Your Evaluation of Skelton's Play?

[MoeIsBetter]

The best thing about his play today was it showed lots of potential. Other than that he really didnt do much.

 

[PACardsFan]

My thoughts:

1. Very impressed with his calm demeanor througout the game.
2. Also that he chose to throw the ball away (3x by my count) rather than force it into coverage.
3. Much more mobile than I expected - Loved the big block he threw too.
4. That rainbow pass (twice) needs to be retired. There are DE's with enough recovery speed to defend it.
5. That shovel pass that was nearly intercepted was Brett Farve like - on one of his really bad days.

Overall, Skelton got some experience with the speed of the game, and seemed to get more comfortable as the day wore on.

I'm pleasantly surprised and look forward to watching him next week.

Go Cards!!!

Agree, but there's nothing wrong with his ability to rainbow passes. Normally, big guys, with big arms, don't have the ability to loft passes. Granted, those passes had too much loft, but it shows that the kid has the ability to finesse passes when needed.

Just before the draft, I had overheard an opposing Patriot League coach draw comparisons between Flacco & Skelton. He had played against both of them many times. He flat out said that Skelton was better at the same time in their development. He said his pocket presence was better & he had a stronger arm than Flacco. I remember him saying that in addition to Skelton's physical attributes, he seldom made the same mistake twice. Compared his style more to Roethlisbergers, because he has good mobility for a big man. I actually was very impressed today. Let's see what happens next week!!

 

[Syracusecards]

Love the way he stands in the pocket and keeps his eyes downfield knowing he's about to get completely destroyed. His size is a big assett in that he knows he can take a hit and get up. Hall seemed like he knew he's a munchkin and could be sent back to Oz with 1 hit.

The thing that most impressed me was how accurate he was. The kid has virtually no experience with any of the starters and was hitting guys between coverage and in stride. I know he missed some, but you can't expect him to be on target with as little experience in the offense as he has. Cripes, DA has been taking starters reps all year and knew where his receivers would be and still miss by a mile.

I'm leary of getting overly optomistic because it's the Broncos with hardly any pass rush. Also, Rob Johnson was given the Bills starting job for having a lights out game and it turned out to be the only great game of his career. That said, this kid seems very cool in the pocket, has a strong arm, and seems to have a good football IQ in when to throw it away and live to play another down.

I'm pretty stoked. If he turns out to be just above average the last 4 games, we can focus on getting the best defensive player available in the draft. We don't need another Kurt Warner to win our division if we can improve our D.

 

[conraddobler]

I like laser beams down the middle, if the QB can do that, we're in business.

He can do that.

Overall it was a lot better than you get out of most rookies their first start.

Shows good pocket awareness as others said, mobile enough, very strong arm, a little innacurate but considering the work he's had, accurate enough.

You really have to temper all this with the fact the Broncos are done for the year without a coach, I want to see him play Dallas, that game will tell you a ton more, but if he has more time to prepare then I really want to see how he does in that game.

 

[Dayman]

Considering the circumstances, I think he played well. His performance didn't change my mind about needing a QOTF, but he looks like he could turn into a solid pro. The arm strength is obviously there, he can hit open receivers most of the time and he has the physical attributes to take a beating. Another week of practice should do him a world of good.

 

[Dr. Jones]

It will take a lot to convince me that this kid's arm is as big as Flacco's.


However. I liked what I saw. I think by the 2nd half he was pretty locked in.

And to be honest, I didn't think his footwork was the abomination the coaching staff said it was.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

I thought he did great. Like they said on the postgame - his stats for the game are misleading. A few early drops, some bad calls by the refs, etc but he hung in there and didn't get sacked or throw interceptions. Loved the play where he ran for a first down and took a hit rather than simply stepping out of bounds. Gritty player.

It was nice to see passes hit players in stride and/or hit their hands.

Orton, on the other hand, looked like DA out there.

 

[Goldfield]

He looked calm. Good feet. He read the defense pretty good. Thew the ball away. Good mobility. Liked the creative shovel pass even if was very bad. He looks like a quick decision maker.

Cant wait to see if he improves next week or regresses.

There was on play he got pressured hard and he spun out and completed a nice throw to Early.

He has skills. Should of started him a month ago.

 

[chickenhead]

A win, no sacks, no INTs--with almost no experience--I'd say he did pretty well. It may be against the Broncos and at home, but those are the games the Cards need to win (and that they haven't been lately). Excited for next week. It may be Carolina, but a road win will be another step for Skelton if he can make it happen.

 

[Paso Fino]

The floaters that someone criticized had two good things. They were long enough and they seemed to come in over the defenders. A rifle shot would have been more easily intercepted.

 

[desertdawg]

I thought he did great. Like they said on the postgame - his stats for the game are misleading. A few early drops, some bad calls by the refs, etc but he hung in there and didn't get sacked or throw interceptions. Loved the play where he ran for a first down and took a hit rather than simply stepping out of bounds. Gritty player.

It was nice to see passes hit players in stride and/or hit their hands.

Orton, on the other hand, looked like DA out there.

I enjoyed his game. The zero turn overs by Skelton was crucial, allowed us to punt EVERY drive we didn't score (kick a FG ) on. The punts kept pinning the Donkeys deep in their own hood, which let our defense get really aggressive. Good blitzes and retaining focus, the defense looked like they were playing for some thing.

Field position was killer today, and Skelton not throwing picks in his debut really helped give us field position all game long.

Not saying he is the man, but he played solid for a rookie/Cards QB today.

 

[Hypothesis]

In one game, we put up 43 points, where we totaled 43 points combined in our previous 4 outings. Largely in part because our defense came to play, but also because Skelton was able to lead this offense without costly mistakes.

 

[D-Dogg]

Early on, Skelton called a timeout with the playclock running down. The ref had thrown the flag for delay. Then he picked it up...heads up play by the QB knowing he couldn't get the play off on time.

On top of all the rest, that made me happy. He had a grasp of everything going on. He also sent Fitz out in motion on a play where it looked like Fitz might have been lined up wrong, judging by Fitz' reaction and quick movement to get the right alignment. Little things like that were especially promising.

 

[desertdawg]

Early on, Skelton called a timeout with the playclock running down. The ref had thrown the flag for delay. Then he picked it up...heads up play by the QB knowing he couldn't get the play off on time.

On top of all the rest, that made me happy. He had a grasp of everything going on. He also sent Fitz out in motion on a play where it looked like Fitz might have been lined up wrong, judging by Fitz' reaction and quick movement to get the right alignment. Little things like that were especially promising.

Dude, he also went all hard core hard count, getting the mules defense to jump, gained us 5 yards for the first down. He is a thinker, I haven't seen that since Warner. I think he even got Fitz to jump on his hard count.

I am not trying to compare him to Warner, there are three more games to watch this season. He did very well IMO on his first start.

 

[Syracusecards]

Early on, Skelton called a timeout with the playclock running down. The ref had thrown the flag for delay. Then he picked it up...heads up play by the QB knowing he couldn't get the play off on time.

On top of all the rest, that made me happy. He had a grasp of everything going on. He also sent Fitz out in motion on a play where it looked like Fitz might have been lined up wrong, judging by Fitz' reaction and quick movement to get the right alignment. Little things like that were especially promising.

Great point. He really seems like a veteran out there as far as knowing the situation he's in.

 

[Goldfield]

Dude needs to grow some facial hair! Other than that he was pretty solid today.

 

[slanidrac16]

Cool, calm and confident. He made good decisions and even took some shots in some tight spots and put it only where our guy could get it.

All this with one week of practice with Fitz not being there the whole week. Let's hope the coaching staff can help him a bit more. I still question some of the formations called. For instance, why in the world would we line up in shot gun on 2nd and 4? Why tell the defense " we are passing" when we just gouged them for 6 yards up the middle on a first down run. The defense blitzed the formation and Skelton was forced to throw it away. With a rookie QB why not keep play action at least an option for the kid?

I was also surprised and pleased with his ability to move around.

All and all, not bad for his first rodeo!

 

[Dr. Jones]

Just remember.... Max Hall was a scrappy leader after the Saints game. Let's see what the NFL does now that they have some tape on him.

I liked what I saw though. I am just very skeptical.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Maybe I am still shell shocked by Max Hall, but while there was alot of pretty good, I was very unhappy with his inaccuracy.

I am not just talking about the fact that he was at like 45% but even on the throws he did make, there was more then a couple times that the WR had to adjust to the ball and make a great catch (I can think of two off the top of my head from Fitz). Also his touch on the long ball was nonexistent and VERY long each time.

So while I agree it was a good first start, considering the circumstances especially, I am not ready to anoit him anything other then the starter for the rest of the season.

But at least he has the arm and looks the part, unlike Hall.

 

[TJ]

Remember my friends...this was almost ALL on his own!!! The Cardinal coaches have done NOTHING this year to prepare him for this until this week...where he was told he had to beat out a UFL backup, signed on Tuesday, for the starting spot.

Unmerited criticism. On most teams, 3rd stringers typically run the scout team offense and do not take 1st string reps. If you are allocating 1st string reps to your emergency or PS QB, you are doing a disservice to the starters with regards to preparation for the next game.

And the whole thing about beating out a UFLer has been blown out of proportion by you and the rest of the Whis detractors. I would imagine Mitch you'd be smart enough to recognize that Skelton was going to start.

 

[CtCardinals78]

It will take a lot to convince me that this kid's arm is as big as Flacco's.


However. I liked what I saw. I think by the 2nd half he was pretty locked in.

And to be honest, I didn't think his footwork was the abomination the coaching staff said it was.

I wouldn't trust one word of this coaching staff's evaluation of any player, especially at the QB position.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

I wouldn't trust one word of this coaching staff's evaluation of any player, especially at the QB position.

Exactly. When Whis said (about Skelton) "He's not ready." I was confident he was ready.

 

[Evil Ash]

I wouldn't trust one word of this coaching staff's evaluation of any player, especially at the QB position.

Agreed especially when it comes to young players. This draft class is actually looking good but for whatever reason our coaching staff kept putting in the vets over them.

I can see some criticism due for his footwork (he floated a couple of passes as a result of bad footwork today) but it was nowhere near what the coaches made it seem like

 

[CtCardinals78]

Exactly. When Whis said (about Skelton) "He's not ready." I was confident he was ready.

Translation: Skelton had all the physical attributes to play, just not the moxie and intangibles.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

I wouldn't trust one word of this coaching staff's evaluation of any player, especially at the QB position.

Exactly. When Whis said (about Skelton) "He's not ready." I was confident he was ready.

Agreed especially when it comes to young players. This draft class is actually looking good but for whatever reason our coaching staff kept putting in the vets over them.

I can see some criticism due for his footwork (he floated a couple of passes as a result of bad footwork today) but it was nowhere near what the coaches made it seem like

Translation: Skelton had all the physical attributes to play, just not the moxie and intangibles.

I think all logic points to Wiz liking Skeleton quite a bit. You don't give up draft picks to move up to get a player unless you really like him. THAT is the evaluation you need to pay attention to.

So maybe Whisenhunt is doing his best to nurture Skeleton and whats bestfor the kids long term growth and career? Is anyone ignorant enough to respond to this post and tell me a kid from Fordham is going to adjust seamlessly to the NFL playing the most demanding and complex position in sports?

Because thats what many of you seem to be intimating. And does anyone have the links here Wiz and staff were bashing Skeleton's footwork? I never read that. All I read is that "he is not ready".

If you have the luxury to do so, many believe sitting young QB's so they can learn gives you a higher probablity of success. It worked with Carson Palmer and Aaron Rodgers and they were first rounders. It would especially make sense for a 5th round project pick out of Fordham.

More and more it looks likes Hall was thrown to the wolves, and Skeleton was given the more nurturing and logical treatment.

And if he turns out to be good, it was the right thing to do.

Jesus Whisenhunt can't win with some of you at this point.