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Arizona Cardinals Question Of The Day: How Do You Feel About John Skelton After Three Games?

By joecb1991
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Quick question to start off this Monday morning. Now that we have gotten to see John Skelton start his first three games and wind up with a 2-1 record after those three games, how do you feel about the way he has played?

John Skelton

#19 / Quarterback / Arizona Cardinals

6-5

244

Mar 17, 1988

Fordham

Passing Rushing Sacks
G Rating Comp Att Pct Yds Y/G Y/A TD INT Rush Yds Y/G Avg TD Sack YdsL
2010 - John Skelton 4 62.7 46 101 45.5 570 142.5 5.6 1 1 8 40 10 5 0 5 36

I do like what I have seen from him. He has a nice quick release and a cannon for an arm, and he appears to be more accurate than Derek Anderson even though Skelton is only completing 45% of his passes (keep in mind that it would probably be over 50% if some of the passes he threw that looked like they were on target were not dropped), he seems poised in the pocket, and he has shown some good mobility for a a guy who is 6'6" (kinda like Ben Roethlisberger). The thing that I like the most that I have seen from him was the end of the Cowboys game. Even though he did play poorly for most of the second half, it is very encouraging to see him lead the game winning drive which included that pass on 4th and 15 to Larry Fitzgerald. Skelton has certainly shown some things that are encouraging if he does wind up being the Quarterback next year.

But you have also seen the negatives that you normally see with a rookie from a small school getting his first real in game experience. He hasn't been able to consistently lead drives and consistently put points on the board, he has missed some open throws, the third down conversion rate that was bad with Derek Anderson and Max Hall still hasn't gotten much better, and Larry Fitzgerald did not get enough chances to get the ball against the Cowboys. They showed several times where he was wide open on TV, and Warner would have seen that nine times out of ten.

Overall, I am encouraged by what I have seen, but I understand that he is just a rookie from a small school, and some of the coaches themselves said that he was not ready yet. I can live with the mistakes if you can balance them out by doing positive things, and that is what Skelton has done so far. I do still think that the Cardinals should draft a Quarterback in the first round, and/or pick up some veteran in Free Agency, but if Skelton has to play next year I won't be too worried.

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