John Skelton Ends Cardinals Quarterback Controversy, Right?
The Arizona Cardinals "quarterback controversy"
was effectively ended Sunday when John Skelton went 6-19 with three interceptions. He's was, in a word, bad. So bad that even his coach who normally will publicly defend his players no matter what, was willing to admit the obvious.
"After what he's done the last couple of weeks where you thought he was making progress, it's frustrating,"
Ken Whisenhunt said. "I know it's frustrating for John but he's a young player, that happens with young players. We've got to get him through this. We've got to get better at making sure that he won't, hopefully, struggle."
He was bad for sure, but it was only one game and it did come against one of the best defenses in the league and the Cardinals weren't playing with a fully stocked cupboard (no Todd Heap or Rob Housler and a limited Beanie Wells).
Maybe the ride isn't over yet?
The hope now is that Kevin Kolb will experience a recovery from his foot injury this week, but things were not looking espeically promising on that front. Whisenhunt said Kolb "wasn't close" when he was evaluated before the 49ers game.
And Kolb?
"I pushed it hard all week and it just wasn't there,"
He said Monday. "I think I would have been hurting my team if I played on it. I'd be limping around everywhere and definitely wouldn't be up to par...I'm just going to keep pushing and do my best to be out there this week."
Whisenhunt made it clear that if Kolb missed his fourth-straight game this Sunday, Skelton will get the start against the Rams. Here's what he has to say for himself.
"I've been in games like this before, situations like this. You learn from them and move on and know that you are a better quarterback than how the game went,"
he said...not that there's much else he could say.
He did allow that his resilience, typically seen as a strength, was tested in his last start. Instead of bouncing back from an early mistake, he let it compound, "Normally, you know how to turn it off and move on but a game like that against a good defense it's hard to make a mistake and not let it effect you."
If there is a "quarterback controversy"
left, Ken Whisenhunt is claiming not to be paying any attention to it, "I'm sure it's a topic but as far as where it (the controversy) is now, I don't know."
So right now, the fickle fan sentiment has shifted back towards the incumbent. With six games left on the schedule we'll see if either of the contestants can seize control of race and put this question bed. History, however, tells us that we are likely in for plenty more ups and downs on the Arizona Cardinals Quarterback Roller Coaster.
