After Kevin Kolb left the game with a rib contusion, John Skelton entered the game and was 4/6 for 32 yards. He led the offense to a touchdown. Granted, of the 14 plays in that drive, nine were running plays and Alfonso Smith had 46 of the yards, but to see how Skelton did actually, let us look at each of the six throws he made in his short time on the field on Sunday.
What you will see, aside from not getting hurt, as seems to be the common thing for Kevin Kolb, is a little of all that you think you can get from Skelton and what is wrong with him as well.
His first throw came in the three-and-out deep in their own territory when he came in for Kolb. It was third-and-two and he threw the ball to Todd Heap. It fell incomplete, but it was an ill-advised throw because of the timing. Skelton did not throw it until two different defenders were aware of where Heap was. It was a throw that could have easily gotten picked off.
His next throw was the first play of the scoring drive. It was a "bad John Skelton throw," one that Derek Anderson used to make. It was a designed quick pass to fullback Anthony Sherman coming out of the backfield. It should have been an easy throw. He airmailed it, throwing it too high and wide for Sherman.
HIs third throw was on third down. He completed it to Andre Roberts and it was on target. However, it was not the read he should have made. He had Early Doucet moving across the middle a couple of second earlier. It would have been a first down and Doucet was already moving, so there was the potential for a bigger play once he had the ball in his hands.
The throw to Roberts was on the money and it wasn't a bad play. It was, though, not the best choice.
His fourth throw ended the first quarter, when he threw an easy pass to Larry Fitzgerald underneath.
His fifth throw was good. On second down, Roberts found a soft spot in the zone at the first down line and Skelton made the read and hit him on target. Good throw.
His final throw was the nicest one. He dropped back, felt a little pressure and stepped up in the pocket, threw the ball while moving across his body and hit William Powell right in the numbers. as he was moving across the field towards the sideline.
For those keeping count,
Throw one: bad decision, late
Throw two: inaccurate
Throw three: good, but there was a better throw to make and did not read it quickly enough
Throw four: easy and on target
Throw five: good read, good throw
Throw six: athletic, accurate throw.
In a nutshell -- some good, but inconsistent. You might have some concern about his throwing motion, too. Mike Mayock commented two or three times about his sidearm motion. That is not want him doing, even if he is big.
What do you think? To me, it seems that he still has issues when he first comes in and then settles in.