It’s the $63 million question.

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When the Cardinals report to training camp next fall, will coach Ken Whisenhunt put the starting-quarterback position up for grabs between Kevin Kolb and John Skelton?

Kolb signed a five-year, $63million contract with Arizona upon being acquired from Philadelphia for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a second-round draft pick.

But injuries and ineffectiveness left him 2-6 in his eight full games as a starter this season. Skelton, meanwhile, went 6-2 when he started or played most of the game.

After Sunday’s season-ending 23-20 overtime victory over Seattle, Skelton was asked if he felt he deserved a fair shot to unseat Kolb as the Cardinals’ starter next year.

“I hope I do. That is for the coaching staff to determine,” he said, adding, “Kevin and I have a great relationship. We push each other, and we always help each other out. We will see what happens this off-season.”

As the Cardinals cleared out their lockers Monday, Kolb told reporters he fully expects to be in a battle with Skelton for the starting job, saying it only would be fair given how things played out.

He also looks forward to putting this season behind him and getting a clean slate with which to work in 2012.

“I’m looking forward to the fruits of the labor and having a great season next year,” he said.

But Whisenhunt will decide who starts next season and on Monday, he reminded reporters that he’s always had open competitions for starting positions and that won’t be different at quarterback.

“That’s the way we’ve always been,” he said.

When informed of Kolb’s comments about having to earn the starting job again, Whisenhunt nodded appreciatively.

“I would hope that every player thinks he has to earn it,” he said. “… I think you’ve got to have that with your team. You can go back and look at all the spots, and that’s the way we’ve operated no matter what the situation has been.”

Health scares

News surfaced after Sunday’s game that Skelton and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald each were dealing with some health concerns.

Skelton, who passed for 271 yards and a touchdown, fainted and fell before the game shortly after having his knee drained in the training room.

Fitzgerald took a hit in the third quarter and suffered a bruised lung, which reportedly made him spit up blood at one point.

Doctors checked out both players thoroughly, Whisenhunt said, and allowed them to play.

Whisenhunt said Skelton joked with him about the fainting spell, calling him “Mike,” as in offensive coordinator Mike Miller.

“I knew he was OK after that,” Whisenhunt said.

Skelton said he’s never passed out before and called it a “a freak thing.” He added, “I think everyone was more worried than I was.”

As for Fitzgerald, who caught nine passes for 149 yards, including three big receptions on the team’s winning drive in overtime, he was re-evaluated by doctors after the game and again Monday.

Whisenhunt said everything checked out fine.

Free-agency talk

The Cardinals have several players set to become free agents, including defensive end Calais Campbell, defensive back Richard Marshall, left tackle Levi Brown and kicker Jay Feely.

Campbell likely will be given a multi-year extension or be presented with the franchise tag. Marshall and Feely each said Monday they would prefer to return. And Whisenhunt said he hopes Brown will be back as well, although given what it likely will cost the team to retain him, that might not occur.

What’s next

Whisenhunt said he and his staff will meet for the next week evaluating the team and grading players and each position as well as every play. After that, they will take a break and do it all over again, so as not to make any judgments based on emotion from the season just having ended.

As for any potential coaching changes, Whisenhunt said Monday that it was too early to make any decisions, adding that he must sit down with his own bosses and be evaluated first.

GLENDALE, Ariz. – The Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals have seasons that mirror each — an awful beginning and strong finish.

They will meet in their season finale on Sunday, the winner finishing at 8-8, a satisfying result considering what things looked like a couple of months ago.

“It’s enough incentive to be jacked up to end your season with .500 at least,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “That’s not anywhere near where we wanted to be, but it’s what we have available and we’re going for it. I know that those guys feel the same way. That’s just a natural way for all of us, so it’s going to be a big battle.”

John Skelton, who probably will be back at quarterback for Arizona, said the difference between 7-9 and 8-8 is far more than just one game.

“No one wants to have a losing record going into the off-season,” he said. “It kind of puts a bad taste in your mouth. 8-8 is kind of something to build on for the future.”

Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt reminds his players of what happened in 2007, his first season in Arizona. The Cardinals won their final two to finish 8-8. The next season, Arizona won the NFC West and made it to the Super Bowl.

“No guarantees that if we win this game we are going to the Super Bowl next year, but I do believe that it’s something that you want to do,” he said. “You strive to do that, because you always want to end on a high note and it really propels you into the off-season.”

Seattle was 2-6 after a loss to Dallas on Nov. 6. Arizona was 1-6 after a 30-27 loss at Baltimore on Oct. 30. Seattle won five of six, capped by an impressive 34-14 road win over Chicago, to climb to 7-7. The Cardinals won six of seven, including home wins over Dallas and San Francisco, to hit 7-7 with a 20-17 overtime win at home over Cleveland leaving them 7-7.

The slim playoff hopes of both teams were dashed a week ago when the Seahawks lost at home to NFC West champ San Francisco 19-17 and the Cardinals were beaten at Cincinnati 23-16. That the teams were in it that long is remarkable considering the way they started.

The Cardinals have lived on the edge in nearly every game.

Five of their losses were by seven points or less. They have trailed at the half in all seven of their victories. They have won six of their last eight, three in overtime, the other three by four points, three points and two points. Last week, they trailed the Bengals 23-0 entering the fourth quarter but had a chance to win it late. Wide receiver Early Doucet broke wide open on a fourth-and-five play and was surely headed for a touchdown when he slipped and fell, Skelton’s pass sailing harmlessly over his head.

Slow starts have plagued Arizona all season. Over the last eight games, the Cardinals have been outscored 94-30 in the first two quarters, then have outscored opponents 116-51 in the second half and overtimes. Skelton isn’t sure why he has had so much trouble early in games.

“There are mistakes that even a rookie shouldn’t be making that I’m making out there sometimes. I think it is just consistency,” he said. “We’ll have maybe the first two plays of a drive go well and then the third one someone messes up. Those are the things that we have to eliminate, the mistake here and the mistake there. Eventually those add up and they hurt an offence.”

Kevin Kolb, brought in to be the Cardinals’ franchise quarterback, struggled through the team’s six-game losing streak early in the season, then was sidelined for four games with a right turf toe. He returned and directed the team to a comeback victory over Dallas, only to go down with a concussion when he took a knee to the head on Arizona’s first play the following week against San Francisco.

Skelton came on to lead the team to a 21-19 victory over the 49ers. The second-year pro from Fordham is 4-2 as a starter this season, 5-2 if the San Francisco victory is counted.

The No. 1 challenge for Arizona’s vastly improved defence will be slowing down Marshawn Lynch, who has topped 100 yards rushing in six of his last eight games. But Whisenhunt reminded everyone that he has a pretty good back in Beanie Wells. Lynch has rushed for 1,118 yards and averaged 4.2 yards per carry. Wells, despite a season-long knee problem, has 1,047 yards, picking up 4.3 per attempt.

“If you look at Beanie vs. Marshawn, they’re almost identical statistically,” Whisenhunt said.

The Seahawks led 17-16 entering the fourth quarter last week against San Francisco only to lose on David Akers’ 39-yard field goal with 3:44 to play. Jackson’s fumble on Seattle’s next possession sealed the 49ers’ win.

The Seahawks believe they are a better team than they were a year ago, when their 7-9 record was good enough to win the NFC West, then they stunned New Orleans in the first round of the playoffs.

“Even though we have a similar record as last year, I think we took stuff forward this year — defence, offence, running game, and special teams,” Seattle strong safety Kam Chancellor said. “There are new guys on the team now and we just have to take time to feel each other out and see where we’re going.”

Given the short-term reward vs. the potential long-term risk, most Cardinals fans might assume that coach Ken Whisenhunt will tell quarterback Kevin Kolb to just sit this next one out, that there’s nothing to be gained by having him play in the regular-season finale against the visiting Seattle Seahawks.

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If Kolb still is dealing with concussion symptoms, he won’t play, Whisenhunt confirmed Monday when he addressed the media for the first time since Arizona’s 23-16 loss Saturday at Cincinnati.

But if Kolb is cleared to go, Whisenhunt said he won’t sit him for protective measures — even though the Cardinals (7-8) have been eliminated from the playoff race.

“We’re not approaching this as the last week. That’s not the way we’re going to approach it with our team or how we play,” Whisenhunt said. “We want to win this game. It’s a pretty significant achievement for this team, after starting 1-6, to get back to 8-8. I think it means a lot, and that’s the way we’re gong to approach it.

“I think back to ’07 when we finished 8-8, and it gave us some momentum going into the off-season we had a pretty decent year the next year. To have the opportunity to go 8-8, even though we strive for better than that and we want to get into the playoffs, it’s a pretty significant turnaround, and we want to make sure we continue to work for that.”

Whisenhunt said it will continue to be a “day-to-day thing” with Kolb, who suffered a head injury when he was inadvertently kneed in the back of the head two weeks ago in a win over the San Francisco 49ers.

Since then, Kolb has had good days and bad days. He will feel little to no symptoms one day, and the next day he might have problems in a meeting or on the practice field. Such was the case Saturday.

Whisenhunt said Kolb handled the plane ride in from Phoenix all right, but that once the quarterback got to the stadium, the sun and the noise from the crowd began to get to him.

“We just have to make sure he’s completely healthy before you let him get back out there,” Whisenhunt said.

The play

It’s already being hailed as the Play of the Year in the NFL, and it figures to live in replay history to haunt the Cardinals for decades.

Jerome Simpson’s improbable, head-over-toes touchdown flip into the end zone over Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington, however, still isn’t sitting too well with Whisenhunt.

“It’s a great athletic play by the guy,” the coach said. “Am I impressed with that? I’m impressed every day with what I see these guys do. I don’t like it that it happened against us, obviously. But the guy’s a tremendous athlete, and he made a good play.

“Listen, it’s great that people are excited about it. It’s great for our sport in that it gets more interest in it. But hopefully somebody will make a (more exciting) play and we won’t have to see that going forward, because it certainly doesn’t bring back good memories of the game.”

Extra points

Whisenhunt said watching receiver Early Doucet stumble and fall when he was wide open in the end zone for a potential tying touchdown Saturday was something “you think about a million times, especially sitting on the plane coming back home.”

However, he said he talked with Doucet and reminded him that had the team not fumbled at the goal line on first down, Doucet’s stumble never would have come into play.

“Early’s a tough competitor, and he’s bounced back from a lot of things,” Whisenhunt said. “… I respect him for that.”

Deuce Lutui finally saw his first playing time of the season at right guard during the second half of Saturday’s game.

Whisenhunt said it was primarily because starter Rex Hadnot has been dealing with knee and back problems and is starting to “wear down a little bit.”

“Deuce did all right,” Whisenhunt said.

“He got in there and competed.”

The setup: The Cardinals trailed 23-16. There was 1:18 remaining in the fourth quarter. It was 4th and 5 from Cincinnati’s 17-yard line.

The situation: After mounting a furious comeback, the Cardinals had a chance to tie the score.

The call: The Bengals brought the blitz, and quarterback John Skelton spotted a wide-open Early Doucet. But Doucet tripped over his own feet in the end zone after Skelton threw the ball.

The impact: The incomplete pass ended the Cardinals’ rally, eliminating the team from playoff contention.

The quote: “If he hadn’t tripped, he would’ve caught the ball,” Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt

Ken Whisenhunt still wasn’t ready to name his starting quarterback for the Cardinals’ game Saturday at Cincinnati, but Kevin Kolb, recovering from a concussion, was listed as questionable on the team’s final injury report on Friday.

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“We’ll see when we get there,” Whisenhunt said after the team wrapped up its morning practice. “We’ll make that decision after we travel. We’ve got to see how he (Kolb) responds after the flight today.”

Kolb, who missed last week’s game against the Browns, once again was limited in practice Friday.

Whisenhunt said he would know who his starter is later Friday night, but all indications would appear that it will be John Skelton for a second consecutive week.

Skelton is 5-1 in games he has played this season and is coming off a 313-yard passing game in the win over Cleveland.

Asked how Skelton has looked since stepping in, Whisenhunt said, “John’s been thrown into all kinds of different situations and he’s done OK, so that doesn’t concern me from that standpoint.”

Early work

Because it’s a short week and the team had a late-morning charter flight to Cincinnati, Whisenhunt ran his players through a practice/walk-through a couple hours earlier than a normal Friday.

The session began at 7:30 a.m. and it was cold, but the players seemed genuinely enthusiastic, Whisenhunt said.

“It was good. The guys were in a good place. They came out and got their work,” he said. “It’s hard because you’re walking a fine line – usually this is a walk-through – but we had to do a bit more because of the short week.”

Players are typically creature of habit, but given the Cardinals’ four-game winning streak and that they’ve won six of their past seven, they didn’t mind the change at all.

“Everything’s better when you’re winning,” Whisenhunt said. “It’s not hard to come out to work. The guys enjoy each other and you see that chemistry.”

Strong safety Adrian Wilson is one of many Cardinals defenders to make dramatic improvement over the past two months, but he’s deflecting credit for the team winning six of its past seven games.

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Profile: Adrian Wilson

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“It’s not a one-man show,” Wilson said. “The other 10 guys believed in what we were doing, and for whatever reason, it turned around.

“It means a lot to me, obviously, but it’s a credit to everybody, not to just one person.”

Wilson has rarely spoken with local reporters this season, declining almost every interview opportunity. Earlier this year, he tried to get his fellow defensive backs to also decline interviews.

On Wednesday, Wilson politely fielded questions about his performance and praised the team.

“At the end of the day, it’s about winning games as a team,” Wilson said. “It’s not about what one unit does, or what the other unit doesn’t do. The attention can be on the defense, but at the same time we win as a team.”

Status quo

There were no developments regarding the Cardinals quarterback position Thursday, at least none coach Ken Whisenhunt was willing to share with the public.

Kevin Kolb again was limited by the concussion he suffered two weeks ago. John Skelton again practiced fully. And Whisenhunt, again, wouldn’t say which player would start against the Bengals on Saturday.

“The procedure calls for him (Kolb) to go through a number of different benchmarks,” Whisenhunt said “One is to continue to practice symptom free and make progress that way. The next big one is traveling on the airplane. You always worry about the effects with that.

“When we get to Cincinnati tomorrow, we’ll see how that part of it goes.”

Whisenhunt said Kolb “was doing good” after practice Wednesday and was getting acclimated to the game plan.

The coach wouldn’t say which quarterback took the majority of snaps with the starting unit.

“They’re both getting reps, they’re both working,” Whisenhunt said. “We’ll make a decision based on the end of the week, seeing where everything is.”

Weaving a plan

The Bengals (8-6) are in playoff contention, which is one of the bigger surprises in the NFL this season.

They have a rookie quarterback (Andy Dalton), a rookie receiver (A.J. Green) and a new offensive coordinator (Jay Gruden).

Hiring Gruden was a surprise, given that he had spent most of his coaching career in the Arena Football League.

“What I was looking for offensively was for us to do a better job of meshing the run and the pass together,” coach Marvin Lewis said.

“As I look at the Cardinals offense, I think Whiz (Whisenhunt) has done a great job of that there. That’s what I was looking for; that we did a better job of putting that together and that we made it quarterback-friendly. Jay’s done a great job of installing that offense now, and our offense is through the eyes of our quarterback. He is our offense and we go from there.”

The Arizona Cardinals lost three consecutive games by a total of eight points earlier this season. They have now won four in a row by a combined 14 points, with two of the most lopsided outcomes stemming from 19-13 and 20-17 victories in overtime.

The search for meaning behind the Cardinals rise to a 7-7 record following a 1-6 start could lead to a basic conclusion. Yes, the defense has improved and quarterback John Skelton has shown a knack for stepping up his game in fourth quarters and overtime, but perhaps things are simply evening out.

Whatever the case, Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic says coach Ken Whisenhunt and the team in general are much better off getting hot now than, say, falling to 7-7 after a 6-1 start. Whisenhunt: “It builds equity. When you go through the pain of losing those games with all these young guys, and they understand now what they have to do in order to get out of it, that makes you stronger as a team. You have this group of young players who understand, ‘This is what we have to do. This is the standard that we have to set in practice and in meetings and what we have to do in games.’ Now, when you have a group of free agents come in here, you have a group of guys who won’t accept anything but this standard.”

Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic checks in with Cardinals guard Daryn Colledge on several subjects. Colledge on the team’s turnaround: “We were 1-6, and we weren’t doing what we wanted to do, but we knew we still had the guys in the room to get it done. We told everybody to stick with us, that we were losing close games but we would find a way to get it going, and we have. We stuck to our guns, we didn’t break apart, we got stronger, and no matter what happens at the end of the season — whether we make the playoffs or not — I believe this team takes this momentum and uses it through the off-season and we become a real threat next year.”

Darren Urban of azcardinals.com runs through basic parameters for the Cardinals to earn a playoff berth.

Clare Farnsworth of seahawks.com says the team again needs the versatile Ben Obomanu to fill in for injured wide receivers. Starters Sidney Rice and Mike Williams are out for the season. Farnsworth: “Obomanu and Golden Tate showed what they can combine to do on the opening drive of the second half against the Bears, as Tarvaris Jackson went to Tate for a 33-yard pass play on third-and-9 and then found Obomanu for a 43-yard gain on a drive that ended with Marshawn Lynch scoring on a 3-yard run. Because Obomanu already has started at split end (three games for Williams) and flanker (two games for Rice), his flexibility and experience will help the passing game compensate for its latest loss.”

Also from Farnsworth: a look at the Seahawks’ young safeties, Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas.

Danny O’Neil of the Seattle Times says the Seahawks are looking forward to getting another shot at the 49ers. O’Neil: “The 49ers held Seattle to 39 yards of offense in the first half of the season opener. The Seahawks trailed by 16 at halftime, cut the deficit to two points in the fourth quarter and then allowed Ted Ginn to score twice, first on a kickoff return and then a punt return. There are plenty of ways to measure how far the Seahawks have come since that loss. You can count up the 1,390 rushing yards in their past 13 games, including five 100-yard rushing performances by Marshawn Lynch. Or you can point to the five wins Seattle has in its past six games. Or better yet, you can line the Seahawks up against that same 49ers team they faced more than three months ago and see how the second meeting turns out.”

Dave Boling of the Tacoma News Tribune sees the Seahawks-49ers rivalry only getting better. Boling: “Don’t let anybody kid you, this has turned into a rivalry between two young teams on the rise, coached by a pair of very competitive men. This is not just another game.”

Brian Burwell of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Rams are set at quarterback and shouldn’t hope to finish with the No. 1 overall draft choice for the purposes of selecting Andrew Luck. Burwell: “It’s a bad idea to write off Bradford based on the impossible circumstances of this wretched season. One of the smartest football wise guys I know, legendary former Dallas Cowboys personnel guru Gil Brandt, is a huge Bradford fan. We have talked a lot about Bradford over the past few years, and he was one of the first people who convinced me before the 2010 draft that the Rams had to go with Bradford over defensive tackle Ndamakong Suh. He was right then, and he’s right now when he says to keep believing in Bradford.”

Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch provides historical context for the Rams’ weak offense. Thomas: “The Rams have scored only 15 TDs this season, and if that number doesn’t change against Pittsburgh and San Francisco, it will be the second-lowest total in franchise history — trailing only the 10 TDs scored by the Cleveland Rams in 1937. And if the Rams don’t score at least 34 points over their final two games, they will become just the 15th team in the NFL since the advent of the 16-game schedule in 1978 to score fewer than 200 points.”

Jeff Bennett, Gregg Found and Jason Starrett of ESPN Stats & Information take a closer look at the 49ers’ run defense, offering this: “The 49ers have been able to keep opposing runners out of the end zone by limiting goal line opportunities and stuffing the run unlike any other team inside the five-yard line. All season, only seven times have opponents tried to run the ball within the 49ers’ 5-yard line. And those rushing attempts are getting stuffed every time. Opponents actually are averaging negative yardage on those attempts. In seven tries, they’ve combined for negative-two yards. … Since 2001, only two teams have allowed negative opponents’ yards per rush inside the five over the course of an entire season. That claim belongs to the 2007 Packers (-0.7 yards per rush) and the 2005 Jaguars (-0.2).”

Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com says performance, not injury, was the reason behind Braylon Edwards being named inactive Monday night. Noted: Alex Smith’s yards per attempt lag when targeting Edwards.

Also from Maiocco: Aldon Smith strikes opposing quarterbacks quickly.

Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee says 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh answered in the affirmative when asked whether he saw Alex Smith as the team’s quarterback of the future. Noted: That is a tough question for a head coach to answer candidly during any season, let alone such a successful one. Saying no wasn’t a viable option.

Lowell Cohn of the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat challenges Harbaugh’s claim that Smith is worthy of the Pro Bowl. Cohn: “We all can admire Harbaugh for defending his guy — for putting his player forward. This may help Smith’s confidence, and Harbaugh loves to see himself (and his alter ego, Smith) as an underdog no one respects. So, this is a perfect fight for Harbaugh to start. It plays into exactly who Harbaugh is and needs to be. But he is way ahead of himself claiming Pro Bowl status for this quarterback with such limited accomplishments and, if you’ll forgive me, such limited athletic gifts.”

This couldn’t have been how Kevin Kolb envisioned his first year as the Cardinals’ starting quarterback would play out.

In addition to taking a beating the first two months of the season, he missed four consecutive games because of a complicated right-foot injury. Then, just a week after returning, he suffered a concussion on the third play of Arizona’s 21-19 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Kolb was inadvertently kneed in the back of his head by 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks after being sacked and fumbling the ball. Kolb’s status for Sunday’s game against the visiting Cleveland Browns is uncertain, and he must go through a series of tests before being cleared to practice.

Kolb was evaluated by physicians twice after taking the hit, and coach Ken Whisenhunt said the quarterback “didn’t feel right. He felt a little off.”

It’s been that kind of season for Kolb.

“At that position, a lot of times it is,” Whisenhunt said. “You don’t see a whole lot of quarterbacks get through a whole season without having some type of injury. That’s not unexpected. It’s unfortunate with the toe, and this one (Sunday) was an unusual thing. You don’t see it very often when you catch a knee to the back of the head like he did.

“That’s not a typical injury. I’m sure it’s frustrating for Kevin because Kevin wants to play, especially after playing well in the second half last week against Dallas. But it’s a part of the game.”

Big play success

John Skelton’s 60-yard touchdown pass Sunday to Early Doucet marked the ninth touchdown of 50 or more yards for the Cardinals this season, the most in the NFL.

The Green Bay Packers have scored touchdowns from that distance or longer eight times, the Detroit Lions seven times and the Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys six times apiece.

Of course, four of Arizona’s long touchdowns have come on punt returns by rookie Patrick Peterson, but the overall number impresses Whisenhunt.

“Last year we had hardly any of them and this year we’ve had a bunch of them,” he said. “I think the thing that really stands out is there’s been so many different guys making those big plays. It means we’re close to being a better, efficient team on both sides of the ball.

“I wish it would translate to us being a better third-down team, because that’s one of the areas we’ve got to get better at. But it definitely helps when you can have some of those big plays in games like we’ve had this year.”

Wilson stepping up

Veteran strong safety Adrian Wilson has noticeably stepped up his play for the past month and a half. And he’s done it in a new system despite playing with a torn biceps tendon in his right arm.

Whisenhunt praised Wilson’s work ethic and study habits as major reason for the improvement.

“And when you have 11 guys on the defensive side doing that, you’re going to get better,” he said. “Obviously, Adrian is a talented player. To see him work like that really shows his leadership. To see him make plays in the game and be a force like he’s become here lately, it also really speaks a lot for our defense and our coaches and our players.”

Game ball

Todd Haley, the Cardinals’ former offensive coordinator under Whisenhunt, was fired as head coach of the Chiefs on Monday and Whisenhunt was asked for his reaction.

“Well, we all know Todd’s a good friend of mine,” he said. “This is a tough business. But Todd’s an outstanding football coach and I’m sure there will be something for him.”

Whisenhunt politely declined comment when asked if there could be a reunion of some sort with Haley and the Cardinals.

Center Lyle Sendlein presented Whisenhunt with a game ball on behalf of the team Sunday for the coach tying Don Coryell‘s record for most wins in team history (42).

“It was very meaningful that our team did that,” Whisenhunt said. “It’s a team game. But we’re worried about focusing on Cleveland this week.”