Arizona Cardinals 2011 Season Grades: The Quarterbacks

by Jess Root on Jan 11, 2012 12:00 PM MST in NFL Offseason/Free Agency

We recently completed the "best of series" for the 2011 season. In the end, the season was successful because of how the team played at the end of the year, finishing 7-2 to end up 8-8. With the offseason here, it is time to grade out each position.

We begin with the quarterback position.

This was a position that had high expectations, although it seems silly that there were. The team made the big trade for Kevin Kolb, but he could not practice right away, did not get a playbook until training camp and was coming into an offense different than any other he had played in.

What did we get?

Kolb had ups and downs. He made a few big plays and showed a couple of flashes, but mostly looked uncomfortable and uncertain, leading to running away from pressure instead of stepping up and missing reads.

He missed a ton of time because of injury, but is final stats are not terrible. They were very mediocre. However, his record was not good. The team was 3-6 with Kolb starting, but even one of those wins should go to John Skelton, who replaced Kolb after three offensive plays against the 49ers.

	CMP	ATT	YDS	CMP%	AVG	TD	LNG	INT	FUM	RAT
2011 Regular Season	146	253	1,955	57.7	7.73	9	73	8	7	81.1

John Skelton was as confusing a quarterback as there was. He would look worse than Derek Anderson looked when he was bad for much of the game. Then he would turn into a superstar late in the game and make throws you wonder why he wasn't making before. However, even with a 5-2 starting record (and another win relieving Kolb) the stat line does not look great.

	CMP	ATT	YDS	CMP%	AVG	TD	LNG	INT	FUM	RAT
2011 Regular Season	151	275	1,913	54.9	6.96	11	60	14	1	68.9

Third stringer Rich Bartel threw for a touchdown as well. IN all, they doubled the passing touchdowns from 2010, but both quarterbacks turned over the ball -- Kolb with the fumbles and Skelton had some bad interceptions.

As for a grade, I have to give the position a "C". Putting the stats together, you really get mediocre. There were some good games and solid plays, but there were also some real stinkers and terrible plays. In the end, it was enough for eight wins and 21 passing TDs.

I now turn the grading to you. You know my grade. What would you give the position and why?

Poll

What grade should the Arizona Cardinals QBs get for their 2011 performance?

A

4 votes

B

22 votes

C

186 votes

D

106 votes

F

7 votes

Other (explain)

1 votes

326 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

D+

Though 8-8, John “Tim Tebow” Skelton’s late season 4th quarter heroics were not enough to give a passing grade to the trio. Kolb was shellshocked early on because of poor line play and became skiddish in the pocket. Skelton played like the first three quarters were only practice for the real game (4th quarter). And Bartell won’t get a fair shake even if by chance he is as good as the others. Before the trade I said tide with Skelton and during the season I confirmed my decision. Now with a fresh mind I say open competition. But Kolb just my be better. Who knows.

When life gives you lemons... Bag them up and sell them. Fruit can be expensive these days.

by hevchv on Jan 11, 2012 12:25 PM MST via mobile reply actions

I agree with giving them a C

At least both guys were able to have plenty of big plays which is something the crap pile from last year could not even manage to do.

Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan
Phoenix Suns, Arizona Diamondbacks, Phoenix Coyotes, Arizona Rattlers fan
[I have always lived in Arizona, dad is from Chicago].

Leading the NFL in swagtangibles

by JoeCB1991 on Jan 11, 2012 12:30 PM MST reply actions

Pretty much how I feel

They sucked but they were D or F quality. They were just mediocre, if even lower than that.

"If Gortat pulls off a real Dream Shake in-game this year I will shave my head.
Mark my words." Piotr Szczesniak 12/12/11 2:12 PM
Cardinals, Suns, D-backs for life!

by Airwave on Jan 11, 2012 2:20 PM MST up reply actions

weren’t

"If Gortat pulls off a real Dream Shake in-game this year I will shave my head.
Mark my words." Piotr Szczesniak 12/12/11 2:12 PM
Cardinals, Suns, D-backs for life!

by Airwave on Jan 11, 2012 2:20 PM MST up reply actions

C

Kolb gets an incomplete (although his grade is a D+ so far), Skelton gets a C+, Bartel is a decent #3.

These QBs are an accurate reflection of the team’s record. Kolb isn’t as bad as his record indicates, nor is Skelton as good as his. Both were about the same level of mediocre, albeit for different reasons. Of course, the important part is that both seem to have further upside.

by CardsFan1976 on Jan 11, 2012 12:46 PM MST reply actions

D. Sorry, but ... D.

Maybe that’s too harsh. But Kolb just didn’t do anything this year, and Skelton was pretty darn bad even when the team was winning. They weren’t consistently terrible enough to warrant an F, but I didn’t see anything from the quarterbacks this year that gave me any real hope for the future.

The fact that we have a quarterback controversy involving John Skelton makes me feel just a little bit like a fan of the Anderson/Quinn era Cleveland Browns. Just a little bit.

by Vaegrin on Jan 11, 2012 1:16 PM MST reply actions

I have to agree with C...

I think many had unrealistic and ridiculous expectations for Kolb. The fact that his stats were comparable and even a little better than Skelton’s are more telling to me since Skelton has had a a full year and even some starts prior to this year in the Whisenhunt offense. Kurt Warner even had a year of sub-par play (in comparison to what he eventually put up), so I was not expecting miracles. I did hope that Kolb would pick up the offense and turn it on, and unfortunately we did not really get to see if he even could due to injuries. Regardless, I think that the QBs were quite good when comparing to the 2010 debacle, but failed to impress in the big picture. They were just as average as the Card’s record indicates. Though you could argue that the def is more responsible for the 8-8 record than the offense, I would like to point out how many games the Cards lost in the 4th quarter in the first few because the D could not hold back their opponent in the 4th… (NYG and BAL come to mind). If I really could give a grade, I would go with INCOMPLETE, because I want to see what Kolb can do with a full preseason.

by Gildo on Jan 11, 2012 1:37 PM MST reply actions

Agreed

Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan
Phoenix Suns, Arizona Diamondbacks, Phoenix Coyotes, Arizona Rattlers fan
[I have always lived in Arizona, dad is from Chicago].

Leading the NFL in swagtangibles

by JoeCB1991 on Jan 11, 2012 2:07 PM MST up reply actions

Simmer down there,

Whistlebritches, Skelton has consistency issues, but Kolb has durability issues. Let’s not get into how much more time Skelton has because our head coach himself said Skelton wouldn’t probably be ready until next season. So moving forward do you go with the guy that has issues getting started, or the guy who can’t stay healthy? Look how great Manning has been for the Colts this season.

Formerly known as Cardsfan928, If you wanna grab a quick game of madden, my screenname is also my Xbox name.

by INSOMAN1ATIC on Jan 12, 2012 5:35 AM MST up reply actions

Comparing Kolb to Manning now?

Sounds like somebody’s finally coming around!

by tw3kr on Jan 12, 2012 2:16 PM MST up reply actions

No,

Kolb couldn’t hold his jock strap, my point is Kolb couldn’t shake his injury prone level so don’t be shocked when he is NOT a Cardinal next season.

Formerly known as Cardsfan928, If you wanna grab a quick game of madden, my screenname is also my Xbox name.

by INSOMAN1ATIC on Jan 12, 2012 4:23 PM MST up reply actions

Voted D

Both Kolb and Skelton had 15 combined turnovers. 21 TD’s/30 TO’s is terrible.
D and just barely so.
Combined QB Stats (Skelton and Kobb):
528 attempts, 297 completions, 3868 Yards, 56.2 completion %, 20 TD’s, 22 INT’s, 53 sacks and 8 fumbles.
So 17th in passing yards, 29th in completion %, 13th passing TD’s, 27th in INT’s, 31st in sacks, 23rd in QB rating.

by Jesse Reynolds on Jan 11, 2012 3:03 PM MST reply actions

Voted D

Kolb didn’t do enough to rate higher – the games the Cards won when Kolb started were more down to others than him.
I shudder to think what Skelton’s QB rating would have been if he wasn’t throwing to Fitz.
Having said tht, I’m happy to let the two of them have another season to prove they can get the job done. (Wouldn’t have said that last year with DA)

by EnglishCard on Jan 11, 2012 4:06 PM MST reply actions

LOL

No kidding…. Larry does that to people though.

"If Gortat pulls off a real Dream Shake in-game this year I will shave my head.
Mark my words." Piotr Szczesniak 12/12/11 2:12 PM
Cardinals, Suns, D-backs for life!

by Airwave on Jan 11, 2012 4:29 PM MST up reply actions

Larry made so many big catches on throws that should have been picked off with all of our QBs this year

Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan
Phoenix Suns, Arizona Diamondbacks, Phoenix Coyotes, Arizona Rattlers fan
[I have always lived in Arizona, dad is from Chicago].

Leading the NFL in swagtangibles

by JoeCB1991 on Jan 11, 2012 5:08 PM MST up reply actions

D

Both Kolb and Skleton were below average. I think they both have B potential, but the performance last season earned them a D

MOAR SEVERINO!

by jeff550 on Jan 11, 2012 4:38 PM MST reply actions

Solid D

Don’t see how you can give two qbs that were not in the top 20 C rating. C would be average NFL qb play – we did not get that. Last year was an F this year a D.

People voting B are real home town stoners.

by Drullin'OverDaCards on Jan 11, 2012 4:41 PM MST reply actions

Average would be middle, right?

Middle is 16th-17th, then. Kolb’s QB rating was 17th in the league – doesn’t get any more average than that – and he did pass for slightly more TDs than INTs. Skelton’s was 32nd, but that’s mitigated by a 5-2 record, and he was technically the backup.

I think average is fair. D is arguable, but far from “solid”. B is kool-aid territory, tho.

by CardsFan1976 on Jan 11, 2012 6:20 PM MST up reply actions

"D"

I thought the OL was going to be the death of our QB’s this year, but they played better than I thought they would. If our QB’s would have played at the level of a “C”, we would have went 10-6. Compareing Skelton to Tebow is talk, but not even close. You “can” compare our Defence, but they dont have the threat at KR and PP was there for us. Plus, Tebow, threw open his recivers and Fitz made un-real catches for us. With the exception of one game Tebow took care of the ball and our QB’s couldn’t hold on to the damn thing, which leads me back to our defence. Our Defence constantly had to dig us outta holes and defend a short field. Denvers had the luxury of Tebow takeing care of the ball and letting his team punt. So in short I think our Defence played at a level above Denvers and our OL played at a “C” and we went 8-8 becouse of poor QB play.

by Reo Hays on Jan 11, 2012 5:33 PM MST reply actions

The Tebow comparison was more than fair.

Tebow is an athlete and a leader. He is not a QB. He makes plays because no one respects his game and is overlooked. He will not sneak up on anyone next year. This coming from a guy who was forced to watch EVERY game he played in (my wife is THE Gator fan). You can only will your team to victory so many times. He will eventually have to improve his technique or lack there of.

When life gives you lemons... Bag them up and sell them. Fruit can be expensive these days.

by hevchv on Jan 11, 2012 10:42 PM MST via mobile up reply actions

You mean,

like when Dick LeBeau showed him absolutely no respect, and Tebow went ahead and threw for 300 yards? Against arguable the league’s best defense?

Formerly known as Cardsfan928, If you wanna grab a quick game of madden, my screenname is also my Xbox name.

by INSOMAN1ATIC on Jan 12, 2012 5:33 AM MST up reply actions

Well, I will say this

Pitt does not have the leagues best defense. It’s isn’t a point to even argue.
Getting torched by Tebow is pretty embarrassing, regardless.

by Jesse Reynolds on Jan 12, 2012 12:43 PM MST up reply actions

The receiver beat three defenders by himself.

Tebow didn’t exactly “throw him open”. But I digress. It’s ok that we won’t see eye to eye. Next season if he continues to win with those terrible mechanics then I will eat my words.

When life gives you lemons... Bag them up and sell them. Fruit can be expensive these days.

by hevchv on Jan 12, 2012 4:50 PM MST via mobile up reply actions

They were just as banged-up when we played them, by the way

I don’t recall Kolb getting the “arguable the league’s best defense” treatment.

by tw3kr on Jan 12, 2012 2:20 PM MST up reply actions

D, and that is generous, even on a curve.

by hadrarius on Jan 11, 2012 5:40 PM MST reply actions

As of now Kolb would get an incomplete bordering on C as for John I would give C- as his interceptions were really bad so off target right to the defense.

by naironpalm3 on Jan 12, 2012 7:46 AM MST reply actions