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Kevin Kolb sitting in the pocket just as often as last season for the Arizona Cardinals

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The idea that Kolb has all of a sudden become a better pocket passer is false. As is the idea that the offensive line is better/worse than it was in 2011.

By Tyler Nickel
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Dilip Vishwanat - Getty Images

XTRA 910 talk show host Mike Jurecki tweeted a very interesting comment on Twitter on Thursday. He noted that, despite what fans may think of Kevin Kolb's emergence and confidence in the offense, he has actually played very similarly in terms of staying in the pocket and avoiding pressure.

Without these stats, I would have never assumed the same. To me, it does look like Kolb has been much better at stepping into the pocket (when it is created for him) as opposed to having happy feet and running outside. Another thing that we have to remember is that he started nine games last season, whereas he has played in about 4 1/4 this year.

A question this also brings up pertains to the offensive line. Are they actually any worse than last season? The tackles have been poor and more sacks have been allowed in a shorter period of time, but is that because of Kolb or the line? Probably both.

So before we are ready to crown Kolb and say how much he has grown, we must make sure we look at the stats first. Because as opposed to what some of us may think, he still seems to be the same pocket passer that he was last season.

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Editor note: I see these stats from a different perspective. He is more poised this year. What it shows is that our perception of him a year ago was not quite right. He was "skittish" last year and poised now with the same type of numbers for being in the pocket. Why is it? Wins and losses. The losses made everything look worse than it was. He IS more poised and he HAS improved, but our perception has been affected by the team performance. But this year he "looks" more comfortable, even if he moves around just as much.

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