Skelton is terrible

[Denny Green Fan]

I crave another date with Skelton next week. Hopefully we can eventually

blossom into a relationship. This organization is due some good luck.

 

[john h]

There... Got it off my chest.

I have a much different take on Skelton now than I did early on. He seems to get better with each game. I think he has only started about 7 games and has a lot to learn but he has those things you have to be born with. Size, arm strength, courage in the pocket He made some bad throws but ended up with over 300 yards and a game winning drive. I now think Skelton will be a real NFL starter and as he becomes more comfortable his accuracy will improve. He is hard to bring down and is great at stepping up into the pocket and getting the ball away. Very strong arm. His record is no accident and I think he clearly has more potential than Kolb. I can see him the starter next year and Kolb the backup. It may not work out that way but I hope just because we gave an arm and a leg for Kolb that should enter into the equation. All he has done so far is win and improve. He appears to have more es-capability than Kolb and does not immediately retreat out of the pocket. He helps his lineman by staying in the pocket and stepping up. With Kolb you never seem to know where he will be. I thought Skelton was a total dud early on but he is making me eat crow.

We will be total idiots if he does not start next week as we are still in the hunt. Unbelievable 7/7! After losing 6 in a row I would have bet my house we would never reach 7/7. A couple of guys that are going unnoticed but sure add to our play. One is Todd Heap when he is healthy. He can still play at a high level. Roberts and Doucett have emerged since Larry is always double covered. How Larry is still making all these catches with teams double covering him is beyond me. His blocking is always there but until recently we have not heard much about it. Our kicker is doing the job this year. He is consistently putting it in the end zone and made most of the big kicks when we needed them. I am not sure we have the best punter we could have but may be wrong. There are a couple of killer punters coming out of college this year. I do not know where good punters are usually drafted. I recall one year when I think we took Steve Little, the Arkansas kicker, with our first pick. Of course he ended up in a wheelchair after a car accident after his first year and died a few years ago.

I am really proud of the Cards this year after that horrible start. We easily could have won at least 2 of those games and we would definitely be in the playoffs. Our defense has turned into a championship quality group. They have been playing at a championship level since we started our streak. Good offensive play does help the defense. Winning helps everyone. It is hard to believe that Whiz is about to become the all time winning coach for the Cards. That goes to show how bad we have been over the years as Whiz has not been here that long. Kudos to our defensive coordination. Sure hope we do not lose him to a head coaching job. Who in the NFL has made more strides with their defense than the Cards? Wilson has been resurrected from the dead and Peterson could or should be the all pro kick returner in his first year. His coverage improves each week. A very good draft pick and it seems everyone was right on him being perhaps the second best pick on the board. Only Cam Newton would nose him out.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I don't know about that. Farve, Warner, and a whole mess of really good QB's had a knack for a few terrible, horrible decisions every game. As long as they won it was all good.

So.... I guess we agree??

Personally, I think some experience, and working on his accuracy is all that Skelton is really missing as a QB.

Thus why I cannot write of John "Double Deuce" Skelton. He has as much upside or more, than any QB on the roster. Furthermore, if we are going to develop a QB, why bother with a 27 year QB with 5 years in the league, when you have a 23 year old QB with 2 years in the league.

Doesn't make much sense IMO.

Saying that 'working on accuracy' is all that is missing for a QB is like saying a golfer only needs to work on his short game. Accuracy is so important that it probably trumps every other fundamental.

I do agree that he has potential, although not sure if it the more as Kolb. People love to compare W-L record between these two QB's but there is a lot more to it than that....

Although I do admit that my view is somewhat bias, as I really don't trust any QB decisions that this organization has made outside of Warner.

 

[Linderbee]

I find it funny how some people will say "All he does is win" when talking about Tebow and that makes him good, yet, "All he does is win" isn't good enough for Skelton.

/just sayin'

 

[juza76]

in thw last 2 weeks skelton passing completed were over 60%..he is getting better..and he is just 23 ...a rookie age...is so far behind bradford freman or other young qbs??

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I find it funny how some people will say "All he does is win" when talking about Tebow and that makes him good, yet, "All he does is win" isn't good enough for Skelton.

/just sayin'

The same thing was said about Trent Dilfer 11-12 years ago winning with Baltimore's defense. Baltimore won in spite of Dilfer.

For the most part, the same is true with Tebow. Skelton is benefitting from a great defense, but he is contributing more than Tebow.

With the way that our defense has played, or Peterson has been returning punts, I'm not convinced that Kolb, or even Bartel could have brought victories to this team in similar fashion.

Jury is still out on Skelton, just like Tebow at the moment.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

in thw last 2 weeks skelton passing completed were over 60%..he is getting better..and he is just 23 ...a rookie age...is so far behind bradford freman or other young qbs??

Personally, I think that Freeman is overrated. I'll take Bradford over either Kolb/Skelton. His offensive line is bad, bad.

 

[juza76]

Personally, I think that Freeman is overrated. I'll take Bradford over either Kolb/Skelton. His offensive line is bad, bad.

actually tampa bay offensive line struggle more then rams oline...i saw much more good things from skelton this year then bradford..and he is 1 year younger with less reps...skleton can make play even with a below averagee line

 

[dreamcastrocks]

actually tampa bay offensive line struggle more then rams oline...i saw much more good things from skelton this year then bradford..and he is 1 year younger with less reps...skleton can make play even with a below averagee line

Sacks aren't everything, but St Louis line leads the league in sacks allowed with 49. Cards are right behind them in 47.

Tampa is 23rd in the same category.

QB Hits, St Louis is top of the league again with 106, while TB is 28th with exactly half as many.

STL line is worse than TB's. Where did you get that idea that TB's line is worse than STL's?

 

[Mulli]

Interesting development:

Can't trust the Cards because they let Leenaert go too soon without a replacement.

Can't trust certain posters because they still think Lionheart is/was a good QB.


What to do!?!

 

[juza76]

Sacks aren't everything, but St Louis line leads the league in sacks allowed with 49. Cards are right behind them in 47.

Tampa is 23rd in the same category.

STL line is worse than TB's.

i just watched tampa game saturaday and 2 weeks before..and their offensive line in this moments is so far the worst unit in nfl...for exmple arizona allowed 47 sacks but the pressures and qb hits are much better the a lot of teams...if we were playing with skelton all season probably we were not the last 2 teams in this category...50% of the sacks are kolb 's mistakes

 

[dreamcastrocks]

i just watched tampa game saturaday and 2 weeks before..and their offensive line in this moments is so far the worst unit in nfl...for exmple arizona allowed 47 sacks but the pressures and qb hits are much better the a lot of teams...if we were playing with skelton all season probably we were not the last 2 teams in this category...50% of the sacks are kolb 's mistakes

Sounds like you are throwing something out there again and hoping it sticks. This time, you get to backup your claim with stats.

 

[kerouac9]

Wouldnt change a word. Happy for the W - but I think Kolb is still the better QB at this point.

Really?

Bump. Inconsistent accuracy. Erratic. Skelton cannot get this offense moving.

Skelton lead the Cards to a better 3rd down conversion rate than they've had all season, but he "cannot get this offense moving"? "Erratic" despite completing more than 60% of his passes?

"Kolb is still the better QB at this point" based on what? Being awful? Completed passes when the defender falls down and long dump offs to LSH? A 1-6 record? Falling on his face when he's needed most? Dramatic failures on 70% of his third down opportunities?

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Really?



Skelton lead the Cards to a better 3rd down conversion rate than they've had all season, but he "cannot get this offense moving"? "Erratic" despite completing more than 60% of his passes?

"Kolb is still the better QB at this point" based on what? Being awful? Completed passes when the defender falls down and long dump offs to LSH? A 1-6 record? Falling on his face when he's needed most? Dramatic failures on 70% of his third down opportunities?

+1

I am on K9's side when it comes to Kolb vs. Double Deuce.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

His behind the receiver passes are timing issues that can be fixed with more practice. Not sure why he starts slow.

see, i wonder if it's just timing, or if he has so much trouble reading the defense (something Whiz is emphatic about - he's missing open WR's) that by the time he finds them his timing, by definition, is off and as a result his passes are lagging. being able to read a defense is more than just practice . . . even though it CAN improve.

 

[splitsecond]

see, i wonder if it's just timing, or if he has so much trouble reading the defense (something Whiz is emphatic about - he's missing open WR's) that by the time he finds them his timing, by definition, is off and as a result his passes are lagging. being able to read a defense is more than just practice . . . even though it CAN improve.

In fact, that is the one thing that only improves over time and experience. Having a knack for it is important, but the dude didn't exactly come from a league in college known for it's creative defenses. I would guess 3/4 of the defensive schemes he saw in college aren't even used in the NFL.

The proof to me is in the pudding though, he is already getting better at those reads from game to game.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

I agree with what Whzi said, there's not enough info to decide who"s the better QB, especiall long term. I'm not making a definite judgement on any player who has played less than 10 games in a system.

 

[kerouac9]

I agree with what Whzi said, there's not enough info to decide who"s the better QB, especiall long term. I'm not making a definite judgement on any player who has played less than 10 games in a system[b/].

Are you going to apologize to Stewart Bradley here, then, or will you start your own thread on that?

 

[Evil Ash]

Personally, I think that Freeman is overrated. I'll take Bradford over either Kolb/Skelton. His offensive line is bad, bad.

So is ours. PFF had us rated slightly above the Rams and that was mostly due to our run blocking. The first sack given up by Keith was awe-inspiringly bad. This was one of their better games and they still had 3 sacks and had plenty of pressure on Skelton

The questions that people really should be asking are 1) does he have the potential to be a starter? and 2) Is he showing signs of developing/improving?
IMO when it comes to Skelton is yes. Does that mean he's the QBOTF? No but he shows signs of possibly being one

People need to have realistic expectations when it comes to young QBs. The chances of them looking like a seasoned vet are about slim to none. There is some development/adjustment time needed. There were plenty of HOF QBs that struggled early in their careers.

 

[daves]

I recall one year when I think we took Steve Little, the Arkansas kicker, with our first pick. Of course he ended up in a wheelchair after a car accident after his first year and died a few years ago.

Actually Little stank it up for the Cardinals for most of three seasons before being cut. The drunk driving accident that paralyzed him happened a few hours after he was cut... tragic on many dimensions.

I found a brief but colorful description of Little's Cardinals career - along with a lot of other good descriptions of St. Louis Cardinals football players - here:
http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/therundown/2009/01/the_ghosts_of_st_louis_footbal.php

Just keepin' it real!

...dave

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Are you going to apologize to Stewart Bradley here, then, or will you start your own thread on that?

If Stewart Bradley was taking snaps then I'd give him a break. Plus Bradley has played more than 10 games .

 

[Dayman]

Fourth Quarter/Overtime Stats

Skelton-38/62 61% 510 yards 4 TDs 2 INTs 95.5 Rating

Kolb-41/78 52.5% 672 yards 4 TDs 3 INTs 82.9 Rating

These numbers don't even tell the full story. Kolb's stats are bolstered by a solid fourth quarter against the Steelers after the game was already out of reach, as well as his OT screen to Hyphen. Kolb's rating drops over 5 points if Hyphen didn't score on that play.

I know whom I want behind center with the game on the line. Neither of these guys, actually, but given the choice, I'll take Skelton.

 

[LarryStalling]

Over the years, I have watched a lot of Cardinal football. John Skelton can throw as pretty of deep ball, as illustrated by that overtime pass to Fitz, as any Cardinaly qb I have ever seen except for maybe Neil Lomax. His deep passes were a thing of beauty also.

I wonder and have no way of knowing if part of the reason Skelton seemingly starts so slow is because of the game plan. Are the coaches afraid that he is going to make a stupid mistake or mistakes early in the game and get us behind the 8 ball? It seems that the play structure is different when the team starts feeling heat on the seat of their pants.

How can you say that Skelton started slow Sunday? I was paying close attention and he was 7/11 at 8 yards a clip. What more do you want?

 

[Mulli]

Over the years, I have watched a lot of Cardinal football. John Skelton can throw as pretty of deep ball, as illustrated by that overtime pass to Fitz, as any Cardinaly qb I have ever seen except for maybe Neil Lomax. His deep passes were a thing of beauty also.

I wonder and have no way of knowing if part of the reason Skelton seemingly starts so slow is because of the game plan. Are the coaches afraid that he is going to make a stupid mistake or mistakes early in the game and get us behind the 8 ball? It seems that the play structure is different when the team starts feeling heat on the seat of their pants.

How can you say that Skelton started slow Sunday? I was paying close attention and he was 7/11 at 8 yards a clip. What more do you want?

I hear what you are saying, but points would be nice.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I hear what you are saying, but points would be nice.

exactly.