TEMPE, Ariz. -- Kevin Kolb is disgusted with the way his Arizona career has started. He knows the Cardinals paid him big money to be the franchise quarterback for years to come.
So he said he is looking in the mirror to find the leader to bring the team out of its four-game losing streak, that his postgame comments after Sunday's 34-10 loss at Minnesota were not meant to blame his teammates.
In the emotional aftermath of the blowout loss, Kolb said that the players "have to get more detail-oriented."
"It starts with meetings, showing up to work on time, getting in early, getting your work done, and all the stuff a professional is supposed to do," he said at the time. "Maybe it takes a game like this to figure that out."
Kolb was softening his comments on Wednesday.
"I just meant the details," he said. "It started with me. I'm not saying guys were late to meetings. I just meant when you are in situations like this, the only way you get better is you tighten things up, not your emotions, not your play. You just tighten up all the little details it comes with. OK, maybe I need to go over my script one more time before practice. OK, maybe I need to go over these third-down plays three or four more times on Friday and Saturday, those types of things."
Kolb said he "just didn't say it right."
"I think people know me well enough to know that I wouldn't point the finger at anybody else," he said.
There was a team meeting before practice on Tuesday.
"The gist of it all was accountability," Kolb said. "That's kind of what I was trying to point to after the game. I just think that if everybody has accountability and everybody does their job, we win football games. It's hard to get that many guys to do it. It really is. Everybody has different personalities. I think we have a really good group of men, professionals."
The Cardinals had a short practice on Wednesday; because this is their bye week, they won't go back to work until Monday. Their next game is Oct. 23 at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The idea of the four-day break is to allow players to get away from everything and relax. Kolb said he'd try, but doubted it. He's already loaded his iPad with information on the Steelers.
"Right now is whenever leaders step up and take charge," Kolb said.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
