FanPost

Now that the smoke has cleared...

were does this team go from here? With John Skelton out for 2-4 weeks due to a low-ankle sprain, it seems that Kevin Kolb will get the start this Sunday against he Patriots. For the last few days I've been trying to come to fruition with recent events. I'll be the first to admit it when I saw John Skelton go down in the 4th Quarter my stomach sank. What I felt was going to be, "A Season to Remember" came to a screeching halt. I think many fans including myself felt that if Skelton didn't get injured when converting 3rd and 15 on that play to Andre Roberts, he could of rallied this team to a victory. I'm going to give Kevin Kolb credit for rallying this team to victory, he pulled a win right when we needed him to. However, fans need to take under consideration that the Seahawks D did not game plan around Kevin Kolb. There is no question that Kolb looked good going 6-8 66 yards and a TD in the no-huddle, but that was only ONE drive. Granted it was a very important drive, however, I don't think he would have fared any better than Skelton if he had played the entire game.

Looking back at the game last week, I was presently surprised that Skelton started 11-15 and 124 yards in the 1st half. Many thought he couldn't improve 1st half numbers, this proves otherwise. If Skelton can keep this level of consistency in the 1st half, he should be able to manage the 2nd half. That wasn't the case last week.....

After reassessing the Seahawks game, it is no wonder why Skelton's numbers had dramatically declined in the 2nd half. For starters, the run game was non-existent. It was pretty pathetic performance by Ryan Williams, Beanie Wells, and LaRon Stevens-Howling, accumulating only 23 total rushing yards on 17 carries. Our biggest gain was an end-a-round to Andre Robert for a 15 yard gain, and that barely got us anywhere. You can't have a cohesive passing attack without a balance run-game. Besides, wasn't the game plan to run the ball, and not play into this very talented secondary? Regardless if you're getting yards or not, you have to run the ball, you don't just abandon the run if your not getting any yards... you run the ball because you don't want play-calling to be predictable.

Also another assessment is that running the ball gives you the opportunity to manage the clock. We lost the time of possession by nearly 7 minutes!!! If the opposing team defense is getting that much rest, they'll be able to rush the passer more often and more successfully. By not running the ball, we played right into Seattle's hands, we didn't do a good job of running the ball and wearing down the DL, and that is why they were successful at rushing the QB in the 2nd half.

What real BS though is that Skelton's numbers are much better than what fans make it out to be. 2nd half sucked, but I don't think all the accountability could be placed on one player, play-calling was VERY suspect. Why are we passing the ball with a 10 point lead in the 2nd half? Why aren't we running the ball on 2nd and short/goal? Why is Skelton throwing more than he should? The play-calling as I said before was atrocious. POINT BEING: I'm disappointed with the way things have transpired. All we had to do is have Skelton manage the clock, run the ball, and get into short yardage situations. Instead... Skelton was put in too many 3rd and long situations, OL penalties (damn replacement refs and their phantom calls; 10-102 yards), and not running the football. There was no need for it, but it still happened and that's what pisses me off.

Here's what I will say about Kevin Kolb starting... if he wants to prove me wrong, then beat the Patriots on their home turf. I know for a FACT it won't happen, I'm probably the most pragmatic fan ever, but I can realistically say that WON'T happen. And no homers there is no WHAT IF? Kevin Kolb will undoubtedly, irrefutably, get the biggest ass-whoppin' of a lifetime. I will be surprised if Kolb finishes this game with a clean jersey.

Either way, I'm positive we are losing this week's game. Kevin Kolb will most likely be given another opportunity against his former team the Eagles. If Kevin Kolb doesn't win THAT game. I'm done with him.... as should many other fans supporting this team. If he can't beat the team that we traded him for, then that would be a HUGE slap in the face not only to the organization that brought him hear, but to the fans that supported him. We gave up a lot for him (2nd round pick, Pro Bowl CB, and precious cap space) if he doesn't win that game it will just show that he'll NEVER make it as a starting QB in the NFL. I sure hope I'm wrong, but I seriously doubt it.

<em>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.</em>