The Cardinals thought they solved all of their problems at QB after dealing for Kevin Kolb after the lockout was lifted.  But, he proved to be brittle and somewhat ineffective when he did play as the Cardinals were only 3-6 in games he started at QB.  Kolb played in 9 games (all starts) for the Cardinals last year and he completed 146 of 253 passes (57.7%) for 1,955 yards with 9 TD passes and 8 INTs (81.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 17 times for 65 yards (3.8 ypc) last year.  Kolb has now played in 28 games (16 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 340 of 572 passes (59.4%) for 4,037 yards with 20 TD passes and 22 INTs (76.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 53 times for 129 yards (2.4 ypc) with 1 TD run so far in his NFL career.  Kolb is now 6-10 (37.5%) as a starting QB in his NFL career.  He will likely open the 2012 season as the starting QB for the Cardinals.

23-year old John Skelton didn’t put up great passing numbers in 2011, but the Cardinals were 5-2 (71.4%) when he started at QB.  Skelton played in 8 games (7 starts) for the Cardinals last year and he completed 151 of 275 passes (54.9%) for 1,913 yards with 11 TD passes and 14 INTs (68.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 28 times for 128 yards (4.6 ypc) last season.  Skelton has now played in 13 games (11 starts) in his NFL career so far and he has completed 211 of 401 passes (52.6%) for 2,575 yards with 13 TD passes and 16 INTs (66.9 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 38 times for 177 yards (4.7 ypc) so far in his NFL career.  The Cardinals are now 7-4 (63.6%) in games started at QB by John Skelton.

28-year old Richard Bartel is #3 in line at QB for the Cardinals.  He played in 2 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals in 2011 and he completed 10 of 22 passes (45.5%) for 86 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT (52.5 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 1 time for 9 yards last year.  Bartel has now played in 3 games (0 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 26 of 50 passes (52%) for 236 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs (55.1 QB Rating).  Bartel has also carried the ball 1 time for 9 yards in his NFL career.

QB has turned into a Black Hole once again for the Cardinals in 2011.  The Cardinals traded for 27-year old Kevin Kolb after the lockout was lifted and he has not been the answer so far this year.  Kolb has played in 7 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he has completed 129 of 227 passes (56.8%) for 1,706 yards with 8 TD passes and 8 INTs (77.8 QB Rating).  Kolb has also carried the ball 14 times for 45 yards (3.2 ypc) so far this year.  Kolb has been injured lately, which opened the door for 23-year old QB John Skelton.  The Cardinals are 2-1 with Skelton as the starting QB.  He has played in 3 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he has completed 47 of 94 passes (50%) for 636 yards with 4 TD passes and 5 INTs (64.0 QB Rating).  Skelton has also carried the ball 8 times for 53 yards (6.6 ypc) so far this year.  For now, Skelton will remain the starting QB…but he was awful yesterday.  28-year old Richard Bartel is now #2 in line for the Cardinals, at least until Kolb returns to action.  Bartel has played in 2 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he has completed 10 of 22 passes (45.5%) for 86 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT (52.5 QB Rating).  Bartel has also carried the ball 1 time for 9 yards so far this year.  Whether it’s Kolb, Skelton or Bartel…….the Cardinals need someone to step up at QB!

49-year old head coach Ken Whisenhunt and the Cardinals went all in when they dealt for QB Kevin Kolb.  He has been a huge disappointment for the Cardinals and he is a big reason why the team is 2-6.  Kolb isn’t the only problem however as the Cardinals are giving up 389.8 yards per game defensively.  The Cardinals are now 34-38 (47.2%) during the regular season in Whisenhunt’s first five years on the job.  He did get the Cardinals to the Super Bowl in his second year on the job in 2008, and that will likely buy him more time to turn things around.

Starting QB Kevin Kolb is doubtful for this Sunday’s game against the Rams due to toe and foot injuries.  Kolb has played in 7 games (all starts) for the Cardinals so far this year and he has completed 129 of 227 passes (56.8%) for 1,706 yards with 8 TD passes and 8 INTs (77.8 QB Rating).  Kolb has also carried the ball 14 times for 45 yards (3.2 ypc) so far this year.  23-year old John Skelton will start this weekend’s game against the Rams.  He played in 5 games (4 starts) for the Cardinals last year as a rookie and he completed 60 of 126 passes (47.6%) for 662 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs (62.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 10 times for 49 yards (4.9 ypc) last year.  Despite Skelton’s sub par numbers last year, the Cardinals were still 2-2 when he started under center.

The Cardinals really need someone to step up and take the pressure off of Larry Fitzgerald.  Fitzgerald has been facing double coverage all year, but he has still been producing.  He has caught 31 passes for 505 yards (16.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs so far this year.  Starting on the other side at WR is Early Doucet and he has been taking advantage of single coverage as he has already caught 26 passes for 339 yards (13.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs so far this year.  The rest of the WRs have been sub par for the Cardinals so far this year.  The Cardinals have had high hopes for Andre Roberts, but to this point he has been a huge disappointment.  He has caught 13 passes for 133 yards (10.2 avg) so far this year for the Cardinals.  WRs DeMarco Sampson (2 rec, 27 yards) and Chansi Stuckey (2 rec, 24 yards (12.0 avg) have done next to nothing for the Cardinals so far thi year.

The Cardinals will likely be without starting RB Beanie Wells for 1-2 weeks due to a bone bruise in his right knee.  Wells has played in five games so far this year for the Cardinals and he has carried the ball 91 times for 423 yards (4.6 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  He also has caught 4 passes for 12 yards (3.0 avg) in this game.  The Cardinals hope that Alfonso Smith steps up while Wells is out of action.  Smith has played in 5 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he has carried the ball 25 times for 89 yards (3.6 ypc) with 1 TD carry.  He has also caught 3 passes for 21 yards (7.0 avg) in 2011.  The Cardinals hope that Wells’ returns soon.

The Cardinals thought they solved their QB problems when they dealt for 27-year old Kevin Kolb shortly after the lockout was lifted.  He has played in 5 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he has completed 101 of 172 passes (58.7%) for 1,281 yards with 5 TD passes and 6 INTs (77.2 QB Rating).  Kolb has also carried the ball 11 times for 26 yards (2.4 ypc) so far this year.  Kolb has been really terrible the last three weeks (all losses) as he has only thrown 1 TD pass against 5  INTs in those games.  The Cardinals have no plans of replacing Kolb any time soon.  28-year old Richard Bartel got into last week’s loss against the Vikings late in the game.  He completed only 2 of 6 passes (33.3%) for 22 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (5.6 QB Rating) in his first game of the year.  The Cardinals need Kolb to get his act back together during the bye week, because they can’t win without good play out of the QBs.

21-year old rookie CB Patrick Peterson and 23-year old second year cornerback A.J. Jefferson are working a lot on both defense and special teams so far this year.  Peterson has played in all 4 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he has 21 tackle, 3 passes defensed and 1 interception.  Peterson has also returned 11 punts for 175 yards (15.9 avg) with 1 TD return as he has been really busy so far in this game.  A.J. Jefferson only played in 2 games as a rookie for the Cardinals last year and he had 1 tackle and 1 pass defensed.  He has played in 3 games for the Cardinals already this year and he has 20 tackles and he has defensed 7 passes.  Jefferson has also returned 7 kickoffs for 203 yards (29.0 avg) so far this year.  The Cardinals have given up 282.8 yards passing per game and opposing QBs have a 87.4 rating against them.  That’s not good, so the Cardinals hope that Peterson and Jefferson start to step up on D.

The Cardinals are going to need a new starting QB, plain and simple.  I can see the Cardinals keeping John Skelton as a backup and maybe Max Hall as a #3 QB but that’s about it out of this crew.

27-year old Derek Anderson won the starting job by beating out Matt Leinart for the job.  Anderson played in 12 games for the Cardinals last season and he completed 169 of 327 passes (51.7%) for 2,065 yards with 7 TD passes and 10 INTs (65.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 5 times for 25 yards (5.0 ypc) in this game.  Anderson has now played in 51 games in his NFL career and he has completed 756 of 1,436 passes (52.6%) for 9,148 yards with 53 TD passes and 55 INTs (68.8 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 76 times for 205 yards (2.7 ypc) with 5 TD runs in his career.  Anderson has a great arm but he doesn’t complete enough passes and he turns the ball over way too much.  He won’t be back with the Cardinals in 2011.

22-year old rookie John Skelton started at the end of the season for the Cardinals last year and he was below average but not awful.  He played in 5 games for the Cardinals last season and he completed 60 of 126 passes (47.6%) for 662 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs (62.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 10 times for 49 yards (4.9 ypc) last season.  Skelton could turn into a decent developmental QB for the Cardinals going forward. 

25-year old undrafted rookie Max Hall had a rough time as a rookie.  He played in 6 games for the Cardinals last season and he completed 39 of 78 passes (50%) for 370 yards with 1 TD pass and 6 INTs (35.7 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 1 time for -5 yards last season.  He will have a hard time sticking with the Cardinals in 2011.

27-year old Richard Bartel got into the season finale for the Cardinals last season which was his NFL debut.  He completed 16 of 28 passes (57.1%) for 150 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (57.1 QB Rating).  I don’t see him coming back either.

VERDICT:  Derek Anderson, Max Hall and Richard Bartel should all be looking for new teams in 2011.  John Skelton showed enough to come back to the Cardinals in 2011.  I think the Cardinals will bring in a veteran to start in 2011 and they might also bring in another one to back him up with Skelton serving as the #3 guy.  That is a best case scenario for the quarterbacking situation for the Cardinals in 2011.

22-year old RB Beanie Wells has been awful this year for the Cardinals.  He has played in 11 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he has carried the ball 100 times for 334 yards (3.3 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Wells has also caught 4 passes for 68 yards (17.0 avg) so far this year.  Wells has now played in 27 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 276 times for 1,127 yards (4.1 ypc) with 9 TD runs.  He has also caught 16 passes for 211 yards (13.2 avg) so far in his NFL career.  Wells has fallen behind Tim Hightower on the depth chart but he will have to step up or he’s in danger of being a career backup.