



There is no mania surrounding John Skelton. His surname hasn't crossed into the mainstream, into the pages of the English dictionary.

But remove the religious overtones, and the Cardinals have their own Tim Tebow.

"No," Skelton barked.

Why not?

"I don't resent it," Skelton said. "I just think it's premature to be comparing any two young quarterbacks to each other. We both win games and find ways to win, but I think we're very different."

Yes, they are very different people. No one is suggesting a higher power is guiding the kid in Glendale. But after a 20-17 overtime victory against the Browns on Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium, the comparisons are inevitable and warranted.

Both quarterbacks have an uncanny ability to frustrate their coaches, deflate their fans, underwhelm their receivers and somehow play their best in the final 15 minutes.

Except Skelton isn't running a gimmick offense. And with a 4-1 record in games he's started this season, the Cardinals quarterback actually has a better winning percentage than Tebow.

"As soon as the fourth quarter comes, he takes his cape off," Cardinals star Larry Fitzgerald said. "He comes out there and just gets it going. He makes throws, he scrambles, he does whatever is necessary to get the victory ... There's something special about the guy."

Told that his analogy was a little clumsy -- Superman actually put on his cape in a phone booth -- Fitzgerald didn't miss a beat.

"Yeah, but you can't play football with a cape on," Fitzgerald said.

The Cardinals have done something remarkable in 2011. After a 1-6 start, they are now 7-7 with an outside shot for the NFC's last playoff berth. It didn't help matters that the Lions prevailed in Oakland on Sunday, but that's largely irrelevant.

An important lesson is emerging from this dramatic turnaround. If a football team doesn't crack under the scrutiny and negativity of a lengthy losing streak in the 21st century, the experience will make them stronger.

These Cardinals don't stop fighting because the taste of failure still is fresh on their palate. In the span of 14 weeks, they have experienced the NFL's yin and yang. At this point, they'll do anything to keep winning, to avoid the civic derision and the dark weeks of practice when their town was their enemy.

This resurgent team is much more than the production of Skelton, and yet the quarterback is the most improbable story in the locker room. And now that the final two games could have playoff implications, Ken Whisenhunt has a serious dilemma.

If Kevin Kolb is cleared to return, the head coach can take the keys away from Skelton on the convenient missive that his players don't lose jobs to injury. But he better gauge the temperature of the other 52 players.

Juxtapose Skelton's record and resilience to Kolb's injury-prone season, and he might find that the locker room has switched its allegiance.

"I've got a lot of respect for our quarterback, man," defensive tackle Darnell Dockett said. "He's playing his (backside) off."

Here's the other valid comparison to Tebow: In Denver, football fans were once spoiled by the aesthetic brilliance of John Elway. Now, they are cheering wildly for a quarterback who struggles with the forward pass.

In Arizona, fans were once treated to Kurt Warner and his masterpiece theater. Now, they are beginning to embrace this erratic underdog from Fordham. And after another comeback victory in overtime, it's possible that Cardinals fans haven't felt this proud of their franchise since Warner retired.

"I think it's just my demeanor," Skelton said. "I never get too high, I never get too low. There have been guys who say when I come off the field, they don't know whether we've scored or just had a turnover. It's a mind-set you have to have when you play this game."

That mind-set clearly is infectious. Just look around.

The Packers are no longer unbeaten. The Colts are no longer winless. Tebow's magic expired against Bill Belichick's Patriots. But the Cardinals still are rolling, even if they stagger and cough along the way.

"It wouldn't be a win if we didn't do it that way," Skelton said.

Call it Skeltoning. Good luck finding that one in the dictionary.

Reach Bickley at dan.bickley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8253. Follow him at twitter.com/danbickley. Listen to "Bickley and MJ" weekdays from 2-6 p.m. on KGME-AM (910).