John Skelton to start for Arizona Cardinals in Week 1 – NFL News
Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt has finally made up his mind about the starting quarterback as he announced on Friday, August 31, that John Skelton will start their first game of the season against Seattle Seahawks on September 09.
Skelton was competing with Kevin Kolb for the starting role after both quarterbacks displayed mediocre performance on the starting line in the 2011 season.
Last year, Kolb was their main starter but his injury made Skelton the starter. The Cards did not qualify for the playoffs and performance of both quarterbacks was just average.
Whisenhunt had made it clear that both quarterbacks would enter the next offseason contending for the starting role. Throughout the offseason and during the preseason games, the coach monitored the performance of both players and finally announced the starter
on Friday, ending months of speculations.
According to the details present on the team’s website, Whisenhunt said:
“We put a lot of time and effort in making the decision, and we feel like it’s the right decision.”
Skelton has not played as regular starter since starting his professional National Football League (NFL) career in 2010 with the Cards. This is a great opportunity for him to guarantee the starting role for future by performing well throughout the season.
He thanked the management for trusting his potential and said of receiving the opportunity:
“Ever since I got to the Cardinals’ organization, everyone has been forthright. They have always been truthful, that’s from management to coach Whisenhunt to my position coach. When the season ended last year and coach Whisenhunt took me into his office
and told me I’d have a chance to compete, I knew he’d be a man of his word.”
He further said:
“I see myself as the starter and I’m going to keep looking forward and not look back.”
Cardinals played five games (including one Hall of Fame game against New Orleans Saints) this preseason and they were able to win only one of them.
Heading into the regular season, they have now set high expectations of Skelton who is also upbeat about his role. It will only be known in the regular season whether the decision to prefer Skelton over Kolb is right.
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