Cardinals John Skelton says Matt Leinart and Derek Anderson didn’t offer advice
Aug 3, 2011, 8:02 PM | Updated: 9:11 pm
The 2010 season for the Arizona Cardinals wasn’t exactly an easy one. Especially when it came to the quarterback position.
The combination of Matt Leinart and Derek Anderson was supposed to lead the Cardinals back to the playoffs (and we all know how well that worked out). Apparently the duo was not only incapable of leading on the field, but off of it as well.
John Skelton, who was thrown into the fire as the Cardinals starting quarterback thanks to Leinart and Anderson’s ineptness, says his two former teammates didn’t exactly help him out in training camp a year ago.
“Derek [Anderson] and Matt [Leinart] in camp kind of did their own thing,” Skelton told Sports 620 KTAR’s Burns and Gambo Wednesday. “They were established guys. They’d been around. They knew the ropes. They kind of had their own agendas. Max and I were kind of stuck doing our own thing and doing and trying to figure it out on our own.”
The second year signal caller doesn’t hold it against Anderson and Leinart. In fact, he claims to understand their actions.
“I can’t blame them for the way they acted and the way the treated us,” he said. “I guess when you’re set in your ways it’s kind of hard to change.”
Skelton’s comments do create a sense of irony though, seeing as the Carolina Panthers now expect Anderson to be a mentor for No. 1 pick Cam Newton. Luckily, that’s not Arizona’s problem (in fact, it could benefit them as they host the Panthers in Week 1).
As they say, past performances aren’t indicative of future results, and for Skelton and the Cardinals that’s a great thing. Especially when you realize the newly acquired Kevin Kolb will be giving them a fresh start.
“Kevin’s a great guy. I’ve got to know him over the last few days” Skelton said. “We’re going to be able to improve the quarterback play no matter who it is just through competition. Max [Hall] is doing a great job. So is Rich [Bartel]. Rich is a real knowledgeable guy, he’s helping everybody out. I think the chemistry in the quarterback room is ten times better than last year.”
If Cardinals fans are lucky, the quarterback play will be ten time better than last year as well.
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