| Arizona's quarterback competition is just hysterical. (US Presswire) |
Kevin Kolb and John Skelton are setting out to duel their mediocre way into figuring out who will start for the Cardinals in 2012. Kolb's the presumed favorite, because of what Arizona invested in him when they traded with Philly and later inked him to a ridiculous contract.
But that doesn't mean he's a lock by any stretch. And on Tuesday, NFL Network analyst Willie McGinest said on NFL Network (via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk) that some Cardinals players preferred Skelton to Kolb.
"Talking to some of my buddies down there, it seems like they’re gravitating toward Skelton a little bit more," McGinest said.
Kolb, Skelton and Paola Bovin of the Tuscon Citizen aren't taking McGinest's claims too seriously. In fact, Kolb said teammates were "laughing" at the report.
"One of my offensive linemen was laughing about it," Kevin Kolb said.
Skelton was much more tactful about the idea, saying that he doesn't "know anything about it" aside from hearing about it via his teammates.
“Some of the guys mentioned it in the locker room," Skelton said. "I don’t know anything about that. I don’t know where he got that from. From what it seems, all things are equal both in the locker room and on the field."
There's a good argument that Skelton, the fifth-round pick out of Fordham, could win the job. It's not that he's an immense talent, and he won't end up being the next great quarterback, but he does have some -- for lack of a better word -- intangibles that helped him win games. (Or an easier schedule, an ability to actually stay on the field and some pocket presence. Whatever you want to call it.)
The only reason the competition is laughable is, like in Cleveland, the investment in one of the quarterbacks heavily outweighs what the team put into the other one. Arizona gave up a second-round pick and a talented cornerback in Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to land Kolb, and then promptly threw away his status as a low-salary, team-controlled guy by signing him to a big contract.
They have to play Kolb and hope he works out. If he lives up to his initial billing, the Cardinals can certainly contend in that division -- Arizona has a great group of skills guys with Larry Fitzgerald, rookie Michael Floyd, bounceback candidate Ryan Williams and incumbent running back Beanie Wells. Their defense is criminally underrated.
But if Kolb struggles, the team goes on an early losing streak and/or teammates and coaches to begin to get behind Skelton as the more talented player, the quarterback battle won't be quite as funny.
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