I know there are a few of you out there in the community that want to see John Skelton be the 2011 starting QB for the Arizona Cardinals. I can't say I agree and I would wonder about your reasoning for that, but you are out there. If you are a John Skelton apologist, be prepared. He may not even be the number two QB this year.
Darren Urban from azcardinals.com reports on why the Cardinals did not select a quarterback in the 2011 NFL Draft. According to Rod Graves, there was not even a temptation to draft a quarterback, "not in light of the grades [they] had on these particular players."
For you Skelton people, and maybe it's too much of a read into the quote, but Ken Whisenhunt said this:
"After you go 5-11, I'm not comfortable with anybody we had playing that position."
What does that mean? It simply means to me that neither of the four quarterbacks that started in 2010 will start a game in 2011.
Rod Graves promises this:
"With respect to the quarterback question, which continually arises, we've decided as an organization that we are going to be aggressive. We are expecting at some point, or believing, that we will have a free agency period, an opportunity to discuss trades, and we are looking at those avenues."
We already are aware of all the rumors swirling around. They have an "understanding" with Marc Bulger. They are quietly hoping "to make a run" at Matt Hasselbeck. They have a trade worked out for Kevin Kolb.
I think it is obvious that the Cardinals want to be big players in the quarterback market. That alone should be music to the ears of all their fans. Rarely have the Cardinals been the type of franchise to make a splash in NFL news in the offseason.
Does that mean that Cards will be done once they reportedly acquire Kolb? I don't know. They may look to acquire two quarterbacks. They may keep Derek Anderson as a number two and let Skelton season another year (I'm actually not at all against that). Maybe Skelton will be the number two.
What I am certain of is that the Cardinals are not taking a backseat or waiting to see where the chips fall this offseason. The writing is on the wall. These Cardinals are going about things differently than in the past.