the breaks quick and restart from day 1 if you want to recapture them, but you'll be fighting a new issue. They already feel like they suck, but now they start to lose hope for success. Once that sets in, you've lost them.
That's where Kolb is right now. (And similarly, D.A. was last year at this point) Ken Whisenhunt has shoved so much material down his throat that he can't function normally. The game starts to speed up. He starts to question himself. He loses confidence. And one bad throw makes him wonder if he's really cut out for this. Coach lost him. Now, you can of course get him back, but to do it you'll have to go back to Day 1 and start witht the basic stuff. Aka fundamentals. Like handing the ball off. A proper 3 step drop or a 5 step drop followed by STEPPING UP INTO THE POCKET! Good selling of play action. Progressing through reads. And while working on that, relying heavily on a run offense that takes tons of pressure off him. This should allow for the game to slow down and allow his confidence to increase. Now it is possible that he may just have average gifts at the QB position so you might expect him to only become and average QB. But at least he'll be reaching his potential. There's not a professional out there worth a lick that says that Kolb is playing up to his potential right now. I would even rate him as one of the three worst QB in the league right now. Right there with McNabb, Gabbert, or even Cassell. The question then remains; who has failed to put Kolb into a position of success? Well, the head coach always deserves the blame for that.
Hope and confidence are two very different things. Hope is something that can exist in spite of the circumstances. So I have 'hope' that Coach Whiz can right this ship and turn this season around. Confidence, on the other hand, is something based off of prior experience. So my 'confidence' is extremely low that Coach Whiz will turn this around. He doesn't show any signs of changing his precious offense that has done nothing in a Kurt Warnerless state. He pushes it down every new QB's throat and then hangs them out to dry. May the roast for Kevin Kolb soon begin.
I for one feel that Kolb should be an above average QB. When given the right guidance he could be a potential star. But that will never happen at this rate, and he might fall into the trap of what happened to other potential star QB's that had coaches destroy them. To name a few: David Carr, Alex Smith, and saddest of all for me, Jake Plummer.
To talk about the rest of this team right now is a waste of time. Ken Whisenhunt put his job on the line when he overpaid for Kolb. Right now it looks like its going to cost him that very thing.
Two other thoughts:
Favorite quote of the day: (slightly paraphrased cuz I'm going on memory)
"I guarantee Kevin Kolb's package is 5 times bigger than Cam Newton's."
-Tim Ryan
Favorite hit of the day: Beanie bounced a run outside (shocker) and hit a Viking player so hard that his helmet exploded off of his head. They replayed it like 3 times and each time everyone lost there breath at how ferocious the impact was.
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