I would not want to be Whiz right now.  Even though they won big, he looked like a man with a lot on his mind as he walked off the field.  The supposed future looked like crap tonight.  Warner did OK in his limited time, and St. Pierre did really well.  I don't know what to do.  Leinart looked so rattled out there, and can't figure out why.  At this point I don't know how you can name Leinart the starter.  Fortunately, we still have a week for him to shake off this game and get ready for the Broncos.  Warner showed why I am hesitant to see him start.  When he goes to throw he is wide-open for fumbles, and the INT's killed us last year.  Add in the fact that the way he plays does not jive with Whiz and Haley's Offense and wow.  Leinart had a lot on the line tonight and he fumbled it big time

Cardinals08,

Keep in mind that Whiz was not around when the team drafted Leinart. Many times, head coaches like to hand pick their quarterback. If Leinart does not get his act together, Warner will be the interim answer at quarterback while the team resumes its search for a long-term solution.

The thing that complicates this is that there are very few quarterbacks in the college ranks that look to be a good fit in the NFL.

I completly agree. Warner is not the long term solution by any stretch however, he could be the answer for the next few seasons. Like I said while Im not a big Leinart fan Im still hoping the kid can figure it out because Warner is only a short term fix 3 years at the most.

Sorta like Chris Chandler and many after him. Its been over 20 years since the Cardinals had a fix at quaterback. Im talking about Neil Lomax was the last main stay at the QB postion. Its been a rough 20 years for all Cardinal fans.

We were all hoping Leinart would be the answer. I havent given up hope yet but his arm strenth is going to be his down fall unless he can compensate in other areas like QB smarts which he is really lacking at this point in his short NFL stint.

He reminds me alittle of Chad Pennington not much of an arm but unlike Leinart Pennington has learned to make quick reads and is fearless to competition my goodness he was in NY.

I personally need to have more patience with Leinart its just I have seen this coming for 3 years ever since they drafted him. He dropped in the draft because scouts were not convicned that he had an NFL caliber arm. So far they have been right. Lets see what he does next week. I believe Whiz will give him one more shot however unless he shhines like the AZ sun. Warner is your opening day QB. Birds will fly high in 08!!!

What happens in the present influences the future. If Leinart starts now, my fear is he may no longer be the future of this franchise. I think he needs the clipboard just a bit longer. When the third string QB is out performing you, that's pretty alarming! I was quite surprised at Leinart's lack of performance. The Cards need consistancy "NOW!" We don't have time for Matt to try and figure out what he's doing.

ESPN is reporting that Warner will be the starter.  Watch and learn, Matt.  And give some of your $$$$$$ to Q.

Yeah, man I want Leinart to do well.  It absolutely amazes me that all these guys from SC from Reggie Bush down to Winston Justice have flopped in the NFL.  These guys were the powerhouse of college ball.  I am starting to look at how players that do well on lousy teams are safer picks.

For instance, Cutler seems to be doing well iin Denver.  I suspect that if Whiz had been the coach during that draft; Jay would be in Cardinal red as he seems to be a QB that Whiz could do a lot with (characteristics similar to Big Ben).  I thought Matt was the smartest of all the QB's in that draft, but the speed of the game seems to be affecting him.  3 INT's in a game he knows he needed to do well in

On the bright side, St. Pierre looks great and might be the heir apparent at backup once Kurt's days are done.

Obviously, with USC being such a powerhouse Leinart, Bush, etc, benefited greatly from the players around them. I think in each of their cases their skill-sets did not translate all too well into the NFL (Bush with size and durability issues and Leinart with arm strength). However, their college accomplishments were to overwhelming to overlook them as very high draft picks

Cutler is a great example of a somewhat unheralded prospect whose game is much better suited at the pro level. Before the Combine and pre-draft workouts, I believe Cutler was not even on the radar as a first or second round pick. As teams saw more of him his draft status continued to soar. In my opinion, the two biggest attributes needed in an NFL quarterback are arm strength and decision making. Those are two of the areas that continue to hamper Leinart.

The fact that quarterbacks are so hit and miss in the NFL, the Cardinals should not feel too bad. There is still hope for Leinart (after all it was just one game). Look at Alex Smith in San Francisco - he is pathetic, Byron Leftwich is another major flop. The most discouraging thing about Leinart to me is despite the coaching change, he came into a decent situation with what now is an outstanding supporting cast. Also, he did not have the amount of pressure that others have had, being depended on the starter from day one

Leinart has got to go. If I were the head coach he would be either cut or 3rd string. He has no arm at all and lofts the ball way to much, giving DB's way to much time to recover. Reminds me of another quarterback we had... Jake something?

I wouldn’t be surprised if Whiz may gives Leinart one more chance to prove he can be the starter. If you pull the plug on a young quarterback like Leinart before the season, it’s highly unlikely they will re-insert him as the starter during the season (barring injury to Warner). On the other hand, Warner could come in mid-season and not miss a beat. I just don’t see it happening the other way around.

Brad,     Warner is now the starter.    And it's a good decision....unless the sources are wrong, this is how we go into the season.   Rock and roll Card's.   We can do it.

It's becoming increasily safe to call Leinart an "NFL Bust"     

He has yet to do a darn thing.

Idaho,

I am definitely in agreement that Warner should be the starter. However, if the Cardinals close the book on Leinart now that is probably all she wrote for him, and that may be for the best. Unless Warner falters badly or goes down with an injury, Leinart's run with the Cardinals is basically over.

The situation is similar to Rex Grossman in Chicago (although Grossman has proved more than Leinart up to this point in his career). I think everyone within the Cardinals or Bears organizations are pulling for Leinart or Grossman, but they just can't get the job done on a consistent basis. The biggest difference is that Chicago has another young quarterback in Kyle Orton that may be able to step in. The Cardinals do not have another young option at quarterback (although they are in a better overall situation with Warner at the helm).

It does look as if Warner will be the starter and rightfully so.

Leinart did struggle on Saturday but you have to keep in mind Oakland may have one of the best secondaries as far as coverage goes.  Granted, Leinart didn't look ready to play against serious competition he has performed well in camp and is getting paid an aweful lot.  What happens if he plays in week 4 of the pre-season and looks better?

Glad to find out that Leinart only makes $750 as a base salary.  He can't earn incentives if he does not play.  That should leave extra money on the table for a nice signing bonus for one of our big three that we need to sign in the offseason.  I think a nice hefty contract for Adrian Wilson in the bye week would be nice.  That is if Warner stays healthy this season.

I agree with much of what was said... Cutler would have been a better choice and the franchise could have traded down a couple spots & still get him.

As for Warner, the guy only had better states then Brady the last 9 weeks in '07.  And that was with some ailing (albeit talented anyway) receivers. 

Now we can't put him in the Brady category...  but, I think there has always been a bias against (The Arena League star thinks he can play in the NFL) him from some in and around the NFL.  His armstrength is certainly good enough (better then Pennington's for sure.. I watched him a lot out here) and his decisions are usually quick and good. 

Something for sure happened to his hand (or fingers/thumb) because since the injury in '02, he can become a fumble machine...  and that injury certainly cost him his "star" career. 

But think about it... this guy had to fight for a job and respect every step of the way.  Nothing came easy to him and mostly he has been humble.  That strong will is just what this Cardinal team needs.  And it is his strong will that allowed him to flourish in the Martz scheme: 
Everyone go out... less blockers... "Kurt, you're going to get hit... a lot.  Suck it up, see the field, make your decision and get rid of the ball... on target."

The young guys on this team don't know what a fighter this guy is because of his demeanor.  But I tell you what, if I played pro ball, this would be one of the NFL QB's that I would be happy to go to battle with/for.

Now for Matt... I don't know what to say.  It does appear the early negative evaluations might be right.  I wonder... could he be hurt... is his throwing shoulder feeling it?  And if so, does he have too much pride to admit it... risking a season for all his teammates?

This is a real conundrum.  Leinart was told over and over this would be a great place for him... good receivers.. a veteran QB (and self acknowledged good boy christian)that is known to not want to create bad blood in the locker room... who can help mentor him. 

Honestly, I think that any of us writing here had the same opportunity that Matt has... we would have been more humble, more studious, more dedicated... and likely the starting QB for the AZ Cardinals in '08. 

You guys are right... Matt has talent that can be showcased when he has a great supporting cast around him.  And he has had that since H.S.  But the Cardinals have always had one of the worst O-Lines in the NFL. (hopefully R. Grimm yr. 2 will change that a little)  Hence, the best QB in this situation is someone who knows, "you're going to get hit.... a lot.  Suck it up, see the field, make your decision and get rid of the ball... on target."

As for the next game... they will be playing against mostly second stringers after the first series...  and guys like us - the ones who were not good/fast enough, after that.  Kurt should get a few reps now and work out the rust. 

Matt should rest his shoulder... or hit the weights... and/or get into the playbook.  Or he might be the next Majikowski or the like.

And having watched the Giants first hand last season... I can tell you that a little better than average QB can do great things if his team can give a a little time and also play defense.  So if this AZ team can stay healthy... anything is possible.

And while we're on the subject of time in the pocket... Didn't Brady look rather pedestrian in the SB when he did not have all day to stand in the pocket? So maybe our QB's are not much further down the rung if they had legitimate pass blocking and a decent run game?? (I'll leave my comments about JJ's inability to stay erect for another tirade.) 

Go Cards!

Cardsfan,

Welcome to the board. I don't remember any previous posts.  I agree with everything you said except for the O-line issue.  I think the first-team line has done a great job with Deuce being the most inconsistent - but Elton Brown may start at RG now.  Leinart had plenty of time to throw Sat.  He made bad decisions and let's face it - the Raiders secondary is arguably the best in the NFL.  Any poor throws are going to be picked off. 

The running game is coming along and Hightower may be a faster version of Edge.  I suspect they will share carries this season, and Edge's lack of speed is what is keeping the running game down.  Hightower is a back that can average 5.1+ YPC easily.  I have been very impressed with him, he seems to find holes even better than Edge.  However, Edge is still a better blocker and can catch passes out in the open better. 

If Warner could prove to me that he can compensate for fumbles by throwing the ball away when pressured and not force throws, then I would be fine with him starting even with lack of mobility.  You can't lose balls to fumbles and expect to win.  Someone needs to get creative on the med. staff, training, and coaching units to alleviate this problem.

Tonight was against a Vinalla defense and he still struggled. There are many reasons why I belive Warner is the guy however, I will keep if short and sweet "ARM STRENGTH" lack there of. Two of the Three INTs were because of arm strengh, the other was mental.


I don't know that I agree with a lot of this post. The Raiders coach...Kiffin, was Leinart's coach at USC and was largely responsible for a lot of his development. He knows full well what Leinart's weaknesses are better than anybody else. He also got word to Leinart that when the Cards came to Oakland he would be coming at Matt with everything including the Kitchen sink. He even threatened to bring the 46D at him...and was determined to play with Matt's head by showing him every kind of "look" he'd never seen. I think it worked great.
    Also...Whis said he partly blames the receivers for being out of position and not following through with what they're supposed to do as part of the reason for the INT's.  That 1st INT..? Seriously..Matt needed to throw the ball farther down field.
And the whole time Leinart was in..?...there was a lot of difference how he looked against the Raiders compared to the more confident Matt that showed up in the previous 2 games. After game 1..I liked how he was looking...and again after game 2...   I have trouble with the idea of all of a sudden doing a 180 and saying
Leinart sucks.  That just doesn't make a lot of sense somehow.
   Look at this...Kiffin didn't care AT all about winning the game as a primary goal.
His Main goals were to see how his QB could perform in a  passing attack.... and to befuddle Matt Leinart. I think he was successful.
      So it was Matt against his old coach... Kind of a tough battle for a relatively
inexperienced NFL QB.....

I am really pulling for leinart right now. I have never been a big warner fan but i am able to suck it up for the chance to get to the playoffs.  I agree with the fumbling problem, everytime he goes back i get worried about a possible turnover.  Our line has improved a lot and hopefully will keep whatever qb on his feet to make some big plays.