Time has come for Cardinals to evaluate, maybe make changes
Oct 24, 2011, 7:14 PM | Updated: 10:08 pm
That’s now five straight losses for the Arizona Cardinals.
There’s little relief in sight as the team travels to
Baltimore Sunday, especially knowing the Cardinals have
lost 10 straight on the road dating back to last season.
As can be expected, head coach Ken Whisenhunt says it’s
time to evaluate the team in hopes of finding something
that works.
“We’ve got to look at every position, if we’re not getting
it done we’ve got to be willing to make changes,”
Whisenhunt said. “One-and-five, five straight losses is
very frustrating; it’s certainly not from lack of effort
we are working our tails to try to win.”
When Whisenhunt says “every position,” that includes
quarterback.
“I think the quarterback is the focal point of a lot of
things when you lose five games in a row,” Whisenhunt
said. “You got to look at where Kevin [Kolb] is as a young
player, I know he’s been in the league for a number of
years, but as a young starter there’s some things we’ve
got to work on with Kevin that he’s got to get better at.”
Through six games this season Kolb has thrown for 1,553
yards, seven touchdowns, seven interceptions and fumbled
five times. That’s probably not what the Cardinals were
expecting when they gave up cornerback Dominique Rodgers-
Cromartie and a second round pick to get the quarterback.
Kolb’s struggles led to the team bringing offensive
coordinator Mike Miller down from the booth to the field
in an effort to try and improve communication between
coach and quarterback.
And while the communication may have improved, Kolb’s
footwork didn’t. The QB has struggled there this season,
which Whisenhunt believes is due to Kolb not being
comfortable with the offense. But the head coach also
knows good footwork is a vital part of being a good
quarterback.
“He’s got to get better with his footwork which will allow
him to stay in the pocket and make some of the throws,”
Whisenhunt said. “Now there’s times when he’s done some
really good things for us, but we’ve got to do a better
job with his footwork in the pocket so he’ll be more
consistent and make those throws. Those are all things
that can be corrected, we’ve got to get it done.”
While Kolb probably won’t be the first change made, the
head coach did say he is comfortable with backups John
Skelton and Richard Bartel.
