NFC West’s New Quarterbacks Face Preseason Tests

The Seattle Seahawks signed Tarvaris Jackson; the Arizona Cardinals grabbed Kevin Kolb; the San Francisco 49ers drafted Colin Kaepernick. Who fared the best in the NFC West’s post-Sam-Bradford arms race?

If you’re checking in on the St. Louis Rams‘ newly quarterbacked rivals, score one for the Arizona Cardinals—Kevin Kolb has been perfectly competent in two brief preseason outings, with his 6-for-11, 80-yard performance Friday against the Green Bay Packers of a piece with his 4-for-7, 68-yard debut. The preseason is more important for Kolb than the average veteran quarterback addition, given his limited regular-season resume, but competence is everything the Cardinals could hope for after a brutal 2010 that saw them dump Matt Leinart and cycle through Derek Anderson and John Skelton. 

Kolb’s career numbers are unspectacular, through 2009 and 2010 were much better than his first step in 2008; over the last two years, in 12 games and seven starts, Kolb has thrown for 1938 yards on 285 attempts for a Y/A of 6.8, and an AY/A, after his 10 interceptions and 11 touchdowns, of 6.0. 27 this year, his virtual stalemate with Sam Bradford‘s numbers as a true rookie would seem to bode well for the Rams. 

The Cardinals might not have plucked a future Pro Bowler from the Eagles, but given the mess they had to clean up from last year they might have done enough to make themselves contenders once more.