Cards eyeing Kolb when they should be looking at Orton
Jul 11, 2011, 8:04 PM | Updated: 9:25 pm
When the NFL lockout ends the Cardinals will officially begin the search for their next QB.
Where will it lead them? Well, if Dan Arkush of Pro Football Weekly has his way, it would be straight to Kyle Orton.
Truth be told, Orton has been lost in the shuffle for whatever reasons much of his career despite numbers that merit much more serious recognition — especially when matched up against those of Kolb.
Arkush points to Orton’s record as a starter (32-29) compared to Kolb’s (3-4) and TD:INT ratio (20:9 compared to 11:14) as key indicators of Orton’s superiority to the Eagles backup.
Orton fares better statistically than Kolb in every major passing category except completion percentage (Kolb’s 60.8 mark is slightly better than Orton’s 58.1) and has been a lot better than average for prolonged stretches as the starting QB in both Denver and Chicago, where he was never quite the same after hurting his ankle.
Do the Cardinals feel the same way? All indications appear to show that they don’t.
And, while Orton is more proven, the younger Kolb is certainly not without his fair share of fans.
Ultimately it comes down to not only on-field production, but the cost to acquire the QB. If Kolb’s price tag is significantly higher than Orton’s there is a good chance the Cardinals will turn to the steady-but-not-great Bronco. However, if they view Kolb as a franchise-type QB, no price could (or should, really) be perceived as being too high.
