Leinart will be the Cardinals Starting QB

If you were a fan of the Cardinals ‘2-QB system’ they rolled out last year before Leinart’s injury, this news may be a bit disappointing. The Cardinals held a charity event yesterday that included various members of the coaching staff answering questions from fans on the 2007 season in review, the draft and a preview of the 2008 season. The main nugget that came out of the yesterday’s event was Whisenhunt reiterating that Leinart will be the starting QB in 2008. He went on to say he understood some fans tendencies to stick with Warner after the decent run at the end of last season.

“When you finish the season on a high note as we did, the natural tendency is to say, ‘Let’s go with Kurt’ because the emotions, at the moment, that’s what your gut instinct will tell you,” Whisenhunt said. “But you look back at where we were in the fifth game when he got hurt, Matt was doing a good job for us, he was growing, he was making progress as a starter. People have a tendency to forget about that.”

After a decent rookie season, Leinart regressed in 2007 and really struggled once the Cardinals started rotating in Warner. His season came to a disappointing end with a broken collarbone in just the fifth game of the season. Entering his third season, it’s time for Leinart to show signs of becoming the franchise quarterback that was drafted 10th overall. If the Cardinals have any chance of challenging for the NFC West, his play will have to be, at the very least, average. If the Cardinals future is as bright as some of us think, Leinart has to be a big part of it. Warner is a really good backup QB, but a franchise can't hitch their future to his arm anymore. It's time for the Cards to sink or swim with Leinart under center.