Late, miracle rallies? Right, we're talking Peltin' John Skelton

The wide receiver couldn't contain himself.

Someone had asked about his raw but late-game effective quarterback with the uncanny ability to lead winning rallies. A string of them, in fact, that turned a lousy team into a playoff contender.

"As soon as the fourth quarter comes... he comes out there and just gets it going," the receiver raved. "He makes throws, he scrambles, he does whatever is necessary to get the victory.... There's something special about the guy."

No, please! Not Tebow Time again.

Not a chance.

Today, we are all about Peltin' John Skelton. He's the under-sung but undeterred second-year man from Fordham University, the football factory ... from Franklin D. Roosevelt's second term.

It's true, Casual Fan. While you, kids, grandmas and media dogs (woof) have been eating up Tim Tebow's sudden impact on the Denver Broncos and civilization at large, Skelton has performed similar miracles for the far-less conspicuous Arizona Cardinals.

The resemblance is spooky. As Cardinals receiving star Larry Fitzgerald mentioned above, Skelton in the past six weeks has shown he's cut from the same cloth as Tebow and other cool-handed NFL closers.

With Kevin Kolb out with a concussion, Skelton has started five games, and he played all but one series of another. Arizona has won five, two in overtime.

After starting 1-6, with all six losses in a row, the Cardinals are at 7-7. With two games left, they have an improbable, but still possible, shot at an NFC wildcard berth.

In Skelton they trust, because the Cardinals have overcome six fourth-quarter deficits to win. Only one team in the past 41 years has lived more dangerously - Peyton Manning's '09 Indianapolis Colts.

That's remarkable.

But it fits, for Skelton's an interesting duck anyway. He's a Texan who headed to the Bronx, Fordham's home, through family connections and played non-scholarship football.

And as a senior in '09, Skelton, known for a big but not terribly accurate arm, beat Old Dominion's first team by passing for 402 yards, the second-most the Monarchs have allowed in three seasons.

For his career, the fifth-rounder has completed just 52 percent of his passes, with two more interceptions than TDs. He has been horrible in some games before the fourth quarter.

But like Tebow, who's not nearly as pick-prone, Skelton has something within that fires at rally time. It happened again on Sunday. The Cardinals surged from 10 down to beat Cleveland 20-17 in overtime.

Skelton and Fitzgerald hit on a big pass to set up the winning kick. But as with Tebow, Skelton's effect is contagious, and mysterious:

Rookie Patrick Peterson returned a punt a crazy 99 yards to beat St. Louis in overtime. Nobody fields punts at the 1. Peterson did. Plus, the Rams could have won with a field goal at the end of regulation. Arizona blocked it.

Dallas, also beaten in OT, should have beaten Arizona on a last-second field goal Dec. 4 - except Cowboys coach Jason Garrett called a timeout that canceled the kick. The next one missed.

And Arizona's defense is 20th-ranked. But in the past seven games, the Cardinals have allowed 13 points in the fourth quarter, the fewest in the NFL.

Like a Bronx quarterback from El Paso, it's fun, especially in the cookie-cutter NFL, when the cutter breaks.

Tom Robinson, (757) 446-2518, tom.robinson@pilotonline.com