Arizona Cardinals Question Of The Day: Should Ken Whisenhunt Regret Releasing Matt Leinart?

by JoeCB1991 on Dec 9, 2010 11:27 AM MST in NFL Regular Season

Another quick question for everyone, and I am bringing this up because of recent statements by Coach Whisenhunt during a press conference that you can find in this article. In this article, Whisenhunt talks about how tough it is to replace a future Hall of Fame Quarterback like Kurt Warner, and he admits that some of the struggles the Cardinals have had this year are due to poor play by Derek Anderson and Max Hall.

Here is his quote regarding the Quarterback play.

"The bottom line is that position has not performed for us at anywhere near the level we needed it to perform," Whisenhunt said. "We haven't been able to compensate well enough in other areas to allow that. So what have I learned? I've learned it's tough when you lose a quarterback like Kurt and to have somebody come in and play at the level you are used to."

And here is what he said about if he regrets the decision he made with Matt Leinart.

"That, I guess, is the thing to talk about now. Obviously, it's easy to second-guess now because it hasn't worked out the way any of us had hoped or had thought it was going to. But I can't go back and say now that you would do anything differently because the dynamic's different now."

Now, we all know what happened with Leinart during the Preseason. Ever since Warner retired until after the Preseason game against the Titans Coach Whiz acted like Leinart was the guy even though it seems obvious now that he was never happy with him. After months of hearing about how happy he was with Leinart's development, and hearing about how he outperformed all of the other Quarterbacks in Training Camp from people like Kent Somers and Darren Urban. Then we go on to the switch to Derek Anderson because Whiz wanted to see more First Downs (Yeah, that really worked out so well with DA didn't it?) and Leinart got upset because he felt like he wasn't getting enough chances in the Preseason compared to what Anderson was getting (Leinart only threw 28 passes compared to 56 for Anderson in the Preseason), he also felt like he had outplayed Anderson (the stats for the two of them: Leinart was 22 of 28 for 175 yards and a Touchdown with a Quarterback Rating of 104.6, Anderson was 33 of 56 for 334 yards with two Touchdowns and two Picks with a Quarterback Rating of 73.1), and he said that he wished that Coach Whiz would have told him that there would have been a competition between him and Anderson from the beginning. After Leinart also said that he thought there was something personal involved in the decision that Whiz made the writing was pretty much on the wall, and a couple of weeks later Leinart was released and he is currently the third string Quarterback in Houston behind Matt Schaub and Dan Orlovsky (Not that being the third stringer is a bad thing, Orlovsky has been in the system longer than him, so it is understandable that Leinart needs to work his way up considering that he hasn't been there very long).

Now, a lot of people here are still divided on Leinart, he is basically a guy that the fanbase either loved or hated during his time here, and besides his rookie year where he played well on a bad team, and in his second season where he struggled after trying to learn a new offense (That is basically Alex Smith's entire career) once Whisenhunt came in before going down for the year with a broken collarbone in week 5. His supporters would say that he has been in the system for a long time, he knows the offense, he knows the players around him, he is more accurate than Anderson (particularly on the shorter passes), he would make the easy throws that Anderson and Hall have been missing, he played well in the only game he started in last season (a last second loss to the Titans), and he was also able to learn a lot behind Kurt Warner so it would have been nice to see if he could put what he learned to good use. But the people who don't support him can also say that he checks down too much, he only has average arm strength, he can't make as many of the deep throws as the ones Derek Anderson can make (or try to make), he is too laid back, the team doesn't believe in him, and he had enough chances that he wasn't able to capitalize on so why should he get another chance. There are also some questions on if he ever fully recovered from his collarbone injury in 2007, mentally and physically.

Either way, I just wish that he would have gotten a chance in the regular season to see if he could get it done or not. If he played well, good. And if he played badly, then he could have just been released after this season before he would get the big bonus in the final year of his contract. Either way, right now Whisenhunt's decision to go with Anderson and two rookies does not look very good right now.

I will say that I am interested in seeing what Leinart does in the future. If there isn't a team that is willing to offer him a starting job, I think that he could stay with the Texans and possibly move up to second on the depth chart, or he could go to Kansas City to be with Todd Haley and the Chiefs run an offense that I think fits Leinart's strengths pretty well.

So, lets get to what you guys think. Should Whisenhunt regret releasing Matt Leinart? Would he have been better or worse than Derek Anderson? Or with all the holes on this team right now, would it matter at all who the Quarterback is because it would probably be a bad year no matter who was under center? Is he laughing in his hot tub with some attractive women at how poorly the Anderson decision has worked out for the Cardinals? Give me your thoughts.

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Should Whisenhunt regret releasing Matt Leinart?

Whisenhunt did not release Leinart, he wanted him to stay as back up but Leinart refused and clearly didn’t want to stay with the team anymore, giving the team no choice but releasing him.

Would he have been better or worse than Derek Anderson?

There is a chance that he could’ve been a bit better, but a bit better qb play this season means only 4 wins max during these past 13 weeks.

Is he laughing in his hot tub with some attractive women at how poorly the Anderson decision has worked out fpr the Cardinals?

He shouldn’t be laughing. He lost his job to DA and an undrafted rookie, not to mention none of his teammates spoke out in his favor when he was demoted. Now he’s a 3rd stringer in Houston.

I personally think Matt did not perform well here for two reasons:

1) He was not a good fit in the 07-present era offensive system of the Cardinals.

2) His qb skills (throwing speed, reads, etc.) mysteriously decreased instead of increasing after his rookie season.

I think he could a good quarterback in a system that would fit his style, but he would need to work on his gameplay speed and passing mechanics which very much diminished after his rookie season.

by CanadianCard on Dec 9, 2010 4:18 PM MST reply actions

I agree that he wasn't as good of a fit in the 07-present system as he was in the Denny Green 06 offense for example.

Also, could the “throwing speed” thing be a result of the collar bone injury? I did mention that I am wondering if he ever fully recovered from it.

Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan [I have always lived in Arizona, dad is from Chicago].

I can't stand fair-weather/bandwagon fans, stick with your team(s), throughout the good and the bad. And don't switch to whichever team wins the Super Bowl each year.

by JoeCB1991 on Dec 9, 2010 5:41 PM MST up reply actions

Simple answer yes Whiz should regret it as Leinart was and still is far better than D.A. is or will ever be. Don't care about the naysayers I have zero doubt it was a poor decision on Whiz's part period.

by az78true on Dec 9, 2010 7:07 PM MST reply actions

Whiz messed up!

Should have kept Matt and let him pass or fail on his own. There is was a coach in Denver that would not call plays to his players strengths, then got rid of them and now he’s gone.
Whiz, has one big fault, his plan. It is his way, even if they dont have the players to do it, he still tries. Instead of trying to play with what he has.
I think Todd Haley had more to do with our superbowl than Whiz.

by Reo Hays on Dec 9, 2010 8:08 PM MST reply actions

No.

It’s a complete waste of energy. It’s totally nonproductive. It’s backward looking. It does nothing for the future of the team. It’s an emotional pitfall centered on pure speculation of what Leinart MAY have done not what he did in fact do. What he should do is ditch Derek Anderson for starters, then go about working to improve the team for next season. He should take lessons from his mistakes, yes. That takes candid introspection and critical self analysis. Regret does not factor in. It’s a distraction.

by hadrarius on Dec 9, 2010 8:47 PM MST reply actions

Agree with the back half of this.

I also agree the speculation on could’ve, should’ve, etc is not very productive.

From a historical perspective, it will be interesting to see how this decision will stack up in Cardinal lore (ie – poor draft picks, high ticket prices in year 1, etc) …..my hope is its a blip that will be forgotten and we move on…..I like what you said about Whiz learning from mistakes and doing self-analysis. I truly feel Whiz needs to do this – the kool-aid he’s been drinking the last two months (and the season for that matter) has been rotten for most/all the season…

I think he probably doesn’t REGRET that he let Matt go….But he does need to look in the mirror and say to himself:

I TOTALLY MISCALCULATED THE IMPORTANCE OF THE QB POSITION AND I’M NOT THE GENIUS I THOUGHT I WAS……………

by Cardzfan on Dec 10, 2010 7:06 AM MST up reply actions

Yes.

But I could care less if he ever says so publicly. Just fix it.

by hadrarius on Dec 10, 2010 7:56 PM MST up reply actions

Regretting a mistake is human nature

But it requires acknowledging the action you took was a mistake. Hopefully Whiz can do this, and as you say apply a little critical self analysis. To continue to think releasing Leinart was the right move is deluded, whether he started or not, at the least he would have been a supeior back up to Hall, an URFA!

by Birdman from Mesa on Dec 11, 2010 4:21 PM MST up reply actions

YES!!

Forget the question on whether you like Leinart or not…..I’ll get to that in a minute.
All you have to do is look around the NFL and see the mediocrity of the QB position to know you need as many of these guys in your system in case one goes down. Cutting Matt before the season starts and putting the team in the hands of a FA, who is still learning the system, with two rookies as a back-up is ridiculous!! Leinart had been in Whiz’s system for 3 previous years….Even if you don’t like him, he would’ve been a great back-up. Anderson’s horrible play would’ve allowed Leinart a chance at starter (probably by week 3 or 4). We’ll never know what he could’ve done and that’s the disappointing part. None of you can say because of history, he would’ve performed good or bad. It would have been nice to see. He never had the reigns of the team other than his rookie season. I for one, was looking forward to seeing if he could do it and I thought he would’ve been fine (not Warner-like, but a game manager). I thought they would go to a more balanced run/pass attack so I thought Leinart would fit this. I also find it interesting the very thing Matt got blasted for (weak arm and check downs) is the very thing Anderson can’t do – that is put a touch on the ball….

by Cardzfan on Dec 10, 2010 7:00 AM MST reply actions

A post by someone who gets it

Too bad the coach didn’t

by toolman234 on Dec 11, 2010 10:27 PM MST up reply actions

if he 'gets' it

why didn’t he know that Whiz did want Matt to be his back-up QB, but Matt refused and acted like a little baby … so he had to be released

by quid pro quo on Dec 12, 2010 6:55 AM MST up reply actions

I get it. Matt was a baby and didn't handle it well...

but Whiz has responsibility for managing this also. The coach is responsible for managing the team and the personalities. Most of these guys are egotistic and prima-donnas, I’m certainly not going to defend Leinart and all of his history, and he was one of them.

But the point is this – We entered the season with a questionable FA QB who was still learning the system and two rookies. That was unacceptable, and I think we’ve seen the results which can’t be questioned. Had Leinart been here, that may have been different.

And that’s the question – does Whiz regret cutting Leinart? I would say yes.

by Cardzfan on Dec 12, 2010 8:40 AM MST up reply actions 2 recs

the point

ok, I agree with some of that … but its the GM’s job to provide players, the Coach already has lots of personalities to deal with in the locker room … and no room for a malcontent who was already a known as a lazy underachiever, and failed to flash any talent … the point is Matt Leinart let down the organization and Rod Graves held on too long

Whiz is a good coach, and he coaches a system … I doubt he regrets much beside the execution of a few plays and some missed tackles

It is hard to fathom why we didn’t sign someone better than DA, with several big names available … Graves should have known Leinart sucked, and DA wasn’t a true starter … but if I’m Whiz I’m probably wondering the same thing, and pissed, because he obviously saw something in Skelton but he knew he wasn’t ready

Regardless of what happens the rest of the way, or with the draft … Whiz has to be begging Graves to sign a Vet QB

by quid pro quo on Dec 12, 2010 8:55 PM MST up reply actions

whiz's biggest nightmare

schaub goes down and Leinart lights it up

2cd biggest nightmare
Leinart goes to some team next year, starts and makes them (or keeps them) competitive …
either one, and Kenny boy is going to look like an enormous dope …

by scsa69 on Dec 10, 2010 10:19 PM MST reply actions

Leinart is not a good QB.

At best he can hope to go on he occasional streak like Alex Smith and look ok for 3 or 4 games.

http://www.reverbnation.com/chrisfarmer

by Undrafteds on Dec 11, 2010 8:21 AM MST up reply actions

Why would Whisenhunt admit his mistake?

Except for a handful of people, most of the supporters of the move on this site won’t even admit it was a mistake, which after watching this debacle of a season is absolutely STUNNING and not the least bit swagtangible.

by toolman234 on Dec 11, 2010 10:30 PM MST reply actions