Some marriages and relationships are flawed from the start.
While two sides may be attracted to each other, as Kevin Kolb and the Arizona Cardinals appear to be, some relationships are inherently doomed.
Kolb may end up having a productive season in Arizona, but the premature and almost obnoxious hype has Cardinals fans hoisting the division championship flag and retiring Kolb’s number before he ever takes a snap for the Cardinals.
Although Cardinals fans desperately want Kolb to be the second coming of Kurt Warner and allow them to erase the horrible memories of Derek Anderson, he is not the answer.
The former second round pick has spent the majority of his career as a backup, and despite the promise he has shown, there is nothing to suggest he can be the franchise quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals.
“You have a little more book on him than you would a college quarterback coming into the NFL," Kurt Warner told Sports 620 KTAR's Gambo and Ash.”
Kolb only has seven career starts and has thrown more career interceptions, 14, than touchdowns, 11.
“I just don’t know if there’s enough out there on him to say I’m convinced this guy can be a franchise guy,” Warner said. “You’ve seen good, but then you’ve also seen not so good.”
The former Cardinal quarterback is not the only one with doubts about the new one. NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks is not convinced either.
“It is not out of the realm of possibility that Kolb is the byproduct of [Philadelphia’s] quarterback-friendly system," Brooks writes. "Former Eagles quarterbacks A.J. Feeley and Donovan McNabb struggled outside of the scheme, and that should cause Cardinals' fans to worry about Kolb's transition into Whisenhunt's system."
While Kolb has only proven himself to be an average quarterback while on the field, the media and Arizona fan base has set expectations that can seemingly only be met if the quarterback wins the MVP award.
I am not saying their careers will turn out the same, but the last time the Cardinals acquired a quarterback with a lot of hype and no experience, they wound up with Matt Leinart.
The hype revolving around Kolb is based solely on potential. While it is good that he has potential, fans need to tone down the enthusiasm.
Every player in the NFL has potential. That is why they are drafted and signed. Potential does not translate to wins, on-field performance does.
Valley fans are excited and optimistic about their team. That is a good thing, but there needs to be cautious optimism. Kolb has not proven nearly as much on the field as people seem to think he has.
Reach the columnist at william.boor@asu.edu
