Sunday’s game between the Arizona Cardinals and
Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field will mark
the first time the two teams have met since the NFC
Championship Game following the 2008 season.

It will also be the first time Cardinals’ quarterback
Kevin Kolb and Eagles’ defensive back Dominique Rodgers-
Cromartie will line up against their former teams after
being traded for each other back in July. Although it’s
doubtful Kolb will get a chance to play in front of the
fans that once cheered (and booed) him as he is still
recovering from a turf toe injury suffered against
Baltimore.

Both teams have played half of their schedule, and it’s
fair to say that the trade hasn’t benefited one team more
than the other.

In fact, Kolb and Rodgers-Cromartie are among the biggest
targets for criticism in their respective cities. Don’t
believe me?

CSNPhilly.com
pinpoints three plays in the Eagles’ 30-24 loss to the
Bears on Monday that were pivotal to the outcome and
pinned to Rodgers-Cromartie.

And the commenters on such websites aren’t exactly holding
their tongues, either.

Rodgers-Cromartie is softer than Asante out there. So
many plays where he hesistates to wrap up and tackle. –
Cheese Steaks87

The Cards were rolling over with laughter when the
Birds took this bum off their hands. What a waste. Soft as
charmin and dumber than a box of freaking rocks. –
sam.b

I think we could have switched Kolb to DB and gotten
the same results we’ve gotten from this guy. Running
around out there like he doen’t have a clue. –
ozmundo

Monday night’s game wasn’t the first time that notoriously
harsh Philly fans have spewed venom toward DRC. Following
a loss to Buffalo, Rodgers-Cromartie admitted that his
effort wasn’t up to par following a slant pass on which he
moved away from tackling a receiver. The insult
floodgates opened after that display as well.

Rodgers-Cromartie is the Eagles’ nickel back and ranks
10th on the squad in total tackles. He doesn’t have an
interception and has broken up 4 passes this season.

Things haven’t been much rosier in Phoenix for Kolb,
considering that he has the added pressure of a shiny, new
$63 million contract the Cardinals gave him following the
trade.

Kolb ranks tied for 23rd in passer rating and the
Cardinals are 2-6 at the midway point of the season. Only
one of those wins came with Kolb at quarterback.

His footwork, pocket presence and accuracy have all been
called into question. And now he’s hurt and spent Sunday
watching his teammates pull out an improbable win over the
St. Louis Rams.

And you know what that means? It means the concoction of
a quarterback controversy by fans, some who believe that
backup John Skelton provides the Cardinals a better chance
to win and others that believe the team should “Suck for
Luck” and tank games to have a chance to draft Stanford
quarterbacking phenom Andrew Luck.

Doesn’t it seem like just yesterday that the Cardinals
thought Kolb’s presence in the offense would elevate them
back to the top of the NFC West?

And it wasn’t too long ago that some were trumping the
acquisition of DRC by “The Dream Team” enough to make it
sound like no opposing team would complete a pass on the
Eagles set of corners.

What a difference half of a season makes.

Any way you slice it, the big trade between the Cardinals
and Eagles has been a wash, and I don’t mean that in a
good way.

Then again, the Eagles did finagle a 2nd-round pick out of
Arizona too, so…slight advantage Philadelphia.

Follow @Vincemarotta