According to Cardinals beat write Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic, the receiving corps in ‘Zona is growing less confident in quarterback Matt Leinart.
If Leinart does become the starter, the offense will no doubt change. There will be a heavier emphasis on the run game, which has developed over the past year and a half. The play-action pass, not one of Warner’s favorite things, could become more of a threat.
Most importantly, Leinart has to re-gain the trust of his receivers. Everyone can say all the right things about believing in him, but Leinart’s inaccuracy this season eroded confidence among the receiving corps.
That group loves Warner for many reasons, mainly because the Cardinals are going to throw a lot with him in the lineup. But Warner also did his best to protect his receivers, to keep them from taking big hits. When Leinart is throwing high passes, as has been his tendency, receivers tend to get a little skittish.
The easiest way for Leinart to earn the trust of his receivers is to lead by example. If he’s the first one in and the last one out, people will take notice. With enough hard work and dedication, his game should improve over time and then his receivers will start to follow him.
If Leinart wants an example of how not to carry himself as a professional quarterback, he should look no further than his 2006 draft mate JaMarcus Russell. Russell is the posterchild for players that rely too much on their skill set and not enough on hard work and determination. If it weren’t for nutty Al Davis, Russell would be on his second team by now. He’s not willing to make the effort to be good and his performance on the field speaks for itself.
This shouldn’t be a hard concept for Leinart. He needs to put in the work and he should see positive results because as the article notes, he does have the tools to succeed.
