Lombardi: Kolb Should lose his job

[Shane]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000...est-goes-40-more-week-10-notes?module=HP11_cp

I've seen Cardinals QB John Skelton play over 20 college games. He went to school at Fordham, where my son attended and is now a proud graduate. Skelton led Fordham to the Patriot League title his sophomore season, demonstrating a big arm with above average athletic skills. Three years later, the Cards took a chance on him in the fifth round, which might prove to be a great pick.

In just two games, Skelton already looks better than Kevin Kolb, the player the Cards traded for this summer. Skelton looks better in terms of his command, his poise, and his ability to make deep throws. Sunday in Philadelphia, the Cards pulled off a huge upset, handing the Eagles their sixth loss of the season (much more about the Eagles later in the column). Now the Cards have won two in a row with Skelton under center, and if they go back to Kolb they are nuts. Skelton can grow into the job as he proved Sunday. He can make all the throws and seems to have a sense of rhythm with Larry Fitzgerald. I realize Skelton will make his share of mistakes, like he did throwing an out in front of Asante Samuel, but eventually he has to learn. Once he does, he might pay huge dividends.

Winning in Philadelphia is never easy, even this season. A 300-yard effort and leading the Cards to a fourth-quarter comeback should be good enough for Skelton to keep the job, regardless of what it cost Arizona to get Kolb.

 

[Pariah]

Here, here.

 

[conraddobler]

I agree with the guy yet I predict Kolb it will be after the 49ers turn Skelton back into a pumpkin.

It won't be IMO the right thing to do but this staff is desperate and once the flames start shooting out I would imagine they'll put down the buckets and run back to Kolb.

Hope I'm wrong.

 

[kerouac9]

Here, here.

I'm pretty sure that it's "Hear here!" Doesn't that make more sense? I hate it when people screw that up.

:bim:

 

[Pariah]

I'm pretty sure that it's "Hear here!" Doesn't that make more sense? I hate it when people screw that up.

:bim:

If you're going to call me out for it, then I'm going to BIM your BIM. It's "Hear hear."

"The phrase hear him, hear him! was used in Parliament from late in the 17th century, and was reduced to hear! or hear, hear! by the late 18th century."

 

[kerouac9]

Cards aren't going to win out. Watch how healthy Kevin Kolb gets if/when we lose two in a row.

Of course, it's possible that's not going to happen until Week 15. Kolb is really going to be able to shine against the defenses of the Browns, Bengals, and Seahawks.

 

[Darkside]

Kolb isn't losing his job anytime soon. It isn't the amount of money we gave up that makes me want to see Kolb, it's the fact that people (plural, more than 1 person) were responsible for making that deal and so obviously they saw something which led them to believe he was worth the price. I have no doubt they're right, and I want to see what it is. He deserves to start, that's why we brought him in and paid him, and he will start (I'm assuming after the 49er game). He may stink it up like he's been doing and we dump him, but I won't mind a bit when Skelton steps in and starts balling.

 

[kerouac9]

Kolb isn't losing his job anytime soon. It isn't the amount of money we gave up that makes me want to see Kolb, it's the fact that people (plural, more than 1 person) were responsible for making that deal and so obviously they saw something which led them to believe he was worth the price. I have no doubt they're right, and I want to see what it is. He deserves to start, that's why we brought him in and paid him, and he will start (I'm assuming after the 49er game). He may stink it up like he's been doing and we dump him, but I won't mind a bit when Skelton steps in and starts balling.

Based on what? The same people who loved Max Hall loving him? Why would you believe in the offensive staff that handcuffed Ben Roethlisberger and believed in Max Hall and Derek Anderson as starting NFL quarterbacks?

Kevin Kolb will start again, but he's done nothing to show that he deserves a starting NFL job.

 

[MadCardDisease]

What Lombardi and the other so called experts fail to realize it that while the Eagles have an "all-star" defensive backfield, with zero pass rush it doesn't really matter.

When the Eagles make our OTs start to look good you know there is something amiss.

 

[kerouac9]

What Lombardi and the other so called experts fail to realize it that while the Eagles have an "all-star" defensive backfield, with zero pass rush it doesn't really matter.

When the Eagles make our OTs start to look good you know there is something amiss.

Philly's 5th in the NFL in sacks (26). It's not the personnel or the pass rush; it's the system that is asking two excellent man corners (DRC and Nmandi) to play zones designed to cover up for less talented players.

The Philadelphia Eagles had 4 sacks yesterday. Their record is what it is because they can't stop offenses in the red zone and they can't punch the ball in from the red zone when they don't produce big plays.

 

[Darkside]

Based on what? The same people who loved Max Hall loving him? Why would you believe in the offensive staff that handcuffed Ben Roethlisberger and believed in Max Hall and Derek Anderson as starting NFL quarterbacks?

Kevin Kolb will start again, but he's done nothing to show that he deserves a starting NFL job.

He didn't handcuff Ben, I don't know why people say that. He took Ben to the playoffs, and they lost. Very next year they won a freaking SB together. How handcuffing? Handcuffing is what Ben does.

As far as Max Hall and DA, that's why I said I criticized him last year, he's not infallible. But he didn't choose Hall as a starter, that's an unfair inference. Hall replaced Anderson. Overall it was a horrible year, obviously.

 

[b8rtm8nn]

The nonsense is that Skelton doing well means Kolb loses his job...I would think that means Skelton is winning the job based on the opportunity he has. If Kolb was benched, then he would have lost the job. Irritating write-up.

 

[Dayman]

After re-watching most of the first half last night, I agree with Lombardi. Skelton wasn't spectacular, but he reminded me how far away Kolb is from being a legitimate starter. The first TD to Fitz was especially telling. Skelton looked to the left to clear the D, pump faked and whipped to his right to hit Fitz in stride. I simply can't see Kolb making that same play. I have very few memories of him looking off a D in any situation.

In reality, though, I don't see Kolb losing his job this season. While we all like to think contracts don't dictate playing time, giving up on Kolb now would admit an enormous mistake by the organization and likely cost some people their jobs. I expect to see Kolb scrambling for his life again in two weeks.

 

[b8rtm8nn]

http://blogs.nfl.com/2011/11/14/cards-skelton-says-life-as-backup-is-difficult/

This one is better and includes the quote:

It’s also part of Skelton’s current role to give plenty of love to WR Larry Fitzgerald. He targeted Fitzgerald 13 times against the Eagles, and conceeded he’s under direct orders to feed the star receiver. Sort of.

“Uh, I’m told by Larry to look there that often,” Skelton said.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Based on what? The same people who loved Max Hall loving him? Why would you believe in the offensive staff that handcuffed Ben Roethlisberger and believed in Max Hall and Derek Anderson as starting NFL quarterbacks?

Kevin Kolb will start again, but he's done nothing to show that he deserves a starting NFL job.

yup... I believe it was William Munny who said "deserve ain't got nothing to do with it". Kolb's on the field performance for the overwhelming majority of his starts has been pretty damn inconsistent... and that's being kind. For a guy who's been in the league as long as he has, he might not necessarily be expected to set the world on fire this year, but he shouldn't be a fire that needs to be put out either which is what he's looked like since week 2 of the season.

 

[daves]

Cards aren't going to win out. Watch how healthy Kevin Kolb gets if/when we lose two in a row.

Of course, it's possible that's not going to happen until Week 15. Kolb is really going to be able to shine against the defenses of the Browns, Bengals, and Seahawks.

Is that sarcasm? If it is, i don't get it.

The Browns have the #1 ranked passing defense in the league (granted, that may be because they're relatively easy to run on); The Bengals have the #5 overall defense and are #10 vs. the pass; and while the Seahawks are only #19 vs. the pass, Kolb hardly shined the last time he played them and led the Cardinals to a whopping 10 points with a 25-39-252-1-2 performance.

...dave

 

[nashman]

If he is taking orders from Larry that is not a good thing either! Yeah keep throwing it to him and when he doesn't make amazing catches on your inaccurate balls then the other team probably will be catching alot of them. Sorry but Skelton's best asset seems to be his poise which is nice but does not a star make. If he can clean up his accuracy and ability to read a D he may do well with time. Will he get the time... not so sure.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

On NFLN Lombardi, who I don't really like, said the Cards should stick with Skelton and ride it out until he loses, like NE did with Brady. I agree with playing Skelton until he loses then I'd give Kolb another shot. No matter what happens, unless Sketlon rolls of an impressive win streak, I would go into camp next year with an open competition.

 

[kerouac9]

Is that sarcasm? If it is, i don't get it.

The Browns have the #1 ranked passing defense in the league (granted, that may be because they're relatively easy to run on); The Bengals have the #5 overall defense and are #10 vs. the pass; and while the Seahawks are only #19 vs. the pass, Kolb hardly shined the last time he played them and led the Cardinals to a whopping 10 points with a 25-39-252-1-2 performance.

...dave

It is sarcasm. Those defenses are good, and if Kolb struggles against them than we're going to hear the same conversation that we're hearing right now.

 

[Phrazbit]

Kolb isn't losing his job anytime soon. It isn't the amount of money we gave up that makes me want to see Kolb, it's the fact that people (plural, more than 1 person) were responsible for making that deal and so obviously they saw something which led them to believe he was worth the price. I have no doubt they're right, and I want to see what it is. He deserves to start, that's why we brought him in and paid him, and he will start (I'm assuming after the 49er game). He may stink it up like he's been doing and we dump him, but I won't mind a bit when Skelton steps in and starts balling.

Why would you assume they are right? These are the same people who appointed Derek Anderson the starter despite having an abysmal preseason, completing less that 50% of his passes the previous 2 years and making a strong case as "the worst starting QB of all time". And they go and waive Lienart for THAT player... they hang the hopes of their entire season on the horrendous talent of Derek Anderson, and went down in flames. They replace him with Max Hall, a predictably awful player. It wasnt until they finally went with Skelton that the team looked even remotely respectable. Then this offseason they once again bring in a QB with a dubious history, a guy that no other team pursued and that his previous team gave away, he goes down in flames...

What irks me the most about acquiring Kolb is that the year before they dumped Lienart... a player with the same skillset as Kolb. If anything Kolb looks like a poor man's right handed Lienart.

Hmm...

I got sidetracked there... my mistake.

Moral of the story, Kolb's failures are not because of the adjustments or him being "like a rookie", or even the O-Line, Kolb sucks because he is a crappy player and the team grossly misevaluated him. There is far more evidence that Skelton is has earned a starting job, than there is evidence the Kolb should ever have had the opportunity to begin with.

 

[GatorAZ]

What Lombardi and the other so called experts fail to realize it that while the Eagles have an "all-star" defensive backfield, with zero pass rush it doesn't really matter.

When the Eagles make our OTs start to look good you know there is something amiss.

Wait when were they making our OL look good? Skelton was under duress all game.

As for Big Red the thing that helps him is he was a Whiz draft pick. If coach didn't believe he could be a franchise QB he wouldn't have taken him. Last year was a debacle and he was under pressure to make a big time QB move. If Kolb is playing poorly you don't keep him out there to justify his contract, DRC or the 2nd round pick. You do what's best for the team. If Skelton doesn't improve and we keep losing games you go back to Kolb. If Skelton shows massive improvement and we start winning more games you stick with him for the future and don't look back. Skelton has more upside and it's not even close.

 

[JeffGollin]

On NFLN Lombardi, who I don't really like, said the Cards should stick with Skelton and ride it out until he loses, like NE did with Brady. I agree with playing Skelton until he loses then I'd give Kolb another shot. No matter what happens, unless Sketlon rolls of an impressive win streak, I would go into camp next year with an open competition.

You can make the argument that matched one on one, KK is more talented than Skelton. (you could also make an equally persuasive case that Skelton is the better of the two).

But that aside, the logic points to staying with Skelton for the time being:

1. Play the hot hand (Skelton's 2 & 0).

2. Make sure Kolb is 100 percent healed before we even consider playing him.

 

[Duckjake]

You can make the argument that matched one on one, KK is more talented than Skelton. (you could also make an equally persuasive case that Skelton is the better of the two).

But that aside, the logic points to staying with Skelton for the time being:

1. Play the hot hand (Skelton's 2 & 0).

2. Make sure Kolb is 100 percent healed before we even consider playing him.

I don't think it really matters which QB starts. The Cards are 2-0 because Sam Acho and O'Brien Schofield are playing instead of Joey Porter and PP21 is getting better every game.

The Cards had allowed 30 points or more in 4 straight games. The Cards make the change on the D and they've only allowed 30 points total in the last two games.

At the start of the season the Cards had too many old guys and too many young guys and not enough middle guys. Those young guys are starting to come of age as NFL players. We're still going to have growing pains but it is fun to watch the kids grow up. Especially since I don't have to feed them.

 

[Cards_Campos]

Shelton should start until he plays poorly. We have nothing to lose. We paid the money for Kolb whether he plays or Shelton plays. So we might as well play the QB who is winning. SHelton will be very good with reps. Dude isn't quite use to the NFL speed at times. But to be honest. Manning throws pick 6's, Rivers, stafford, Brady, Fitspatrick, etc. But he also threw some great throws. He is better than Kolb and I shouldnt matter. The money is spent, play the better player.

 

[Fiasco]

If he can clean up his accuracy and ability to read a D he may do well with time. Will he get the time... not so sure.

Skelton is standing in the pocket or stepping up with his eyes downfield. Against the eagles he scanned the field and looked off defenders moreso then any other pro game he has played so far.

Kolb also needs to work on his accuracy and ability to read the field. But before he can do that he has to stop running away from the LOS, stop locking on to receivers and stop throwing off his back foot.