QB Notes from an in-state rival fan

I listen to KTAR everyday when driving to and from job sites.  I heard Doug Franz recently make a comparison of Kevin Kolb to Matt Cassel.  It was a great comparison of how Cassel excels in a solid pocket protection scheme with an active running game.  The numbers were strikingly similar, but Kolb actually had better numbers.

Beyond the fact that everyone knows that Kolb needs an active running game and better protection (since the Cards have the worst offensive tackle tandem in the league) there's one major line of thinking that I have yet to hear anyone talk about.  Maybe the Cards coaching staff is just not capable of developing a quarterback.

Take a look at this list:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Pittsburgh_Steelers_starting_quarterbacks

Have any of those quarterbacks ever developed into the "elite" status?  I show the Steelers QBs because if you look at the Cardinals coaching staff almost all of them have extensive ties to Pittsburgh.  But the Steeler organization isn't known for impressive QBs.  Big Ben is about as good as they get, but he's not an All-Pro talent QB, he's an All-Pro winner.  He finds ways to win the game.  It's often ugly, it's often lucky, and as was the case against my Seahawks and my wife's Cardinals in the Super Bowl, it is often with the help of the Zebras.  Yes, Terry Bradshaw is a HOFer, but he's the only elite QB of his time from the organization.  Steeler football is shut-your-trap, pound-the-ball, hard-nosed, defensive football.  Kordell Stewart, horrible.  Tommy Maddox, horrible.  Neil O'Donnell, horrible.  Bubby Brister, horrible.

So you might say, "what about Chris Miller?"  But what experience does he have???  I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he can become a good QB coach and that he knows what he's talking about, but this is his FIRST NFL coaching gig.  So time will tell...

So what's the deal with Kolb then?  Why was he viewed as a top notch talent QB?  Well, look at who his coaching staff was in Philly?  Andy Reid, Marty Mornhinweg, Doug Pederson.  Head Coach, AHC/OC, QB coach.  All 3 of them come from the Packer/49er organizations.  Two organizations known for top notch quarterbacks.  Brett Favre, Joe Montana, Steve Young, Aaron Rodgers, Bart Starr, Lynn Dickey, Jeff Garcia.  All of those QBs came from the Packers or 49ers.  (Side note:  Bart Starr and Lynn Dickey were in the GB system before Bill Walsh's disciples left San Fran for Green Bay, so they don't really count).  Joe Montana, Jeff Garcia, and Brett Favre were not the same QBs after they left that system.  Granted age was a factor (and Favre had ONE good year in MN, but Brad Childress was a Reid disciple, so it would make sense that he would fit in that system) for all 3, but you can see the comparison.

One final comparison:  Donovan McNabb.  He flourished under Andy Reid, but clearly has not been the same without Reid.  Even under Shanny (another SanFran product) in Washington he was more comfortable than he was this year in Minnesota.

All these things point to a couple of things:

1.  Kolb was overrated in Philadelphia because of his coaching staff

2.  Kolb has talent that needs to be brought along with the right protection scheme and better talent on the ends of the line

3.  The current Cardinals staff needs to be provided with an established QB (ala Kurt Warner) and not put in a position of having to develop one.