SB Nation Arizona Editor's Pick

Tempered expectations

by Jesse Reynolds on Aug 8, 2011 12:27 PM MDT

With the Kolb signing Cardinals fan expectations have soared. While as easy as it is to want to jump on the Kolb-is-great bandwagon, I am reminded of other overreactions of QB's since the exodus of Kurt Warner.

Anyone remember "Maximania" after the the defense won the New Orleans game? Despite having a bad game which included turning over the ball that somehow was recovered for a TD the fans and media fell in love with him. He was a "winner." Even Kurt Warner fell victim to the hype that surrounded Max Hall. The Seattle game the following week brought many back to reality when the Seahawks picked Hall two times for TD's and the Cardinals had to bring a benched DA into the game to try and save it.

How about that Matt Leinart guy? Sure, sure, say he wasn't given an opportunity. But consider this, if a terrible QB like DA was pushing him in camp coupled with the fact that he just recently resigned with the Matt Schaub led Texans rather than take a shot at the starting QB spot with Seattle, you have to assume he's a baddie and comfortable being a backup.

Despite the reminders, I am not stating that Kolb will be bad but rather reminding Cardinals fan that we have been here before and should not fall victim to the hype again. I'd hate to have to read through all the doom and gloom articles that will explode on this site when Kolb has his first bad game.

So far Kolb has shown promise and that he can be streaky. This is what Cardinals fans should expect this season from Kevin Kolb. Some really good games and few that leave you shaking your head.

Remind you of anyone?

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Revenge of the Birds' (ROTB) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of ROTB's editors.

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Comments

I make the same prediction I have been making since Warner retired

If we have good qb play we win 9
If we have mediocre qb play 7-8
If we have poor qb play (like last year) 5-6

I really think it is that simple. I expect mediocre qb play this year, but hopefully some improvement as time goes on in the season.

Based upon our schedule and the fact that the NFC West really does suck, I would be ecstatic with 9 wins. I expect 7-8 wins out of this team and would be disappointed with less than 7.

by Drullin'OverDaCards on Aug 8, 2011 2:13 PM MDT reply actions

If i have to I will be the first to say we will 9 games at least and Kolb will be a huge factor if not the detirmining factor for victoy.

"The point is, by my standards, I won fair and square."
-Bender

by az78true on Aug 8, 2011 10:58 PM MDT up reply actions

I hope you're right, but 9 wins would really surprise me

by Drullin'OverDaCards on Aug 9, 2011 9:17 AM MDT up reply actions

Totally agree with you, Jessesb

I believe Kolb will need 2-3 years to pan out. I would give him a pass if he plays poor this season due to many valid reasons. But I expect improvement by the 2nd and by the 3rd we will find out if he is a franchise QB or not.

by CanadianCard on Aug 8, 2011 2:29 PM MDT reply actions

Drullin'OverDaCArds.

How does the NFC West suck? 3 out of 3 teams went to the superbowl this decade. Last year was poor play from all teams because none of us had a QB, with the exception of Bradford but he was a rookie. And as for Kurt Warner, he didn’t fall for the Max Hall hype. All he said was that he was surprised the Cardinals won that game. He said he saw a little bit of himself in Hall. Never said he was a winner by any means.

by CardsDaBomb on Aug 8, 2011 3:03 PM MDT reply actions

The second part is for JesseB

by CardsDaBomb on Aug 8, 2011 3:03 PM MDT up reply actions

The NFC West is bad in the regular season

But does amazing things in the Playoffs (In the last six years, the NFC West team has made it to at least the Divisional Round).

by Skii on Aug 8, 2011 5:32 PM MDT up reply actions

Look at the non conference win - loss record over the last decade for all four teams.

by hadrarius on Aug 8, 2011 8:00 PM MDT up reply actions

shhhh....hush

"The point is, by my standards, I won fair and square."
-Bender

by az78true on Aug 8, 2011 10:59 PM MDT up reply actions

Sorry man, the NFC west sucks

Not only was it the only division last year without a 10 win team it did not have a team with a winning record. 7-9 won the division – I don’t believe any team with a losing record had ever made the playoffs let alone won a division in NFL history.

The teams of the NFC West have only a combined winning record once since the restructuring of the divisions occurred after the 2001 season and that was 33W-31L in 2003.

Some how they miraculously pick up the level of play in the playoffs or have been incredibly lucky (I think it is the latter).

by Drullin'OverDaCards on Aug 8, 2011 10:45 PM MDT up reply actions

Maximania

Was something I never bought into, but we traded DRC and a 2nd for “potential” which is foolish considering we already have a QB with far more "potential than Kolb will ever have, but having said that only time will tell if it was worth it, If our pass D is getting scorched then the trade was bad, period.

by Cardsfan928 on Aug 8, 2011 5:00 PM MDT reply actions

I know you don't like Kolb

But I’m not sure you can successfully argue that we have a QB on our roster with far more potential than Kolb will ever have…

We all bleed Cardinal Red, but most of us don't recognize it!

"It takes no talent to give great effort"--Chris Petersen

by robloosli on Aug 9, 2011 1:47 PM MDT up reply actions

Need at QB trumps all other needs.

I am glad we made a move to get a guy who was a second round pick, coached by andy reid, and is young. Do not get me wrong, I loved DRC, one of my favorite cards, but realistically he has not been that great. He has the physical make-up to be the best CB in the NFL, but he lacks a good mentality. And our pass d will scorched no matter who we have in our secondary until we get some pass rush. if you plan on winning in the NFL, you need a legit QB. Kolb is our first attempt at that since we drafted leinart. So I love the move even if it does not work out because it shows that our FO was willing to take a big risk to actually try to get a franchise QB. and you are fooling yourself if you think skelton or hall have more potential then Kolb.

by fitzfan04 on Aug 9, 2011 4:50 PM MDT up reply actions 5 recs

I totally agree that something had to be done at qb

Last year was painful to watch at the qb position – I still cringe a little just thinking about it.

If the FO had stood pat and gone with Skelton I would have had a SHI* FI*! Skelton may or may not be a future qb, but he is not ready now.

by Drullin'OverDaCards on Aug 9, 2011 5:59 PM MDT up reply actions

technically our pass d got scorched last year with DRC...

so that won’t really tell you a lick about whether the trade was successful. Also consider that the Cards have a new def coordinator… That alone could greatly increase their play. So if the pass D plays superior to the DRC led secondary last year, then the trade was successful? makes zero sense, sorry. Just say, “I hate Kevin Kolb for reasons only I know and am going to sulk about it the entire season”…

by Gildo on Aug 9, 2011 5:19 PM MDT up reply actions 3 recs

We got better this year

Even with some growing pains, I’ll be disappointed if we don’t compete in the division.

by tw3kr on Aug 8, 2011 8:08 PM MDT reply actions

I'm hesitant because

I forsee some really bad games from Kolb. My question is, will the D and the run game respond? If they do we have a chance.
As Warner went, we went. I don’t want it to be the same with Kolb, I hope our D has finally turned the corner.

by Jesse Reynolds on Aug 9, 2011 12:11 AM MDT up reply actions

"As Warner went, we went."

I do recall this being the case when Warner was here. Warner was a great QB and did amazing things here but damn he could have an ugly game every so often. And when he was bad…..he was really bad.

In Every Climb and Place....

by PhoenicianPakFan on Aug 9, 2011 6:15 AM MDT up reply actions

Absolutely

Good points, valid concerns. It would be nice to find ourselves with a Top 10 defense, but you’d have to be crazy to predict that kind of jump in performance from last year.

I don’t think any component of our team will be dominant coming out of the gate, but I think we will be able to scrape together a couple wins early and get a little momentum going as things start to gel.

by tw3kr on Aug 9, 2011 5:20 PM MDT up reply actions

If we can win early

I agree, the momentum could shape our season into a competitive one.

by Jesse Reynolds on Aug 9, 2011 5:33 PM MDT up reply actions

Yes,

however Warner could also beat the best teams in the league when he was on, Kolb can not.

by Cardsfan928 on Aug 9, 2011 7:18 AM MDT reply actions

He beat Atlanta when he was on.

Granted it’s one game, but you can’t say he can’t either.

by GraydonS on Aug 9, 2011 7:29 AM MDT up reply actions

When he does it as a Cardinal

then it will matter, the rest is just opinions

by Cardsfan928 on Aug 9, 2011 4:04 PM MDT up reply actions

It's not an opinion that the Eagles beat Atlanta with Kolb as their QB.

by hadrarius on Aug 9, 2011 4:11 PM MDT up reply actions 3 recs

uh, not that happened... so it is a fact...

everything you have mentioned in this post is an opinion…

by Gildo on Aug 9, 2011 5:12 PM MDT up reply actions 2 recs

*no that happened

by Gildo on Aug 9, 2011 5:12 PM MDT up reply actions

Kolb is the Cardinal's QB even though you don 't like it.

Making blatantly false statements won’t change that. As GraydonS stated Kolb beat the Falcons who had the best record in the NFC. So as recently as last season Kolb proved that HE CAN play at a high level and lead a team to victory over top tier competition. Support your team or go troll somewhere else

by CardsDefense on Aug 9, 2011 11:46 AM MDT up reply actions 1 recs

Same Falcons team that steamrolled the Cards with a 3rd string RB too.

by hadrarius on Aug 9, 2011 3:31 PM MDT up reply actions

I'll have my own opinion on Kolb

and if you don’t like it then go pound sand.

by Cardsfan928 on Aug 9, 2011 4:00 PM MDT up reply actions 1 recs

having an opinion is fine...

but why the hate? the guys hasn’t played a snap and it sounds like you not only expect him to fail, but you want him to as well. Why does he not deserve a chance? He has played better in his limited time than any QB currently on the roster. FACT.

by Gildo on Aug 9, 2011 5:14 PM MDT up reply actions 2 recs

What do you mean he's played better?

He has not even seen time in a Cardinals uniform in the preseason let alone the regular season, the way players look in camp means dittle, Carolina will give us a feel as to what we have in Kolb and by the time week 10 comes rolling around then a fair assessment can be made, let’s not talk about facts, until the guy does something in Cardinals red.

by Cardsfan928 on Aug 9, 2011 5:49 PM MDT up reply actions

he has 7 starts...

in those starts, especially the early ones, he outperformed the likes of Max Hall and Skelton. Did Skelton throw for over 300 yards ever? I have nothing against any of them, I just think Kolb is a superior QB NOW, and most likely will be in the future. I only am sticking up for the guy because I have no idea why a fan of the Cards would be rooting against him. If Kolb performs like he did against the Falcons last year, then there is much reason to be excited. Was he perfect? no. Is he an immediate upgrade. yes.

by Gildo on Aug 9, 2011 6:34 PM MDT up reply actions 2 recs

I'm done

We are not the Eagles, we may have Fitz and Co., but Fitz on his best day can’t beat Jackson and Maclin’s ability to have secondaries chasing them 30 yards down the field, What he did with Philly means dittle.

by Cardsfan928 on Aug 9, 2011 7:07 PM MDT up reply actions

I've said it before and I'll say it again

by CardsDefense on Aug 9, 2011 7:49 PM MDT up reply actions 2 recs

but why an Eagle?

Deep down you know we got the short end of the stick in the trade.

by Cardsfan928 on Aug 9, 2011 10:20 PM MDT up reply actions

Better?

Arizona Cardinals/Phoenix Suns/ Arizona Diamondbacks/Phoenix Coyotes/ Arizona Rattlers/Chicago Bears fan

[I have always lived in Arizona, dad is from Chicago].

by JoeCB1991 on Aug 13, 2011 8:57 AM MDT up reply actions

I think 7-9 wins is a realistic expectation

I think 7 wins would be a successful season from where we were a year ago and how difficult the schedule appears to be this year.

With a couple of good bounces, 9 wins might be possible.

We all bleed Cardinal Red, but most of us don't recognize it!

"It takes no talent to give great effort"--Chris Petersen

by robloosli on Aug 9, 2011 10:56 AM MDT reply actions

I'm in that range too

I say a lot of it depends on the division. Has our division improved as much as we so seemingly have?

by Jesse Reynolds on Aug 9, 2011 12:39 PM MDT up reply actions

Yes.

The Rams and Seahawks are both building better teams. The niners have lost some key people but the coaching change could make up the difference (or not). We have at least stayed level with the division. Adding Kolb is kind of our trump this season. We will see if it is enough to put us over. Hopefully the defense assimilates Horton’s plan better than it did Bill Davis’, and executes it better too. In short, we will be competitive within the division. Winning those games is paramount.

by hadrarius on Aug 9, 2011 3:36 PM MDT up reply actions

+1

by tw3kr on Aug 9, 2011 5:23 PM MDT up reply actions

If you look at our schedule..

It isn’t that tough. The first 5 games are relatively easy. All those teams are going through transition, same as us but we have the better team. Weeks 7-10 are our toughest. Steelers, Ravens, Rams and Eagles. Maybe all 4 will be losses but we play 2 of those games at home. (Steelers and Rams) Then the rest of our games are @Niners, @Rams, Cowboys, Niners, Browns, @Bengals, and the Seahawks.

by CardsDaBomb on Aug 9, 2011 2:20 PM MDT reply actions

Weakest schedule in the league.

By last season’s rankings. Of course playing six games against nfc west opponents is the major factor in that.

by hadrarius on Aug 9, 2011 3:38 PM MDT up reply actions

Yes, thank god we are in the NFC west

I am having a hard timing coming up with 9 wins looking at the schedule though.

I see 3-3 in the division, Seattle is tough at home, SF always seem to have our number, and the Rams are my pick to win the NFC west.

I think we should beat Carolina, Washington (although this is on the road in the EST), Cleveland and Cincinnati (again on the road in EST)

I think we lose to Pitt, Baltimore(in EST), and Eagles (in EST).

So we need to win 2 of 3 with Dallas, Vikings, Giants or eek out a 4 win in the NFC west to get to 9 wins.

by Drullin'OverDaCards on Aug 9, 2011 6:07 PM MDT up reply actions

Vikings and Giants are certainly going to be close and good games. Our D line is improved so we can shut down the Run game. Manning never seems to have good games against us and Mcnabb doesn't have any threats other than Peterson but in the last two games

we’ve held AP to 14 and 100 yards No TD’s

by CardsDaBomb on Aug 9, 2011 9:26 PM MDT up reply actions

Kolb needs an O line before we can have expectations of him and this team.

by D4 on Aug 9, 2011 3:20 PM MDT reply actions

+1 and offensive tackle was just ignored this off season - oops

by Drullin'OverDaCards on Aug 9, 2011 5:46 PM MDT up reply actions

but...

they did address the line a bit, and who knows, some of the best lines did not necessarily have huge name guys, they just played well with one another… now the cards have legit TEs as well, for the first time in a long time. I think we may be pleasantly surprised, maybe not early on, but as the season progresses.

by Gildo on Aug 9, 2011 6:36 PM MDT up reply actions

maybe the o-line needed a qb

by CardsDefense on Aug 9, 2011 7:51 PM MDT up reply actions

Actually a quick release will help the o-line stats

but not thier performance. I am not saying Kolb has a quick release-but if not he better work on one.

by Drullin'OverDaCards on Aug 9, 2011 8:39 PM MDT up reply actions

is there a stat that shows on average how long it took for the line to break down on passing plays?

I’d be curious if that is actually somewhat true. Obviously the line sucked, I’m not debating that, but there is a new starter that won a superbowl last year, and maybe, just maybe the competition at the positions will be what the other guys need to really step up.

by Gildo on Aug 10, 2011 11:00 AM MDT up reply actions

We made up a special stat for the line last year

We called it “seconds.”

by tw3kr on Aug 11, 2011 1:49 AM MDT up reply actions

2 to 3 years is way too long for kolb to make an impact!

Considering what they gave up, he should be expected to make an almost immediate difference. And he is a nfl veteran with some experience and by mid season we should know what we have with kolb. Timing with his recievers happens with repititions in practice and the same with plays and the offensive terminology. I do believe that the coaching staff feels the same way otherwise the would have given skelton 2-3 years to develop. The nfc west division may not totally suck but it is by far the worst in the entire league. I will consider this trade a failure if they dont contend for the division especially with the easiest schedule this year.

by lifelongcardfan on Aug 10, 2011 10:40 PM MDT reply actions