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While the Cardinals' 58-0 loss was about as atrocious as it gets, none of it would have been possible without the absolutely deplorable play of Cards quarterback John Skelton.
After relishing the opportunity to have finally regained his starting job earlier in the week, Skelton took the field against the Seahawks on Sunday and laid the biggest egg you will ever see. His 11/22 for 74 yards, 4 interceptions and a sack that led to a fumble saw him right back to the bench in favor of rookie Ryan Lindley. Although Lindley was hardly an upgrade, it just went to show how little Skelton has actually improved since coming into the league.
In fact, it could be argued that he has actually been worse.
Taking a look at the numbers, Skelton will come nowhere close to reaching the same plateau that he hit last season. In 8 games in 2011, Skelton passed for almost 2,000 yards, a 54.9% completion rate and 11 touchdowns compared to 14 interceptions. This year, his six games played have yielded about half the yardage, a lower completion rate (albeit by just .2%) and a worse touchdown to interception ratio.
To me, Skelton is always going to be a guy that overthrows his receivers, throws more interceptions than touchdowns and loses games due to silly mental errors. Sure, he can come in and maybe win your team a game or two, but he seemingly does not take his job seriously enough to ever become a starting caliber quarterback in the league. He has not taken the time to perfect his craft since being given the chance to play in the NFL.
Skelton reminds me quite a bit of Rex Grossman. Grossman had his chance to shine plenty of times while he was with the Bears, but could never show any sort of consistency during his tenure in Chicago. He consistently threw more interceptions than he did touchdowns and, eventually, the team got tired of watching him struggle. That is why he is currently the third string quarterback for the Redskins behind two rookies.
Will Skelton end up like Rex Grossman? It's hard to say. Like Grossman, his original team just might give up on him soon. But one thing has become inherently clear. Skelton is never going to be a starting force in the National Football League.