You know that commercial with the catch line, “you arenʼt you when youʼre hungry?”
Well, the Arizona Cardinals Thursday night performance against the St.Louis Rams reminded me of that.
Replace the chocolate bar with some much needed rest and youʼve got a whole different ball game.
Although it was only the Cardinals third loss in three hundred and forty days, you wouldnʼt have known it since almost every aspect of their game looked off, wrong, and tired. Kevin Kolb had it right when it called it “sickening”. Quarterback decisions, o-line protection, offensive timing, defensive schemes, and special teams kicks; it was all a mess. And of course it was all highlighted on national television. Again.
There was only one thing that impressed me about the Cardinals 17-3 loss, and that was Kevin Kolb. No, it wasnʼt his stats of 28 of 50 for 289 yards, a passer rating of 56.0, one lost fumble and zero touchdowns (no-one could be happy with that). And no, it wasnʼt his missed throws and poor decision-making (especially in the first quarter).
It was his durability.
Despite being pressured for 52.5% of his offensive snaps, and being sacked 9 times for a total of 17 times (the most by an NFL quarterback since 1986) in 2 games over 5 days, he kept getting up. Over and over and over again. He got up. His helmet was knocked off twice thanks to the Rams trying to rip his jaw off the one time and his face off the next. But he got up. His offensive line couldnʼt hold water in a rain storm. But he got up. This is not the same Kevin Kolb from last season. Heʼs different. Heʼs tough.
Heʼs avoided injuries. Heʼs faced adversity. He doesnʼt quit. Heʼs getting better. And he will be the reason the Cardinals make the play-offs.
In the meantime, the 4-1 Arizona Cardinals are leading the NFC West and have nine days of rest before their next game against the visiting Buffalo Bills. Theyʼll need every minute of it to get back to business.
Amber Boskers
CardinalsFan4Life
Follow me on Twitter @Jakita10
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This post gave me goosebumps. I believe the O-line can get it together eventually, but they just need help from a TE or a RB. It is just amazing to see how tough Kevin Kolb is this year. All he has to do is improve his accuracy and he is worth his contract.
Yes, I agree. Looking forward to more great games!