There's a classic saying which goes a little something like "You've got to bet big to win big" - no I'm not just talking about gambling, we're talking about the Arizona Cardinals acquisition of Eagles backup QB Kevin Kolb.
What's at stake here is pretty clear and has been covered in depth - Larry Fitzgerald is a free agent after the season and Ken Whisenhunt's contract expires after the 2013 season. Both could be gone if this move backfires. Effectively the near future of the franchise rests of the shoulders of the 26 year-old quarterback who's started just 7 games in his NFL career.
So why am I so excited about this? Well to be perfectly frank the Cardinals never do this sort of thing.
You could easily craft an argument that this is by far the biggest risk the Cardinals have ever taken at the quarterback position. Look at the history - this is a team that always takes the low ceiling, relatively safe, incredibly unsexy veteran.
Since 1993 the Cardinals have gone out and acquired guys like Steve Beuerlein, Jay Schroeder, Jim McMahon, Dave Krieg, Boomer Esiason, Kent Graham, Dave Brown, Jeff Blake, Shaun King, Kurt Warner, and Derek Anderson. All those guys started at least one games for the Cardinals and with the incredibly notable exception of the Hall of Fame-bound Warner (who was considered low risk at the time) - all have pretty much sucked.
But more than that, in all those cases the Cardinals were just picking up a guy they thought could be solid. A custodian if you will - you know, like Kyle Orton, Matt Hasselbeck, or Marc Bulger.
The Cardinals acquisition of Kevin Kolb is a clear signal that they are willing to take a chance on a high risk, high ceiling player who though he could bust, could also be a franchise quarterback for the next decade.
The Bidwell's, Whisenhunt, and the rest of the organization are pushing their chips to the middle of the table - and for a franchise that typically just bets the minimum, that's very exciting.