Should it be Kolb or Skelton Sunday against the Rams?

Kevin Kolb suffered a turf toe injury Sunday in Baltimore,
putting his Week 8 start at home against the Rams in
jeopardy.

The QB, who has passed for 1,706 yards, eight touchdowns
and eight interceptions this season, would be replaced by
second-year pro John Skelton, who started four games for
the team last year, winning two.

Given Kolb’s struggles — and his injury — would it make
sense for the team to give Skelton the start?

“If he’s injured and that turf toe is hampering him then I
say yes,” Arizona Sports 620’s John Gambadoro said. “If
he’s healthy, if he goes out there and he’s healthy and
he’s ready to play, then he plays.”

Gambadoro said not playing a dinged up-but-able-to-go Kolb
sends a message the team may not be ready for.

“If he’s healthy and you’re going to say ‘hey, sit down
for a game’ you just benched your starting quarterback,”
he said.

And even with the team’s 1-6 record, it may be a little
too soon for that move.

“You paid $21 million for the guy,” Gambadoro said. “This
game against the Rams, they’re terrible, they’re a bad,
bad defense — an awful defense.”

That said, this would be a great opportunity for the
coaching staff, if they wanted to see what Skelton could
do, to do so without actually benching their starter.

“If you want to see Skelton, if you want give Kevin Kolb
some time to step away, to look at it from the perspective
of the sideline, to take a rest from getting such a
beating out there,” Arizona Sports 620’s Dave Burns said,
“you could use this injury as an excuse, a reason ” You
can find wiggle room in that gray area, to make it
happen, to take a look at John Skelton,” Arizona Sports
620’s Dave Burns said.

And, if Skelton plays well and leads the team to a win
over the hapless Rams?

“Then he’s your quarterback,” Gambadoro said.

That, of course, would render Kolb a very expensive
backup, an idea that may be tough for the Cardinals to
swallow.

“The great organizations, when they make a mistake, they
move on,” Gambadoro said. “I’m not saying you’re at that
point yet, but if you get to that point where you
determine that Kevin Kolb is not the answer here you have
to move on and you have to move on quickly.”

Indeed, keeping Kolb around just hoping he magically
improves would be foolish, and could hamper the
organization’s chances for turning the corner. Think Jake
Plummer.

But it may never get to that point. Kolb could play
Sunday, light up the Rams and restore faith in his
ability, a chance Burns thinks the QB has earned.

“If there’s any part of you that thinks that Kevin Kolb is
somehow, in some even small way a victim of things during
these first seven weeks then you have to give him the
opportunity to see how he plays against a St. Louis Rams
team that isn’t very good,” he said.

Kolb’s toe willing, he may get that chance.

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