Rich Gannon Thinks Kevin Kolb Is Facing The Most Heat Of Any NFL Player In 2012

Rich Gannon was on the airwaves yesterday talking to Doug Franz of Arizona Sports 620 and Jeff King, tight end for the Arizona Cardinals. He spoke about the various offseason programs he has seen and the players that are sticking out (Randy Moss of the 49ers was one of them).

But what was most interesting were his comments on Cardinals quarterback, Kevin Kolb. Gannon said that Kolb is facing the most heat out of ANY player in the NFL this year.

"I think it's quite conceivable that there's not another NFL player facing as much heat as Kevin Kolb will be this season," Gannon said. "Here's a guy that was paid a lot of money, he was expected to come in and be the starter. I think he struggled a little bit with the new system (last year). He got hurt... The guy John Skelton came in late in the year and actually played real well."

Gannon cited the play of the other quarterbacks within the NFC West division as reason that the Cardinals need to get their issue resolved as soon as possible. When asked what Kolb needs to do most as a quarterback this season, Gannon said that he needs to, "master the system" and get "really comfortable".

We saw Kolb struggle at times due to what seemed to be complications on the field. Whether it was not knowing his outlets, his protection schemes or what have you, Kolb should be much more comfortable this season. Not having the offseason programs last year did not help his case.

As Gannon said, Kolb just seems to be thinking too much. By the time he gets to the line of scrimmage, he should be ready to go, not thinking about the play diagram in his head.

Gannon stated that getting on the practice field with your new team as late as Kolb did is "almost impossible". "When you think about it from a quarterback's perspective, that would make anybody very uneasy. I think they were asking a lot from him last year. I'm sure they tried to simplify things initially, but if you're up there thinking and not reacting, you're usually in trouble."

Will more offseason work translate to more success for Kolb and therefore more victories for the Cardinals in 2012? We will soon find out.

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