Why did Matt Leinart’s star fall so far? I know the history but haven’t really followed the details of his playing. I know that Dennis Green drafted him in Phoenix, thinking that he was a bargain at no. 10 (but why did other teams above there not pick him?). He got hurt, and Kurt Warner stepped up with a couple of great years.
But why did he get cut this year? And why was almost no other team interested (I see that he signed for a year with the Texans)?
I haven’t followed the Leinart vs. Derek Anderson battle closely, so I can’t say what went wrong for Leinart this year.
As for why a Heisman Trophy winner didn’t get drafted until #10 overall, that’s easy. Sometimes teams don’t want to use their first pick on a QB, because it takes so long for a QB to mature into the role. Some teams may shy away from a left-handed QB, even one who got a Heisman Trophy. And the consensus at the time was that Leinart may have been a grade A quarterback, but he had a grade B arm.
The only quarterback taken ahead of Leinart was Vince Young. Young actually came out for the draft a year early after he had smashed through a bunch of records in 3 years at Texas.
The Cardinals had 2 excellent wide receivers in Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. Josh McCown as well as other people filled in the QB slot once Jake Plummer left.
Its pretty simple to me. If you’re in a QB battle in camp/preseason with Derek freaking Anderson and you lose the job…you SUCK. And in Leinert’s case, due to his draft position, a bust.
ETA: I wonder if the Cards are desperately seeking susan by calling on Warner and pleading with him to come back one more year…and using Brett Favre’s age as an angle…
I think a big, under-appreciated issue with Leinart and a bunch of QBs in similar situations is that they simply got rusty. Leinart was taken as a potentially NFL ready QB, most saw him as a game manager and leader as opposed to a rocket armed stud, but a very adequate starting NFL QB early on. He started a ton of games for USC and was in a rhythm. In his rookie season he started 10 games in relief and posted solid numbers for a rookie QB, he made plenty of mistakes, but he played as well as most rookies do.
Then Warner got things going and Leinart spent the bulk of the next 4 years holding a clipboard. Few players at any position can remain sharp when you spend nearly 4 years not playing or practicing, and ones that never had a chance to really acclimate to the NFL game in the first place have almost no chance. Backing up Warner basically ruined any potential for growth he had. These guys need to prepare and play or else they lose it. How many QBs can you think of who waited this long to get a starting gig did anything with it? There’s a certain chicken and the egg argument in which guys that wait that long do so for good reason, but the Warner issue is an isolated case. We may never know how good Leinart could have been had he have been playing and growing back in 2007.
How about Leinart’s backup at USC? Also Danny White, Jeff Hostetler, Aaron Rodgers off the top of my head.
Phillip Rivers spent two years carrying a clipboard, too.
I really don’t stand not giving him a chance. He certainly wasn’t Warner when starting, but I think he was at least okay. I don’t think you can read that much from pre-season games, and it wasn’t clear Anderson outplayed him anyone. I still think he will be at least an average nfl qb, and that has value.
Whisenhunt was apparently very impressed with the undrafted Max Hall. I also wonder how much the beer bong incident hurt Leinart’s standing with Ken Whisenhunt. Anquan Boldin’s whining and diva act got him shipped off. Since Leinart was a Denny Green pick, I don’t think Whiz had any loyalty to Leinart.
I highly doubt Warner will come out of retirement. He considered retirement in the middle of 2008 after the horrible debacle game against the Jets when Anquan Boldin took a nasty hit trying to get some garbage points at the end of a blowout loss.
The 2009 concussion and watching Favre get hurt probably sealed his decision to retire. The 2010 Cardinals, even with Warner, aren’t likely to improve over 2009. They’d likely win the NFC West and maybe a first round playoff game.
Lienart was over rated. You hear it every year when announcers say a guy is a winner. Well playing for a loaded team like S. Cal makes it easy to be a winner. Let him do it at Northwestern and I will be impressed. Football powerhouse turn out winners. Winners don’t make powerhouses out of poor programs. You are guaranteed 10 wins in many programs.
That all makes sense. I guess I was questioning whether the perception of his talent was all in Dennis Green’s often-unique point of view to begin with.
Also a good point. Heath Shuler and Danny Wuerffel come to mind.
Football really isn’t my thing, but if I was paying attention correctly, Matt Cassel now with the Chiefs (?) held a clipboard for pretty much all of college (including behind Leinart) and in the NFL (behind Tom Brady), then stepped up when Brady got hurt a few years ago.
I have no idea if he is actually good or not but
(1) He’s playing.
(2) Leinart is not.
(3) He walked around with a clipboard for a long time.
I’d say a few of the top draftees haven’t exactly set the NFL on fire from that class. Young lost his starting job, Vernon Davis has had one great year, and Reggie Bush hasn’t been all that either.
Not to mention Kurt Warner.
Whether he has the ability or no, he lost the faith of the other players on the team. They didn’t feel they could win with him and expressed this to the coaches. That’s an instant death warrant on any team.
Also forgot to mention Steve Young, who was a backup for a bit; both Detmer brothers as well; and Matt Hasselbeck.
(I’ll remember this the next time you make the exact opposite argument about pitchers in a baseball thread…)
But yes, I agree. Leinart benefited from having an amazing team around him that allowed him to play to his strengths and totally ignore his weaknesses. I never understood the Heisman hype - he was a good player, but neither the numbers or on-field playmaking were there to back it up. I remember watching Carson Palmer surgically dismantle defense after defense and you could instantly see he’d be a fantastic NFL QB. Leinart never showed that ability, he was always a system QB that did what his role called for him to do.
Don’t forget Matt Schaub, who was Michael Vick’s backup in Atlanta for 3 years.
This. From what I’ve heard, Leinart lacked “lockerroom loyalty”. I wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised if Fitzgerald’s preference for one QB over the other isn’t what made the final call. Anderson has shown me nothing that indicates he’s a better quarterback than Leinart, but what we see on the field is only part of what makes a team.
That said, I give Anderson 4 games before they start Max Hall instead. Three if we get spanked by Bradford and the Rams too bad. Not that I mind, I think Hall is an adorably eager beaver and besides, he’s Danny White’s nephew. swoon
Good examples, though I don’t think things are working out any better for Cassel than they are for Leinart.
Warner never sat for a single down. He was playing in the Arena league and then started the first NFL game with the Rams. Warner is the argument for playing no matter what the competition or league and not carrying a clipboard.
Steve Young played a ton of football after college in the USFL and Tampa Bay. He’s basically Kurt Warner including the mid-career stint as a backup. The Detmer’s suck and aren’t better than Leinart so I’m not sure that hurts my case. Hasselbeck is a good one though, as is Schaub.
The list of QBs who succeeded after riding the pine for an extended period after college is a short one, just about every other successful QB out there started within 2 years of being drafted. It’s certainly just one factor and it’s not insurmountable, but it retarded his progress.
Romo sat on the bench for 4 years before taking the job from Bledsoe. Romo is about to win his first SB this season.