ESPN insider says Kevin Kolb makes Cardinals a contender
Sep 8, 2011, 7:10 PM | Updated: 7:18 pm
The Arizona Cardinals are on the precipice of beginning a new season, and they will do so with their third different QB in three seasons.
Acquired less than two months ago from the Philadelphia Eagles, Kevin Kolb is expected to not just be better than Derek Anderson, but be an upper-echelon signal caller as well.
ESPN’s Ron Jaworski, speaking to Arizona Sports 620’s Burns and Gambo, thinks knowing he’s “the man” in Arizona will go a long way towards helping Kolb show what he’s got.
“Every time he had an opportunity to play he played very well and very consistently,” he said. “I think the Cardinals get a quarterback that they can count on week in and week out.
“You’ll get consistent performance out of Kevin Kolb.”
As long as Kolb is consistently good things will be OK in the desert, and one would think the Cardinals just need adequate QB play to improve on the five games they won last season and make a run in the substandard NFC West.
“I think this is one of the best offseason acquisitions in the National Football League,” Jaworski said. “It automatically brings the Cardinals into a contender position.”
That’s because, as Jaworksi said, the 27-year-old brings a lot of skills to his new team.
“I think his biggest attribute is he’s smart, the guy understands what the offense should be doing against any specific defense. He’s very good at the line of scrimmage.”
So while Kolb won’t make “laser-type throws,” Jaworski said the QB has great anticipation. Oh, and he’s a great leader too.
“What you get is a quarterback that the guys will look up to in the huddle, they know that he’s going to get them in the right play,” Jaworski added. “You’re not going to have any wasted plays at the line of scrimmage.
“He’ll prepare himself, he’ll prepare the offense.”
The only question now is if roughly six weeks is enough time for a QB to prepare for a season with a new team. If Kolb comes out firing on all cylinders the Cardinals could be a very dangerous team.
“They’ll be a playoff team out of that division,” Jaworski said.
