Hall of Fame Game: Saints Win, Kolb Suffers Setback

The 2012 season officially got underway last night in Canton, OH as the first exhibition game was played at Fawcett Stadium.

Fresh off signing his big-time contract extension, Drew Brees led his Saints–in the process of recovering from the Bounty Scandal–to victory over the Arizona Cardinals, 17-10.

Brees stepped right in and appeared to pick up where he left off in 2011, when he broke the single-season passing record with 5,476 yards. Brees completed four of his five attempts for 41 yards in his only series of the game, leading New Orleans down the field on a 77-yard scoring drive. Running back Mark Ingram ended the drive by running in from one yard out.

Chase Daniel took a majority of the snaps for New Orleans, attempting 20 passes, completing 15 of them for 203 yards, a TD and a pick.

There were replacement officials officiating the game, in the midst of the current battle going on between the regular officials and the league over a new contract (owners have locked out the officials). While it appears there were a couple of no-calls that should have been called, I'd like to think they did an overall decent job, considering they aren't quite ready for action, according to veteran official Tom Barnes.

Just like the replacements officials, it's clear that the preseason is for tune-ups and getting comfortable, meaning the winner and the score of these exhibition games does not mean a thing. However, it is vital for guys who are in position battles to look in tip-top shape throughout the preseason. Its often the preseason games that they are judged and analyzed by the coaching staff, rather than during practice.

This is why I believe that Arizona quarterback Kevin Kolb is on the hot seat after last night's dismal performance. First off, his first pass of the game was an off-balance, across-his-body interception by Malcolm Jenkins. Kolb left the game with a rib contusion after being tackled by Sedrick Ellis and landing on his shoulder.

Kolb went 1-for-4 with four yards and the interception to Jenkins, and he narrowly escaped being sacked in the end zone for a safety on two separate occasions.

Lets face it, Kolb took a huge step backwards in his battle for the starting quarterback position, especially when you consider that John Skelton, who went 5-2 in seven starts last season, jumped in for Kolb and looked impressive.

Skelton was taken out of the game prior to halftime, in favor of the 29-year old Richard Bartel, but he did manage to lead the Cards down the field on a 10 play, 69-yard scoring drive, capped off with an Alfonso Smith 4-yard rushing touchdown to knot the game up at seven.

Skelton left the game going 4-for-6 for 32 yards, methodically leading Arizona to seven of its 10 points on the night. What did Kolb do? Well, all he did was continue his trend of under-performing and then, once again, suffering an injury. He started just nine games last season (3-6 record, 1,955 yards, 9 TD, 8 INT, 57.7%), his season hampered by numerous injuries.

First it was turf toe, then it was a concussion. Now it's a rib contusion. While his contusion isn't expected to be a serious injury, it is still not the type of news he, or Arizona's organization/fan base, would have liked to hear.

It's only a preseason exhibition game, yes. But there's no doubt that this will play a huge role in how the position battle turns out once the preseason wraps up in Arizona. In fact, I'm going to go ahead and make a bold prediction: John Skelton wins the starting job for Week 1 of the regular season.

You heard it here first, the 27-year old Kolb, who is under contract until the end of the 2016 season, will start the year on the Cardinal bench. It's almost Skelton's job to lose at this point.

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To Play or not to Play? That is the Million Dollar Question in Cincy

Amidst all of the lockout talks in the National Football League, the biggest question mark surrounding the 2011 season in Cincinnati isn't whether there will be a season or not. Rather, will Carson Palmer be suiting up in a uniform?

Fellow Bengal Chad Ochocinco (soon to be back to Chad Johnson) has made recent news by deciding to tryout for Sporting Kansas City--an MLS soccer team based in, of course, Kansas City, MO.

But, despite this recent publicity stunt by the All Pro receiver, the Carson Palmer situation continues to be the center of attention for Cincinnati and its fans.

Palmer has shown obvious frustration with the team and in particular the front office of the franchise. He has threatened to retire if the team does not choose to trade him. At this point it seems Palmer just wants to start winning games, this obviously isn't about money.

Bengals' owner Mike Brown has continually stated, and even reiterated it again as recently as yesterday, that the team does not plan to deal Palmer, no matter how badly he wants out.

If Palmer is serious about the retirement, then I don't believe the Bengals will have the Pro Bowl quarterback next season. But, if this is just an attempt to force a trade, then it appears as though he will remain a Bengal in 2011.

If you want my honest opinion on the entire situation, I do not think he will be dealt (or see a Palmer retirement for that matter) and Palmer will reluctantly be back in an orange and black uniform. But, this is obviously a situation to keep an eye on. If Palmer decides to retire before another team makes a move on Philadelphia's Kevin Kolb, should Cincinnati make a move? That is definitely worth a first round pick in my eyes.

The Eagles seemed hesitant to deal Kolb at first because they weren't receiving the right offers. But now that Sports Illustrated's Peter King broke the news of a team possibly offering Philadelphia a first round pick for the 26-year old, I really don't think Kolb will be an Eagle for much longer.

If this lockout ends sometime in the near future, we could see Kolb switch teams rather quickly. As for Palmer? He isn't going anywhere.

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You've Just been 'Vick'-ed: Why Michael Vick Should be Philly's Starter

All the off-season hype of Donovan McNabb's bitter departure from Philly, his arrival in D.C., and the beginning of the Kevin Kolb era is now over. In fact, it abruptly ended when Kolb struggled to get anything going during the Eagles' week one matchup with the Green Bay Packers. Of course, he ended up being knocked out of the game early on after suffering a concussion.

Kolb went 5 for 10 for 24 yards as the Eagles trailed 13-3 at the half.

Vick stepped in after the break and led the first team offense to a 17-point second half, including 10 unanswered in the final quarter of play. If it wasn't for Aaron Rodgers lighting up Philadelphia's defense for two third quarter scoring drives, Vick's comeback bid would have been successful.

Vick stole the show with 175 passing yards and a late touchdown toss to Jeremy Maclin, and his 103 rushing yards on just 11 attempts.

Despite falling short of a victory, Vick's performance prompted Andy Reid to start him against Detroit the following week with Kolb recovering from his concussion. Again, Philadelphia's defense allowed quite a few points--32 to be exact. But, Vick kept up with Detroit's backup quarterback, Shaun Hill, leading the team to a 21-17 halftime lead.

The Eagles scored two second half touchdowns thanks to LeSean McCoy's pair of rushing touchdowns (4-yarder in third, 46-yarder in fourth). Vick finished the game with yet another stellar statline in his first start at QB since 2006: 21/34, 284 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT; 7 carries, 37 yards.

Known for his speed and ability to escape the rush, Vick made an impact in both faucets of the offense, both through the air and on the ground.

When the Eagles signed Vick to a contract last season, he knew he was going to be on the bench quite a bit and only relieve McNabb every couple of series when Reid implemented the wild cat offense. And he gladly took that role, knowing it was what he had to do to make a breakthrough back in to the league after serving his time in jail.

But personally, I think he has done enough to make up for his mistake. He seems to be much more mature now, after serving his time and I really think it's time he gets what he has earned, and that's a shot to be a starting NFL quarterback again.

He has proved that he still has the ability to make an impact at the pro level, and it doesn't seem fair that he's just getting demoted back down just because Kolb, who hasn't really shown that he's ready for this responsibility, has been sitting behind McNabb for a couple of years.

Andy Reid should be doing what is best for his team, and at this point it looks like Vick is what's best for this offense. Reid has been on a short leash for a while now, and if Kolb struggles in his return, Reid's hot seat will be on the verge of melting away. Reid's job in Philly is certainly on the line this season.

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Paul Sancya