History does not favor Arizona Cardinals, Kevin Kolb
Jul 29, 2011, 4:45 PM | Updated: 6:02 pm
Kevin Kolb has been hyped as the savior of Arizona Cardinals football.
The attention revolving around Kolb’s arrival in the Valley was tremendous and people seem to be expecting a lot of the first year Cardinal.
While Kolb has shown promise and potential throughout his tenure in Philadelphia, there is often a learning curve, especially for quarterbacks, when joining new teams.
Everyone is different so it is impossible to predict how quickly, and if at all, Kolb will adjust, but comparing him to other quarterbacks who got traded with limited starting experience may provide Cardinals fans with a bit of insight.
After being traded from the Green Bay Packers to the Seattle Seahawks, Matt Hasselbeck threw for seven touchdowns and eight interceptions in his first season.
Seattle went 5-7 in his starts and Hasselbeck completed 54.8 percent of his passes.
In his first season as a Texan, Matt Schaub threw for nine touchdowns and nine interceptions en route to a 4-7 record as a starter.
Upon leaving the New England Patriots and joining the Kansas City Chiefs, Matt Cassel threw for 16 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. The Chiefs went 4-11 in Cassel’s starts and the signal caller completed 55 percent of his passes.
Although the expectations for Kolb are high, history suggests quarterbacks struggle in their inaugural year.
All three of those quarterbacks had a lot more success in their second season, but will Cardinals fans be that patient? Can they afford to be?
Larry Fitzgerald is in his contract year and if Kolb struggles the way history suggests he will, Fitzgerald may leave.
A learning curve may be normal, but there is a lot of pressure on Kolb to turn the Cardinals into a contender again and to keep the star receiver in town.
