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If the Arizona Cardinals learned one thing from their preseason game Thursday in Tennessee it's that their QB competition is far from finished.

If the Arizona Cardinals learned a second thing from their preseason game Thursday in Tennessee it's that while Kevin Kolb may have had his best effort of 2012 (which in itself isn't saying much), it's that the former Eagle is a poor fit for the offense Ken Whisenhunt wants to run.

Kevin Kolb completed 17-of-22 passes for 156 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions against the Titans. His best throw was a 53-yard bomb to Larry Fitzgerald, and his worst is a tie between two horrid interceptions.

For the sake of this argument we'll take all three passes out of the equation.

In that case, Kevin Kolb completed 14-of-19 passes for 103 yards and one touchdown. A completion percentage of 74-percent while averaging 5.4 yards per pass attempt.

Not bad, if you're Matt Leinart.

All of Kolb's strengths -- and all of Kolb's weaknesses -- were on display Thursday night at LP Field. The quarterback is accurate coming off short drops when throwing to his first read and mobile enough to move out of the pocket and buy time.

Unfortunately, he gets antsy in the pocket (who could blame him behind this O-line), doesn't go through his progressions and isn't built to take a beating.

In short, Kolb is perfectly suited for the West Coast Offense he used to run in Philadelphia, which is something he's even admitted is still tough to get out of his system.

"It's just the way they create the pocket, there versus here," Kolb told ESPN NFC West blogger Mike Sando. "They teach us to really push up in the pocket in Philly. Two, three hitches up in the pocket when you get up there. You can see that. If you watch Mike [Vick], he has got two really big hitches into his throws. If it's not there, it's go or throw, you know what I mean?

"Here, when you get to that 8-yard range [on a drop-back], they want you to hang in that vicinity and just stay there. It is just a different deal. A lot of it is rhythm. As a quarterback, you always want to be on rhythm."

The problem is that's just not how things work in Arizona, and it's tough to imagine Whisenhunt completely revamping an offense that was good enough to reach the Super Bowl.

Kurt Warner made the offense hum because he could read a defense, find the open man, and stay in the pocket long enough to make an accurate throw. That's simply not Kolb's game, and that should have been known long before the team gave up Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, a second-round pick and a big contract for the guy.

But not everyone was sold on Kolb --- for various reasons --- and it appears Andy Reid has once again pulled a fast one on another team.

Well played, Mr. Reid.

It's tough to completely blame the Cardinals for this mistake. The Cardinals needed a QB in the worst way last season, and yes, many out there felt Kolb was the best available option.

But at this point it's safe to say the guy is a square peg trying to fit into the round hole that is the Cardinals' offense, and barring a miracle will not suddenly learn how to be the QB this team wants. So whether this was a scouting miss, a coaching failure or a player issue, the fact remains that this just isn't going to work.

This is not to say Kolb cannot be an effective QB. After all, he has moved the ball at times and does have talent.

So the Cardinals will likely start Kolb in the season opener against the Seahawks, with the idea that the team needs to see what it has in Kolb before deciding to part ways with him. That's not entirely accurate.

Though Kolb has played in fewer than a season's worth of games for the Cardinals, there's no sense in denying what he is:

The wrong QB at the wrong time for the wrong team.

13 Comments   |   Join the conversation »
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  • Abuse
    CardsFan_ wrote...
    Wow
    Best article I've seen on the subject in a long time. Agree completely - Kolb isn't a terrible QB, he's just a terrible fit on this team. He needs to go back to a West Coast system to rejuvinate his career.
  • Abuse
    Guyinaz wrote...
    Easy
    On opening day Kurt Warner is going to be walking along the sidelines, rip his shirt off to reveal his #13 jersey and shoulder pads. He then motivates the heck out of the O-line as if they were protecting Jesus himself. Then Kurt goes for 350, 4 TDs as we seek revenge on the league all the way to the SB. Nice dream that was!
  • Abuse
    thorjeremy501 wrote...
    It is no the QB it is the OL
    I have liked Skelton since the beginning and don't care for Kolb but the fact that the OL starts so slow and is so bad it doesn't matter who is QB,RB or WR. AZ can't protect therefore we will never see Skelton develop or see what Kolb was really worth. We lucked out with Kurt. Time to trade for and draft OL.
  • Abuse
    CroDawg wrote...
    The other problem is...
    there are only a few QB's out there who could flourish in this system. My arguemen would be that this system works with an elite QB, which there are only a handful of.
  • Abuse
    mesa mad man wrote...
    Dont Understand
    I will never understand why the Cardinals have as of yet failed to put Kolb in a position to succeed. If he is built for the West Coast Offense, why not try it out and see if he can succeed for you in it? You invested tens of millions in this guy, and then wont even play to his stregnths? How did that work out for the Suns when they brought Porter in? Not too well. Its not like our entire team is built for a certain style of offense - they really have no identity. They have good talent at the skill positions and thats it.
  • Abuse
    sundevil7901 wrote...
    Cards need to adjust for their QB
    The idea is to get a QB that fits with your system, but the coach and the staff need to identify what the OB's strengths and weaknesses are, and adjust their system to fit the QB's strengths. Maybe I am simplifying things too much, but trying to make a QB fit into your system is a recipe for disaster.
  • Abuse
    sundevil7901 wrote...
    Maybe
    The Cards mis-evaluated Kolb when they acquired him. Doesn't matter. You know what you have with him now, change your system to help Kolb, or whoever the QB ends up being. It may be too late for Kolb.
  • Abuse
    globalron wrote...
    Very Sad........
    A professional Football Franchise, with arguably the Best Wide Receiver in the Game, and they can't provide him with a descent Quarterback, who can even get the ball to him......... Wow. How sad is that. Poor Fitgerald.........In the Prime of his Career, and he is stuck on a Team where the Coaches are trying to decide, not "who the Best Quarterback is", but rather, "which Quaterback is not as bad as the other"............. I'm telling you.......... "Go with Lindley now"......He is the future,and our best hope..........NOW !
    Ron Passmore
  • Abuse
    chardman wrote...
    YA
    I think now the problem is with Whiz, he can not adapt, his offense isnt that good the only time it was good when warner was running it, and he would audbile from whiz's playcall every play, or it seemed that way, the line is the biggest problem and always has been,here is an idea... fix that
  • Abuse
    diehardcard wrote...
    Cheese Whiz
    Good college coaches develop systems and then fit the players into the system. The NFL isn't college. In the NFL good coaches build systems around their players strengths. Bad coaches don't. Bad coaches get fired. If it wasn't for Warner bending Whiz's rigid system to better fit him, thereby reaching the SB, Whiz would have been fired 3 years ago. He needs to remember that.
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