It took about 45 seconds for Kevin Kolb's preseason to barrel off the rails, but the Arizona Cardinals haven't given up on the man previously hailed as their franchise quarterback.
Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhuntconfirmed to KGME-AM on Saturday that Kolb will start in the team's third preseason game, Friday against the Oakland Raiders. The Cardinals planned all along to flip starts between Kolb and John Skelton. They didn't plan to have a disaster on their hands, though.
The preseason -- a five-game affair for the Cardinals -- can be deceptive. Kolb's problems are tied to an offensive line that's floating adrift. It doesn't help that running backs Beanie Wells and Ryan Williams haven't played a down against a live opponent. These are factors, but Kolb's inability to spark the Cardinals' offense to attack -- it seems to sink into a daze behind him -- is a lingering problem.
Whoever starts the season as the No. 1 quarterback likely will be replaced at some point, but Kolb presents a unique dilemma. You either start Kolb to justify the expensive trade that brought him to Arizona, or you bench him and wonder what could have been (although curiosity is waning on that front).
Whisenhunt just wants someone who can move the offense. Skelton has done more of that, but Kolb has the Raiders game to prove his growing list of doubters wrong.
