The curious case of Matt Leinart
Whether it was his intentions or not, Ken Whisenhunt just started a storm of epic proportions in Arizona.
Whisenhunt made the announcement Thursday that Derek Anderson – not former first round pick Matt Leinart – would start in the Cardinals’ third preseason game on Saturday. Leinart of course, was being viewed as Kurt Warner’s replacement and has taken first-team reps throughout the entire offseason.
Now rumors have started to circulate that the Cards are ready to give up on Leinart and may even try to trade him before the season starts.
On Friday, Leinart lashed out and expressed his frustration with the situation.
“It is disappointing and a little bit frustrating. I can’t sit up here and say I’m happy and all smiles,” said Leinart. “If it is an open competition, then let’s have it that way from the start.”
Leinart has a point. Although he has done nothing in preseason to warrant being the regular season starter, he has also been given fewer opportunities to shine. He has attempted just 13 passes thus far (compared to Anderson’s 41) and while he has yet to throw a touchdown pass or move the ball with any regularity, Anderson has thrown two picks and has a worse completion percentage (58.5% to Leinart’s 76.9%).
Leinart hasn’t looked good, but a) he hasn’t played much and b) his offensive line has stunk when he has been in there. If you’re Whisenhunt, why call this a competition if you’re going to give Leinart very few snaps?
If the coaching staff truly believes that Anderson gives the team the best chance to win, then so be it. He does have a better arm, seems to take better command of the huddle than Leinart and he’s arguably a better fit for Whisenhunt’s offense. As previously noted, Leinart has also received most of the first-team snaps this offseason so he has had chances to prove himself.
That said, his chances haven’t come during games – or at least not like Anderson’s have. So don’t call this a competition if one guy is getting more live opportunities than the other. Again, if the Cards want to cut bait with Leinart and go with Anderson as the starter then that’s fine. But Leinart has hardly been given the opportunity to prove his worth in preseason games. And while Whisenhunt may be hacked off at what Leinart said today, I don’t blame him for being frustrated with the situation. (Even though Leinart probably should have went a more positive route with his comments.)
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Posted in: NFL
Tags: Anthony Stalter, Arizona Cardinals, Ken Whisenhunt, Matt Leinart, Matt Leinart benched
Anthony,
I’m in the same boat as you on this one. Is Whisenhunt just showing some inexperience as a HC in this type of situation, where he had future Hall of Famer set at QB when he came into that AZ job?
Here’s something else I was chewing on: Is Leinart really that bad? Obviously the guy had all the talent in the world surrounding him at USC in Pete Caroll’s bought championship regime (oops, sorry for bringing that up again Pete…tell Reggie I said hi). Is it possible that Leinart is just a great complimentary option at QB and not “the guy” to lead a team ala Peyton?
Either way I’m laughing at anyone who thinks that this AZ offense is going to be even a shell of its former self with either of these guys at QB right now.
Ha! Good post, D Fresh.
Whisenhunt is obviously intelligent and he has a purpose for everything (see Week 17 against the Packers last year when he tested out formations to use against them the next week in the playoffs), but I don’t see what his plan is here. He hasn’t named a starter yet, so Leinart could still be the guy, but I just don’t get the strategy behind giving one guy 13 attempts and the other 41. That’s not even close to equal.
As you pointed out, the main problem may be that Leinart isn’t very good. Not everybody has what it takes to be a quarterback at that level and Whisenhunt sees no future with Leinart, so he’s going to make do with Anderson and move on next year.
That said, it’s not like Leinart has been a total disaster to this point. He has some decent games under his belt and I was intrigued to see what he could do this year.
Either way – I’m with you. If Anderson is running the show in AZ this year, then I think it’s going to be a long season.
Leinhart comes off as real whiny here . . . And as for the number of pass attempts, completions beget more pass attempts. I don’t see how Leinhart has an argument, except for the fact that DA isn’t the answer either. Kurt Warner’s phone should be ringing off the hook right now!
I think much of it had to do with his partying and where he was playing. Drinking out of a beer bong and having young but legal ladies over for a swim party would go unnoticed in New York or Miami. But for some reason it makes for headline news in Phoenix and interpreted as not being serious about his job.