From time to time, we see former NFL players hop on Twitter to voice their opinions on trendy league subjects. Usually the player makes headlines if they say something completely negative or inane or if the player is well-known. But one tweet that may have gone overlooked earlier today (possibly because it went out at 12:34 AM) is from Rich Bartel, former quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals.
He tweeted to Mike Jurecki of XTRA 910 in support of current Cards quarterback, Kevin Kolb. Here is how it all went down.
@mikejurecki saw the 7 FA qb's available that you posted yesterday. I played w/ 5 of them. Kolb is better than everyone of them when healthy
— Richard Bartel (@RichBartel) March 6, 2013
The thing that is most interesting is the fact that Bartel has actually played with most of these guys. He has been on the same team as Brady Quinn, David Garrard, Chase Daniel, Matt Moore and Jason Campbell at one point or another throughout his career. With that, he has a keen insight as to how good these guys are, especially since he plays the position himself and can diagnose their ability to not only throw the ball, but make decisions and read defenses as well.
What Bartel actually said isn't much of a stretch, though. The only two quarterbacks on that list that he hasn't played with are Drew Stanton and Brian Hoyer. Kolb is better than every single one of these signal callers, but the caveat is Kolb's health. If he can't stay on the field, then he isn't better than any of these players.
The Cardinals front office knows Kolb is better than all these players, too. That isn't what it comes down to. It's about whether he can stay healthy or not and give the Cards a decent amount of games every season. So far, he hasn't been able to do that, which is why they are going to ask him to take a drastic pay cut. If he does not agree to do so, the Cardinals might have to turn to one of the lesser free agents or draft a young prospect.
What do you make of Bartel's comments? Is what he said anything new or did we all already know that? Tell us in the comments section below.