SB Nation - Matt Leinart

Larry Fitzgerald May Feel The QB Controversy Is Over, But That Is Hardly The Case

Tyler Nickel — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 15:01:02 -0000

This past week, Cardinals Coach Ken Whisenhunt announced that John Skelton would become the starting quarterback for the team and would be at the helm come week one against the Seahawks.

The good news is, the team's star receiver, Larry Fitzgerald seems to be on board with the decision. He stated that as long as the decision was made and the questions aren't surrounding them everyday anymore, then he will support whoever Coach Whisenhunt selected.

The thing is, this might not be the case. Plenty of things could happen to spark up the controversy once again.

Let's use the Kurt Warner era as a reference. Even when he had clearly beat out Matt Leinart for the job, there was still going to be competition for the starting position. So to assume Skelton will automatically hold on to his current role without having to fight for it with Kevin Kolb or someone else next year is false.

Unless Skelton is absolutely fantastic, this is exactly how it should be. Players should be given the chance to show that they learned something the year that they were on the bench and subsequently, they should be given another shot at the job.

Oh, and what if Skelton gets injured? We know how shaky the offensive line is, especially in pass protection. There is always the chance (though I hope it does not happen) that Skelton gets injured. Think Matt Leinart and his collarbone injury a few years back. That really opened the door for Warner to take over. If Skelton gets hurt, Kolb would come in and regain his chance to be the starter again.

And if Skelton falls on his face, failing completely as the starting quarterback? Does Fitzgerald not believe the cries for Kolb to come in will not be heard from the fans? Whisenhunt himself said that if Skelton doesn't play well, he will be replaced. Look for his leash to not overextend itself and for controversy to arrive at some point this season.

So it's a big assumption and somewhat foolish to believe this quarterback controversy is over. In fact, I would venture to say that it has hardly even begun.

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Ken Whisenhunt Has Mishandled Arizona Cardinals QB Situation

Jess Root — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 20:00:14 -0000

So I suppose that you have heard that the Arizona Cardinals have a quarterback problem. They have two guys vying for the starting job and neither has been spectacular. As of right now, it appears that John Skelton holds a lead overKevin Kolb, but head coach Ken Whisenhunt is not saying which way he is leaning so far.

In that sense it is right. He still wanst to see at least one more week of practice and one more preseason game.

However, he has hurt the team with the way he has handled the QB situation.

How is that, you might ask?

In sports, and especially with Coach Whiz, competition is what is supposed to motivate individual improvement. You want to play better than your opponent and you want to be better than the guy who is behind you or ahead of you on the depth chart because that affects your ability to provide for your family.

But that doesn't mean that blind competition is always good for a team and organization.

With the quarterback situation, Whisenhunt has allowed the organization to take a lot of egg to the face, because of how he has handled Kevin Kolb.

The organization targeted Kolb, traded a lot to get him and paid him a lot of money to be the guy at quarterback. He played unevenly and got hurt, and the team lost a lot of games.

After he went down, John Skelton started some games, played unevenly and the team won some games.

But do note -- both QBs played unevenly.

Whisenhunt declared open competition for the starting job in the offseason and that is where he did the organization a disservice. Doing so did not give Kolb a vote of confidence, which has since led to the criticism of the team for making the trade. There are now whispers of how the players are not behind Kolb and how the team is unhappy with how Kolb has played since he was acquired, and all of that looks bad for the team.

The result is that every single mistake or perceived mistake by Kolb gets piled on. The guy can't win unless he is perfect and plays like Kurt Warner.

This is how Whiz should have handled the situation -- just the way he did in 2008 with Kurt Warner and Matt Leinart. He should have publicly stated that Kolb is the team's starting quarterback; that he was their guy. Then he should have said that, because Skelton led the team to many wins, he would open competition for the starting job, but that Kolb is the guy and Skelton will have to clearly outplay him.

Doing things this way would have showed the other players that the team is behind Kolb. It also gives Kolb the vote of confidence he needs to not press so much. More so, it sets a standard for fans.

If Skelton wins the job, the organization doesn't look good, but instead you have a guy in Skelton that won the job clearly. But the "egg in the face" of the team is minimized because it doesn't come nearly as early as now.

Essentially, by not backing Kolb in the offseason, the team looked like they knew they had made a mistake, whether or not they really thought they had. But they set themselves up for it.

In the end, Whisenhunt will probably end up picking the right guy, whether it is Kolb or Skelton. But the organization already lost months because of the move to get Kolb and the ensuing decision to not consider him the incumbent starter. And unless Skelton becomes an upper tier starter this year among quarterbacks, there is no way the Cardinals look good out of all this. If Skelton does, then they developed him and that is great. But short of that and the team looks foolish.

Simply put, Kolb should have "been the starter" all along. Perhaps Skelton still beats him out like Warner did Leinart, but at least the organization was behind Kolb from Day 1, rather than showing a lack of confidence that has led to more criticism than had they done it a different way.

The players would be more united, the fans would be more united. And probably there isn't the mess now that there has been.

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My 3 Wishes For Cardinals Vs. Raiders Game

Jess Root — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 13:00:51 -0000

I found a magic lamp recently, and its genie happens to be a football genie (or so it said). It granted me three wishes for the game between the Arizona Cardinals and Oakland Raiders. I couldn't ask for love, more wishes or another quarterback. I could only wish things that could happen during the game.

I told the genie he kind of stinks as a genie, but that I was amenable to the idea of wishes. Having been a Cardinals fan as long as I have been a fan of football, I know what it is to wish things about the Cardinals. So I went with it.

Wish No. 1: No injuries!!!

Last preseason we saw Greg Toler and Ryan Williams go down with season-ending knee injuries. Williams is just now getting back and is expected to play early on and get a few carries. But we don't want that again. If there is one thing that the Cardinals can ill afford, it is sickness or injury.

Wish No. 2:That the QB battle become a real battle:

Ideally, we could know which player -- Kevin Kolb or John Skelton will be the starter. Maybe we will know, but my wish is even with lower expectations. Thus far the QB battle has been more like a pillow fight -- one that no one wants to win. I wish they turn the QB competition in to a competition -- making it a choice between two able players. Let's see two QBs playing good football instead of two QBs looking bad.

Wish No. 3: That Matt Leinart PLEASE not look like the best QB on the field.

This final wish is actually a big one. Considering the QB problems of the team, we don't need to add insult to injury, as they say. Former Cardinals player Matt Leinart will see playing time for the Raiders, his new team. He couldn't win the starting job in two separate QB competitions in Arizona. He is probably the biggest disappointment the team has ever had in a draft pick. For that reason and also for our sanity with the QB position, he just cannot look better than Kolb or Skelton on the field. That would be too much.

...

I'm banking on this genie coming through on his promise. Then again, when have I had wishes come true as a Cardinals fan in the last 20 years?

Keep up with Cardinals news and opinions when you are not on the site. Follow Revenge of the Birds on Twitter at @revengeofbirds and "like" us on Facebook. You can follow me individually at @senorjessroot.

Arizona Cardinals Quarterback Competition Will Divide Team...If It Isn't A Good Competition

Jess Root — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 19:00:15 -0000

There is always a fear with a quarterback competition/controversy. You fear that a team's locker room will end up divided between two guys. With the Arizona Cardinals, that does not seem to have happened yet. Sure, there have been whispers that John Skelton has earned the adoration of some of the teammates -- particularly on the defensive side, but by no means is there a schism at this point.

And the truth is that the only time you have to worry about a locker room divide is when the quarterback battle isn't that good.

What do I mean?

The only time there is a divide is when both guys are only okay.

Remember the battle between Matt Leinart and Kurt Warner? There was no problem. Why? Warner was clearly better.

What about Matt Leinart and Derek Anderson? That wasn't so pretty. there were rumblings that Leinart did not have the support of his teammates.

Numerous battles have gone down without issue. But that is when one player is clearly better. The coaches know, the players know and life is good.

If Kevin Kolb or Jon Skelton do that, there is no problem. The other players want to play for the guy that gives the team the best chance to win.

But so far, neither has sown that he is clearly better. What happens if that does't happen? Chaos. Every bad drive, questionable throw and turnover is met with doubt and then the cries for the other guys begin.

Nobody wants that with the current QB situation.

So for the love of all things lovely and good, please may we have either Kolb or Skelton do it? We want a guy to root for and to be decent. The best fans don't even care who it is, so long it is someone.

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Kevin Kolb's Injury In Practice Raises Red Flags

Jess Root — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 20:00:10 -0000

Kevin Kolb must be the most unlucky quarterback in the league when it comes to injuries -- right after Matt Leinart. He took a knee to the thigh in practice on Monday and had to leave to have it looked at. Now, it does not appear to be serious, but it furthers the idea that he is injury prone.

Last season he had the foot injury and then the concussion,. It was always something.

This offseason, he has come into camp and is working hard. But now he is hurt.

Kolb already is at a disadvantage because the fans like John Skelton. Skelton is bigger, a late round pick and a guy that was the starting quarterback when the team was winning.

But to perhaps lose time again, and Kolb officially is on the watch list. Fans may get it and might accept that, but he will carry a label of being fragile or prone to get hurt.

Is that a big deal? It is when it is a guy the team has been paid millions of dollars. That would be Kolb.

Now I am the first to admit that I am rooting for Kolb. He was the guy that the front office targeted. He needs to stay on the field.

So, yes. This injury worries me some.

I am not in panic mode, but the flags are ready to be raised.

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Matt Leinart Explains Why He is a Perfect Fit in Oakland

James Arcellana — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:20:43 -0000

The Oakland Raiders raided the Houston Texans this off season. First, they took offensive coordinator Gregg Knapp and brought him back to Oakland. Not long after, they added Houston's assistant offensive line coach Frank Pollack. Then came the players, first with offensive guard Mike Brisiel and much more recently with back up quarterback Matt Leinart. According to Leinart, who discussed his move to the Raiders with 95.7 The Game on The Drive with Tierny and Davis, said it made sense because of the Houston factor.

Leinart stated that he feels like he will be able to help fellow quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Terrelly Pryor learn the west coast offense that Gregg Knapp will install in Oakland. Having played in the offense in Houston, Leinart can spend his off season workouts building chemistry with his new team mates and helping the Raiders other quarterbacks learn the new offense. That is a huge plus as normally, new players on a team must spend a large amount of time learning the scheme before getting to that level.

In addition, Leinart noted that he has already met and thrown with a number of Raiders receivers. Leinart stated that he has worked out with Carson Palmer in the off season for a number of years, and that prior to signing with the Raiders, he worked out with Palmer and a few of Oakland's young receivers during the early off season. And of course, there is also the Palmer factor. Leinart discussed how it felt good to be back with a guy that he has looked up to as a mentor ever since his early days in college at USC.

Overall, any Raider fan had to like what they heard from their new back up QB. He sounds excited to be playing for the Raiders, and more importantly, he sounds like he has the drive to continue improving on his game while he backs up the incumbant starter in Carson Palmer.

Matt Leinart Signs With Oakland Raiders: His Career Has Come Full Circle

Jess Root — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:00:42 -0000

Arizona Cardinals fans remember Matt Leinart well. He was the "gift from heaven" that dropped toe the 10th pick when he was drafted. He had some pretty good games his rookie season before he broke his collarbone. He never was quite the same after that.

The rest is pretty much history. Kurt Warner beat him out in open competition and took the team to a Super Bowl. When Warner retired, Leinart didn't do anything to really keep the starting job and popped off with the press about his coach, leading to his being cut.

He landed with the Houston Texans, where he impressed the coaching staff. He even had the perfect chance to show his stuff last season when Matt Schaub went down with a foot injury that ended his season.

Leinart got the start, but couldn't finish the game, as he once again broke his collarbone.

He was let go by Houston, but he signed with the Oakland Raiders on Tuesday.

That move brought him back to the start of things, which could be good for him.

He is back in California, where he loves it. He is backing up Carson Palmer, whom he backed up when he was at USC.

When that happened last time, when Palmer left, Leinart became a college champ and a Heisman Trophy winner.

Now what?

Likely, he will earn himself a pretty good paycheck for not having to play any football. Because, if he does play, we know his collarbone is made of glass.

But wouldn't it be cool to see some California magic?

Sports Bro Vs. Douchebag: Quarterback Edition

druben — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:01:01 -0000

In the second installment of the Webby-eligible Bro vs Douchebag, SB Nation's Dan Rubenstein and Matt Ufford debate the respective bro and douchebag merits of our nation's notable quarterbacks. Mark Sanchez, Matt Stafford, Stephen Garcia and Matt Leinart are this week's esteemed subjects.

As always, no actual bros or douchebags were harmed in the filming of this episode.