Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt didn’t want to blame John Skelton compleltely for the team’s decisive loss to the 49ers on Sunday.
But he did so anyway.
“We didn’t play well enough offensively, especially at the quarterback position, to give us a chance against a good football team,” Whisenhunt said via the Arizona Republic. “If we can get our offense to play at the level of our defense, we’ll be fine.”
That’s a big if. The Cardinals have had one of the worst offenses in the league the last two seasons. They’ve tried a number of quarterbacks. Perhaps the team’s coaching and personnel choices are at fault too.
Skelton’s struggles against San Francisco should quiet any simmering quarterback controversy in Arizona. He went 6-for-19 for 99 yards with three picks. He missed many receivers by huge margins. The Cardinals didn’t cross midfield until late in the third quarter.
“It was wrong reads, bad throws, bad decisions,” Whisenhunt said. “John played like a rookie today and that was tough.”
After the game, reporters asked Whiz if Richard Bartel could start over Skelton if Kolb wasn’t ready to play this week. Whisenhunt said Skelton would get the call.