When Kevin Kolb lost the starting job in Arizona, two of the team’s leaders went to him offering support.
Not because they thought the decision was wrong or unfair, but because they knew they’d need him again at some point.
But then John Skelton didn’t get through the opener, and now the job’s Kolb’s again by default.
“I hope it was very humbling for him,” safety Adrian Wilson told Jim Trotter of Sports Illustrated. “I hope he understands what he has to do from this point forward. He has to play with that same type of edge all the time. It’s not something that you do sometimes. It’s an all-the-time thing.
“He had an OK preseason and didn’t win the job, so now he has something to prove. There’s a different level of ‘want to’. So I hope it was very humbling for him.”
Wilson and defensive tackle Darnell Dockett have supported Kolb, an action born out of expedience as much as emotional bond.
“Me being in the league for eight or nine years, I’m not dumb,” Dockett said. “I knew his phone would ring at some point and we’d need him again. When you have leaders and captains down on you, it takes away all of your confidence. I wanted to be one of those guys who supported him even at his lowest, because when that time came for him to play again, even if others didn’t believe in him, he could look at certain leaders and certain playmakers and know that they’ve got his back. That means a lot.”
Kolb’s been through this before in Philadelphia, so he knows what it’s like to create an opportunity through short-term means.
And it’s not as if the Cardinals are adrift and incapable of doing anything with him at the helm. They’ve won eight of their last 10 regular season games after last year’s strong finish (though that came after Kolb lost six straight starts), and have enough parts in place to compete in the NFC West with competent quarterback play.
If that’s Kolb, they’re fine with that.