ARIZONA CARDINALS

Snyder’s protection of Kolb needs to extend to the field of play

Mar 1, 2013, 5:05 PM | Updated: Mar 4, 2013, 9:29 pm

If only Adam Snyder had protected Kevin Kolb half as well on the field as he does on Twitter then perhaps none of this would be necessary.

Snyder, who took to social media to defend the quarterback, is proving to us what I think we already knew: Kevin Kolb is a good guy who works his ass off and has his teammates’ respect. He’s incredibly tough and wants to be out on the field.

The problem is Kevin Kolb is also fragile, and has not played more than nine games in any of his six NFL seasons. You can’t be a franchise QB if you can’t stay on the field, no matter how talented you are.

Which, even now, we don’t really know how talented Kolb is.

At 28 and having been given a nice big contract, the time for Kolb to prove himself on the field has come and gone. The coach who brought him to the team is no longer around, and the general manager who signed him to that big contract is also unemployed.

Back in May of 2011, I wrote that trading for Kolb would be Ken Whisenhunt’s ‘defining decision’. If it didn’t work, the coach would be out of a job.

Well the coach is out of a job, so does that mean it didn’t work?

Not yet. Probably.

Kolb’s time in the Valley is not officially up, unless of course he does not restructure his contract. The thinking here is he will, though, because no other team is likely to give him a shot at a starting job this season. Because for all he’s done in this league (which isn’t much, really), Kolb is still unproven as an NFL quarterback.
Snyder brought up Kolb’s “potential”, and said it’s the line’s job to let him show it. Without a doubt, improved play on the offensive line will go a long way towards helping Arizona’s quarterbacks look better.

But even then, it’s fair to wonder what Kolb would look like over a 16-game season. All we have to go off of right now is speculation based off an incredibly small sample size. Last season saw Kolb play well (vs. Seattle, vs. Philadelphia), play alright (@ New England, vs. Miami), and play not so good (@ St. Louis, vs. Buffalo).

Which one is the real Kolb? Is he a combination of the three?

While Snyder clearly disagrees with fans who take shots at Kolb, chances are good they agree in one key area: Everyone wants to see the QB have a chance to prove himself, for better or worse.

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Snyder’s protection of Kolb needs to extend to the field of play