I’d say “let’s start making Lane Johnson Cardinals jerseys” but who buys offensive lineman jerseys?
Kevin Kolb isn’t all that great at being a quarterback. This is now common knowledge to the fine people of Arizona, and Bills fans are surely aware that at best, he’s a bridge to something better.
But in fairness to Kolb and anyone who tried to play quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals last year, standing behind their offensive line was the equivalent of Homer Simpson’s best boxing efforts. Get punched a lot, and just hope and pray to the almighty that the other guy gets tired before you lose consciousness.
The Cards’ O-line allowed a league worst 58 sacks last year, seven more than the 31st place Packers in that category of pain. Over the previous three seasons, that sack total would have still been a league low. What’s even more remarkable/woeful is that Kolb was the victim of 27 of those QB hurtings, and he appeared in only six games before finally breaking. Kolb’s final three games of the season starting in Week 4 looked like this: eight sacks, nine sacks, five sacks.
There was some improvement over the second half of the season, but the real improvement now needs to come from the draft, with the Cardinals likely in a position to pick Lane Johnson, one of the premier left tackles available. The urgency to employ him is furthered by the recent acquisition of Carson Palmer. Like Kolb in Buffalo, he’s not the future, and instead he’s a fine bridge. But as a statuesque quarterback who plants himself in the pocket, he’ll crumble quickly under intense pressure.
For our Cardinals draft preview I had a quick chat with Jess Root from Revenge of the Birds. He thinks that while Johnson is a strong first-round possibility, the Cards will stick to their draft boards and likely select the best player avaliable. Also, we could see Arizona come away from the draft with several offensive linemen.
