It's been a rough week for Kevin Kolb. After taking eight sacks against in the Arizona Cardinals' 24-21 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, the quarterback absorbed nine more Thursday in a 17-3 loss to the St. Louis Rams.
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But bloodied chin up, Mr. Kolb: Your coach says it's time to retire concerns about your toughness.
"I think he answered a lot of questions about that," Ken Whisenhunt said Friday, according to The Associated Press. "People were questioning his toughness or his ability to play in one of those kinds of games. He certainly did that."
Any quarterback who can stick it out behind the Cardinals' turnstile of an offensive line should get a break from having his toughness questioned. Cardinals guard Daryn Colledge believes Kolb has earned as much, and he says the offensive line has to do more to protect its quarterback.
"A lot of people said he wasn't tough, he'd been knocked out of a couple of games, he'd gotten some shots put on him," Colledge told The Associated Press, "but he's willing to stand in there and get a bloody nose. He's proved that and we want to keep fighting to for him. We take that personal. We want to protect him."
Whisenhunt refused to sound the alarm on the unit, saying the Cardinals have to "work better" at their pass protection. But more drastic measures could be needed with the likes of Mario Williams, Jared Allen, Aldon Smith and Clay Matthews on the schedule in the coming weeks. A spirited effort likely won't cut it next week against the Buffalo Bills if the Cards want to keep Kolb clean.
