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?