Matt Leinart, in my (holy) opinion.
by Jessesb on Mar 13, 2010 3:30 PM MST
22 comments
Recently I have been watching a lot of highlights of the Cards. Being in the frigid cold of Germany's worst winter in forty years and coming from AZ; lets say I have spent a lot of time indoors. With my credit card in hand I purchased NFL Rewind and also bought some previous Cards games featuring Leinart. Now, I am obviously no expert but I will say it is kind of fun to be a "scout."
While watching Leinart play I tried to take into account as many factors as I could, his footwork and movement in the pocket, the lines play, the effectiveness of the run game, and the type and the talent of the defense we were facing. I came to notice these things:
Leinart has good pocket presence and notices when the pocket is collapsing and can extend the play with his legs.Though I think he tends to leave the pocket earlier than he should.
He is mobile and can make some excellent throws on the move. One particular play that stands out is a TD pass where he was scrambling and throws a very Farve-esk ball. (Texans preseason game). It was accurate with some zip. His mobility should allow for some more creative pass blocking schemes.
Leinart tends to stare down his receivers. A lot of his picks are from doing just that, especially against teams/coverages where the defender is sitting in coverage and watching the play unfold. When he goes through his progressions he can be very accurate and really work a defense.
He definitely can struggle with the long ball. A few of his picks are under/poorly thrown long balls. Though I think with more time he can hone in the those skills because he does have a few throws that really stand out (In the blow out loss against the Pats he hits Fitz running down the sideline in perfect stride). It is not an arm strength thing that is for sure, he can yuck it down the field when he has to.
The run game really helps Leinart, as it would any QB. He sells his play fakes well and bootlegs coming off those play fakes are usually good throws.
Touch throws are my second biggest concern with him after the long ball. From what I saw those throws tended to be his worst throws that lead to picks or poorly set up our receivers for YAC and/or big hits.
The red zone is a place where Leinart isn't amazing. As I just mentioned his touch throws are just not there. I am not sure if it is a matter of experience or if it is a talent thing. Though he does have come excellent throws which shows he can make plays. I guess it is a question of if he can be more consistent.
I think this game sums up Leinart's passing abilities. Admittedly its preseason (and coincidentally against the Packers) but it does show some of his strengths and weaknesses.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d81239711/Pre-WK-3-Matt-Leinart-highlights
Now my opinion is Leinart is going to need a strong run game. Especially in the beginning of the season if he is going to be successful in the long run. I kind of see him like Eli Manning, a guy who can win the game with his arm but is much better when used in a balanced attack. Hes not a gun slinger who can carry his team just with his arm like the Peytons and Bree's of the NFL world but he sure isn't the Shawn Hill's of the world either in that he can win shoot outs.
After watching many of his games I really think he can be successful in the NFL. He is going to have some rough days but I can also see him making some really great plays.
I haven't liked this guy since we drafted him, but I am much more optimistic than I have ever been in the past.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Revenge of the Birds' (ROTB) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of ROTB's editors.
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The Packers returned the onside kick for a TD
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.
I can't stand fair-weather/bandwagon fans, stick with your team, throughout the good and the bad.
Crazy game against the Packers
I’m glad I left the TV on during that one.
And I think that preseason game you were talking about was against the Chargers.
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.
I can't stand fair-weather/bandwagon fans, stick with your team, throughout the good and the bad.
i agree with most of your assessment except that i don't think it's....
…a necessity that the offense be more of a balanced attack as i think a lot of the deficiencies in his game have been remedied. i do agree with your pocket presence take on matt and his ability to make throws on the move. i agree with the reads portion – when he does goes through them he can let the plays work for him. the part about under throwing is also in my opinion a part of the reads and not getting to the read quick enough. i agree the run game will help him tremendously but i do think it will serve to showcase he can throw to win game in and game out. thanks for this piece. i hope the winter lets up for you sooner than later.
Two plays
Short TD pass at the end of clip (note he got lucky Fitz is a beast with that jump ball he threw)
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d80194c1d/Matt-Leinart-highlights-vs-Texans
The long TD to Fitz that I referred to.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-fantasy/09000d5d80d8b1d8
They are who we thought they were!
I hope we get some good backups because I'm not so sure about Leinart.
I know he looked pretty good/decent in his rookie year and then in 2007 before the shoulder but I am not so sure he’ll be able to handle the team in 2010. I hope he can do it because I want to see the Cardinals succeed but I am not so sure. Just saying what’s on my mind.
I know we all like to bash Leinart sometimes
But think about it, he has had very minimal playing time in the last 2 and a half seasons. He lost his starting job to KW when he broke his collarbone, and KW outplayed every QB in the league for 8 games, and then put together 2 HOF caliber seasons.
When Matt played the whole game against Tennessee this past season, he didn’t look terrible, but rather out of sync with his receivers. I think he has learned enough and has enough talent around him that he will be just fine. I’m not predicting he’ll be a HOF QB, but I think he will be more than serviceable, and be able to help win some ball games. I’d be surprised if he didn’t turn out to be a pretty good QB in this league.
We all bleed Cardinal Red, but most of us don't recognize it!
I just saw this article that said Leinart is good until he gets inside the Red Zone.
The one thing that has always impressed me about Leinart is his ability to pick up yardage.
Despite starting only 16 career games and filling in a handful of others, he has 3,893 career passing yards. In his first year, he had 200 or more passing yards in eight of his 11 starts, including a 405-yard game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Last year, when he started a full game against the Tennessee Titans, Leinart had 220 yards passing on 31 attempts. That is impressive for a backup that was not expected to start leading up to that week and who didn’t get many first-team reps in practice prior to the week leading up to that game.
Leinart has not shown a lot of problems moving the ball between the 20-yard lines. If he can hold on to the starting job and play all 16 games, I would not be surprised if he finishes with 3,500 yards passing in 2010, which would put him near the middle of all starting quarterbacks.
The problem is touchdown passes.
In that start against Tennessee in 2009, Leinart was held to zero touchdowns and zero interceptions, and they lost that game 20-17. Leinart has only three starts where he threw for more than two touchdown passes, and two of those came in his first three starts. The Tennessee Titans gave up 31 touchdown passes (30th in the NFL), but Leinart managed none against them. He just has not shown that when the ball is inside the 20-yard line he can make the necessary throws that score points and win football games. He has had the skill position players to do that, but for whatever reason he could not capitalize.
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.
I can't stand fair-weather/bandwagon fans, stick with your team, throughout the good and the bad.
Good Post...
I like hearing about things others may notice that I don’t when talking about Matt. Wish I had the time to sit down and do this. Man what I wouldn’t give.
Sorry folks, park's closed. Moose out front shoulda told ya.
I really hope the team gets someone to challenge Leinart
Im amazed at all the folks that are ready to give up a whole year for leinart. Im ok with giving the guy a chance to get the starting job, but to just hand it to him without earning it is crazy. Whiz is the kind of coach that wants guys to earn that starting job so hopefully he brings someone in that will be able to compete for it. If that hurts leinarts fragile psyche then so be it. Whats going to happen if he starts the year bad and the fans start getting vocal about their dislike of leinarts playing, hows he going to play if his poor felings get hurt. One of Warners strongest assets was the ability to shrug off a bad throw or game and play even better the next time, hopefully leinarts mental ability has improved but what if it hasnt? When asked how hes going to approach being the starting qb he stated " Im going to prepare like I do any other year" or something to that effect, pretty much put a big doubt in my mind. He has a lot of work to do to take that attitude I would have liked to hear him say hes going to step up, train harder, take this opportunity and make the most of it, but that doesnt seem to be part of his plan. If leinart was to a miracle year and lead the team to another winning season, that would be fantastic, but I cant see throwing it away if he doesnt. We need another qb to step in if leinart cant do the job
Competition is important
I can’t understand not wanting a back up good enough to challenge your starter either. Regardless of who they bring in though Leinart has all the advantages in becoming the starter. He’s been in the system since Whisenhunt has been here so he knows the offense inside and out. He’s familiar with all the players around him. Also, he knows this year is his last shot to prove himself. Much like the Titans with Vince Young, the Cardinals need to know for sure what they have in Leinart due to the circumstances of his contract. Their hand is pretty muched forced to allow him to prove whether or not he is the future of the team, which means giving him enough games to reasonably assess his play. They can’t yank him if the team starts out a little out of sync like they did last season. That said, if Leinart is tanking it ,Whis will pull him. I can’t see them giving up the whole season to a guy who is not getting the job done.
The interviews I’ve seen and read with Leinart have given the opposite impression. He only took a week off prior to going back to training. He does come off extremely casual but I think that’s just his personality. He’s aware of the position he’s in. I’ve never been a big Leinart fan. The guy still has a lot to prove but I’m hanging my hopes on him none the less. There just isn’t anyone I see coming in behind him that looks better. I don’t want to be back to drafting the QB of the future next year.
The casualness sounds more like him being confident to me.
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.
I can't stand fair-weather/bandwagon fans, stick with your team, throughout the good and the bad.
Whisenhunt already stated that
he’s not just going to give over the position to Leinart. He is going to have to compete for the starting job just like he did against Warner.
Sorry folks, park's closed. Moose out front shoulda told ya.
Early Doucet
Anyone else notice that Doucet lost his helmet in that Packer game? That is not a trend that bodes well for his continued health. I’ve never seen someone lose their helmet as often as that guy. The equipment manager needs to bolt that thing on.
they need to pump some more air into it.
What? I didn't break it, I was just testing its durability, and then I placed it in the woods becuase it's made out of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.
Revenge of the Birds
we are going to KILL this year
because of WHIZ and Leinart
Whiz came here as a ‘run it down your throat’ stealers kinda guy… and Leinart wasn’t going to buck that as 2cd year QB on a losing team…
then Whiz, at certain points threw Warner in with the 2 minute offense (I’m sure, because he saw it do things in practice) and look what happened … not because Whiz called good plays, because a wily old QB could audible an awesome pass attack ..
then Warner is the guy, Whiz corrals him somewhat, but, and HERE IS THE WHOLE POINT, Whiz learns to tailor things to what talent he has
that is a HUGE compliment to Whiz, most coachs say ‘this is my way, fit into it’ … Whiz learned to utilize what he has, in a way to maximize what he has … that is RARE, that is why we should all bow down to him ..
Whiz will tinker that entire offense to utilize everything Leinart brings ( very mobile, very fast) .. all the naysayers are going to be shut down very early ..
for that ‘Hardhat’ guy (or whoever he is) … I HATE USC … I HATED Leinart at USC (probably because he beat everybody I liked), I HATED Leinart when he first came here ..
then I saw the TENN came and realized.. this guy, with an offense tuned to HIM, before long, we are gonna say ‘Wow, first we had Warner, then we had Leinart, how lucky can we get !!’
flame on, I will take names and around mid-season I WILL refer to this …
Look at Martz
With every team he goes to, he does things his way, and he gets fired. How did it take the Whiners so long to start passing to Vernon Davis? Because Martz doesn’t like TEs running routes.
Even if Whiz only wanted TEs to block, he would find a way to use Davis, just like he would with anyone else on the offense even if it didn’t fit the way he wanted to do things.
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.
I can't stand fair-weather/bandwagon fans, stick with your team, throughout the good and the bad.
no problems
I am confident in taking our division this year, 9 wins will take it but Leinart and Co. will be able to muster up 10. All the haters will find out, He’ll be fine in this system given a legitemate chance to prove himself. He’ll be no Warner, but I believe we are in good hands. Oh yeah, this prediction can only happen if we getome damn LB worth their salt. Love the Rhodes deal, A-Dub and Kerry will outplay and outstat the “best safety tandem in the league,” this year hands down. You can take that to the bank.
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