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Passing: 18 - 27, 309 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
Rushing: 4 / -1 / 0
Kevin Kolb impressed in his debut with the Cardinals, maintaining very good pocket awareness throughout the game and delivering the football with accuracy to his targets. Kolb got the ball out quickly when he located an open receiver, allowing them to make yards after the catch. The Panthers pass rush forced Kolb to step up and roll out of the pocket on many occasions, but this was one of the more impressive facets of his game. He kept his eyes downfield in these situations and fired strikes to receivers. His patience was evident on many passing plays as he went through his progressions with a solid pocket protecting him for most of the game.
Kolb tossed his first touchdown pass as a Cardinal when TE Jeff King came free down the field after Kolb had rolled right and away from a potential sack. King sauntered in the end zone, wide open and unopposed. His second touchdown pass came when the Panthers sent an all-out blitz, leaving man coverage in the secondary. The single high safety on the play took a bad angle as Kolb fired quickly to Early Doucet. Doucet made him miss a tackle and turned on the speed to score a 70 yard touchdown. On a key third down late in the game, with the Cardinals backed up against their own goal line, Kolb lofted a lovely pass into the thankful hands of Larry Fitzgerald for a sizeable gain. It was a very solid debut from the former Eagle.
Passing: 17 - 30, 251 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Kolb had an underwhelming start due to the Redskins controlling the ball for most of the first half, but impressed when he was on the field. It seems that he is still finding his way with his new team, and it showed as he made better decisions as the game wore on. An example of this is his choice to force the ball to Andre Roberts over the middle, throwing just a bit high; this is a play that Larry Fitzgerald may have made -- but thrown to a receiver who is not as skilled in that area, the pass was intercepted. Kolb's safety outlet was an often open Jeff King, who could be a nice sleeper at TE going forward if that trend continues. Once Kolb found success in the shorter game, passing to his TE's, he was finally able to get the ball to Fitzgerald in open space with regularity, capping it with a perfect throw as his star receiver somehow managed to get behind the secondary for a 73 yard score. One big red flag to mention: the Cardinals had a lot of trouble picking up the blitz. Luckily for Kolb (and his fantasy owners), his accuracy under pressure and on the run is exceptional.
Passing: 25 - 39, 252 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: 3 / 16 / 0
Kolb started off well, but after some early success the Seahawks and their "12th man" made his day a frustrating one. Kolb displayed his trademark accuracy early on, hooking up with Larry Fitzgerald down the sideline for a 28 yard gain, despite a little rain. The duo would follow that up with a few more easy looking catches, and cap it with a miraculous looking touchdown. On the play, Kolb took the snap at the 12 yard line, then back-pedaled under pressure, finally throwing from beyond the 25. He lofted it up to a double covered Fitzgerald, who picked it out of the air with ease. It looked like it could be a good day for Kolb, but a few factors combined to shut down the Cardinals passing game from that point on. First, he did not spread the ball around, it was Fitzgerald or bust, it seemed, and guess what --- the Seahawks caught on. Second was the running game. Backups Taylor and Smith struck no fear in the hearts of anyone, so the Seahawks were able to key on the pass without suffering losses to the ground game. And third, Kolb made mistakes and he paid for them. On the first drive, he got lucky when an interception was called back on a penalty; but despite his ability to mix up his throws --- zipping it in at times, while showing a lighter touch when needed --- he made a couple of poor decisions, which resulted in his two interceptions. On the first one, in the final seconds of the half, a great play was made by the defender, but on the second (on a potential comeback drive) he threw to a covered Todd Heap while he clearly had better options. Kolb still looked like a good quarterback --- he ran the no huddle offense well, got the ball in the hands of his most dangerous target, and adapted well when they shut him down, throwing to his tight ends and running backs more often. But without a strong running game to take the heat off the passing game, it wasn't enough.
Passing: 20 - 34, 237 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: 2 / 1 / 0
Kevin Kolb had a fumble early in the game as his LT was beaten
off the ball for an easy strip sack which seemed to have gotten into
the head of Kolb for the rest of the game. Kolb would roll out of the
pocket and run into pressure on a lot of pass plays and threw a lot of
incompletions as a result. Kolb "saw ghosts" and was skittish in the
pocket for a lot of this game. Kolb knows his money maker however ---
Fitzgerald, and got tried to get the ball to him as much as possible.
Kolb threw several prayers up to Fitzgerald hoping his man would come
down with the ball. On the first attempt, Fitzgerald simply took the
ball away from NYG S Grant and made a play. On the second attempt,
Kolb failed to see the Safety later in the game and was easily picked
off by former ARI S Rolle. Kolb dealt poorly with pressure and
nonexistent pressure in which he dropped back too far to be able to
make a play. Kolb was not clutch either as he failed to convert on 4th
and short late in the game which sealed the Giants victory.
Passing: 21 - 42, 232 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: 2 / 10 / 0
Terrible. There is no other word to describe it. Kolb looked TERRIBLE in this game. Lost and under pressure, holding the ball too long, forcing it into coverage, check downs to TE and #3 receivers. Everyone talks about how little time Kolb had to develop as a free agent and how he will get better over time. Will more time teach him to throw the ball instead of push it? Will it help him stop forcing the ball into coverage? Will it teach him to not throw a ball that is tipped at the line? Highly doubtful. Kolb finished with two INTS in this game and he could have had two or three more. He failed to get the ball into his best receiver Larry Fitzgerald for most of the game, and frequently checked down to Early Doucet and TE's Jeff King and Rob Housler. His one defense may be that he was under pressure for the entire game because the line couldn't stop the relentless pass rush from the Vikings. He was replaced by Bartel on the final series after going his second week without a TD pass. He'll probably be the starting QB for Arizona after the bye, but the brutal schedule makes him a lousy fantasy play for the next several weeks.
Passing: 18 - 34, 272 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: 2 / 14 / 0
Kolb had one of those games where the statistics didn't match how he actually played. The interception wasn't totaly his fault, but many throws that ended in incompletions were. On the interception, his pass was slightly high and was tipped into the waiting hands of free safety Ryan Clark. Later in the first quarter, he overthrew Larry Fitzgerald, and the ball hit Troy Polamalu right in the chest before falling incomplete. It was a rare drop for Polamalu, but one of a few bad throws by Kolb. After his TD pass to LaRod Stephens-Howling, the rest of the third quarter seemed to really zap Kolb of any rhythm. Pittsburgh followed that touchdown with a 5+ minute touchdown drive of its own. Then, Arizona ran one play, which resulted in a safety. Pittsburgh then had a drive of over seven minutes result in a field goal. Once Kolb finally got back on the field, he looked shaky and was inaccurate. He faced serious pressure all day, which affected his footwork in a very negative way. His "happy feet" led to rushed decisions and some desperation back-foot throws that didn't look good. His 6/8 and touchdown on the team's final drive was standard garbage time production. When the game was close, he simply didn't do enough to lead his team.
Passing: 10 - 21, 153 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: 1 / 5 / 0
Kolb's very first drop-back was a microcosm of his afternoon on the whole. He was chased around by the Baltimore defense, hit in the backfield, and fumbled. Fortunately for him, Arizona recovered the ball, but it was a sign of things to come. He never had much time to throw all game long, turning it over once, coming close on several other occasions, and being sacked six times. Even on the plays he wasn't under pressure, he seemed to get a bit skittish and rush things a bit anyway. To completely contradict that statement, he also held the ball far too long on many plays. So it was really the worst of both worlds for him. His long turnover came early in the second quarter when he was hit as he threw. The ball popped up in the air and over the middle for an easy interception, and was the result of holding it for too long. But the near-turnovers may have been even worse plays than the actual turnover. He was nearly picked off rolling out to his right trying to force one into traffic to Larry Fitzgerald early on. In the second half, Kolb should have been picked for a pick-6 by Ray Lewis, but Lewis had the ball bounce off his hands for an incompletion. Soon afterwards, he was stripped of the ball while scrambling but he managed to recover the ball himself. And finally, he was bailed out of an interception by Ed Reed when the Ravens were whistled for a pass interference penalty. Though it may seem like it, the game wasn't all bad for Kolb. He fired a bullet over the middle to WR Larry Fitzgerald in stride that resulted in a 66-yard completion and a near-touchdowns. And Kolb's touchdown pass to WR Early Doucet was a perfectly thrown bullet to the back shoulder for an easy score. But even some of his good plays featured some negativity. He made a great pass off his back foot early on to Doucet that resulted in a first down, but he was shaken up on the play and got up limping. While he did finish the game, he was seen in a walking boot afterwards and will be re-evaluated during the week.
Passing: 16 - 25, 247 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
Rushing: 3 / 20 / 0
Kolb was merely adequate in his return from a turf toe injury that saw him miss four games. He did a good job working in the pocket, but looked rusty on a lot of throws. His inaccuracy in the first half cost the Cardinals on the scoreboard as drive after drive stalled before it began. The Cardinals also started out deep in their own territory several times, which didn't help matters any. After being shut out in the first half, Kolb started out well after halftime, hooking up with Larry Fitzgerald twice with passes that were right on the money. He turned up the intensity a notch as well, scrambling without fear and gaining a crucial extra few yards when he could. The winning play, in overtime, was a screen pass in which LaRod Stephens-Howling did most of the work, but Kolb executed it perfectly. Worth noting is that behind Fitzgerald, Andre Roberts saw the ball a lot; something that was not the case with Kolb at the helm earlier in the season.
Passing: 1 - 1, 2 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
Kolb suffered a head injury very early in the game, fumbling the ball on the play. He was replaced by John Skelton.