Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb was stuck on the sidelines in last week’s game against the Eagles, as he recovered from turf toe. While his toe was still recovering, his memory was working just fine, and he was able to help his team from the sidelines.
Speaking with Anthony Gargano and Glen Macnow on WIP-FM (94.1) on Tuesday, Kolb said he was able to identify some of the Eagles signals and plans, and was shouting out instructions to the Cardinals’ DBs.
“It was funny, as they were lining up for the plays, I’d go, ’Hold on, they’re gonna do this.’ And you don’t know if they changed things up or what. . . . But the ones that I was for sure on, I was letting it ring, and I think I helped us out maybe just a little bit here and there,” he said.
“During the two-minute drill, you almost feel guilty,” Kolb said with a laugh. “Mike’s sitting there giving the signals, and I’m standing there on our sidelines, screaming at our corners: ’Hey, it’s a go ball. Hey, he’s running a screen. Hey, he’s running a slant.’ “
Kolb downplayed the importance and the potential effect it would have on the game.
“How much of an effect do I really have?” he said. “I’m screaming to one guy. He may hear me. He may not. Luckily for us at that point (presumably the two-minute drill at the end), the crowd was pretty dead, and some of our guys could maybe hear it.”
Given the level of importance that has been assigned to stealing signals in the past, e.g. with the Patriots Videogate scandal, the Kolb incident raises an interesting point. There are more trades and free agents these days than in the past, and there are certainly many players walking around with the kind of “dangerous knowledge” in their heads that Kolb.
The prudent thing for teams to do would be to change up their signals more. But, given the extra onus that puts on players to learn different signals, it is something that teams are going to have to live with. Ability to learn signals (or to change them up) is just another competitive advantage that teams can bring to the field.
