Why Kolb? Why now?

To understand how Kevin Kolb got here (and we’re not talking about his trade from Philadelphia), then we need to comprehend where he’s coming from (and we’re not talking about his high school & college playing days in Texas).

No, we’re talking about recent history. Very recent. As in, hitting rock-bottom less than a month ago. And when we say bottoming out, hey, don’t take our word for it. Take into consideration what Ryan Williams told ABC15 Sports after the running back redeemed himself against the Eagles after his near-fateful fumble a week earlier in New England:

“He (Kolb) came to me, ’cause I had said to a reporter earlier that I feel like I wasn’t making plays like they wanted me to. I felt like I wasn’t living up to the expectation that they had for me,” Williams recalled. “Kevin Kolb said: ‘Hey, how do you think I feel? You come out, home team and your home fans boo you.’ He was like, ‘They pay you so much and you can’t make the plays that they want you to make, so how do you think I feel?'”

We can only imagine how it must’ve felt to come off the bench in the season opener against Seattle, just a week after losing a month-long QB competition, only to be greeted by a chorus of boos from the home fans.

Of course, no one ever imagined what has happened ever since. Although, an imagination isn’t really necessary, because the results have been tangible (4-0 record; 7 TD, 2 INT; 97.6 QB rating).

“I think the way you judge a lot of people is the way they respond to adversity,” Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt told Doug & Wolf on Arizona Sports 620. “I think Kevin over these last four games has shown what type of person he is as far as responding to a lot of criticism, a lot of negativity, and still being able to perform and make plays. I think what he did against the Dolphins further solidifies that.”

In a way, that Dolphins game mirrors Kolb’s career in Arizona. A slow start followed by a rally, only to be undercut by a catastrophic failure (INT in the end zone) and then a miraculous comeback to finish on top – so far.

We imagine that must’ve felt very gratifying for Kolb. Actually, we don’t have to imagine that either, because Ryan Williams said Kolb shared as much.

“He was like, ‘You wanna know how I felt after that first game when we won against Seattle? I felt good,” Williams said. “He was like, ‘Nobody second guessin’ what you do, you came back from a career ending injury…let that go, wash it out, let’s go play.”

“He left the locker room and that plays on my mind every day because I know I’m not the only one who’s ever been through this. And he’s doin’ a heck of a job now. So I tell Kevin before every game we play, ‘You lead, we follow,’ and that’s what we do.”