ADAM GREEN

The Kevin Kolb era (error?) is over in Arizona

Mar 15, 2013, 4:29 PM | Updated: 4:30 pm

From the time until Kevin Kolb was rumored to be heading to Arizona and now, I wrote roughly 21 columns regarding the quarterback.

Of those 21, eight had a negative tone, seven had a positive vibe and six were rather neutral.

Make up your damn mind, Green.

The truth is anyone who has read my stuff over the last couple of years knows I was not in favor of trading for the QB. He was unproven, I believed, and in no way worthy of the investment the Cardinals were going to make in him. There were times over the last couple seasons where he looked promising, and at the end of the day we all wanted him to succeed. He didn’t.

But this isn’t my way of saying “I told you so” or gloating about how right I was, because no one could have predicted what would transpire for Kolb or the Cardinals over the nearly two years they were together.

Fifteen games. Fourteen starts. A 6-8 record. A 58.5 percent completion percentage to go along with 17 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and 10 fumbles. Various injuries, from turf toe and a concussion in 2011 to busted ribs and a shoulder issue in 2012. A fired coaching staff.

Two seasons and roughly $20 million later, the team got very little from its Hail Mary attempt to replace Kurt Warner, and the new coaching staff decided it best to move on.

And it probably is, for both the team and the quarterback.

Kolb’s time in Arizona was ill-fated from the beginning, with the pressure of replacing a Hall of Famer and expectations unbefitting of someone with his credentials.

Is it his fault the team made such an investment in him? Was Kolb responsible for the coaching staff trying to force a scheme upon him rather than adjust its game plan to suit his skills? Can you really blame him for getting hurt?

The answer to all the questions is “no”, but then again, that does not change the fact that Kevin Kolb experiment in Arizona will go down as a failure.

After all, when a team invests the kind of resources it did to get Kolb — and then perhaps passed on a chance to sign Peyton Manning because they were afraid of losing him — there’s no other way to view things.

And it’s a shame.

Now the Cardinals are, for better or worse, in pretty much the same place they were two summers ago, minus the possibility that their franchise QB could be on the way. Drew Stanton is alright, but in no way projected to be a star. Brian Hoyer played admirably last season, but the same could be said for him.

Then there’s John Skelton and Ryan Lindley who, well, yeah.

The Cardinals swung for the fences when they made the deal for Kolb, as he was the biggest name on the market and many believed he was destined to blossom into a quality quarterback. As anyone who knows baseball could tell you, sometimes a cut like that leads to a home run, and sometimes it results in a strikeout.

The Cardinals didn’t connect, and now the Kevin Kolb era is over in Arizona. He will go on to sign with another team and, maybe, stay on the field long enough to show what kind of quarterback he can be.

It’d be nice to finally find out.

Oh, and I guess this makes number 22.

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