Shadarr
1881
How is this any different than if Leinart starts and sucks?
Damn right, we have a lot more experience winning games despite sub-par QB play. The Cardinals barely made the playoffs with Kurt Warner! Those Niners-Cards games are going to be epic this year, if you like punting!
I’ve read now that Derek Anderson is getting the start in the next preseason game. Doesn’t sound good for Leinart.
So I guess Leinart will still get a lot of reps in the next game, so he probably has one more chance to show something. Maybe Whisenhunt is trying to light a fire under him. Leinart wasn’t doing much as the presumed starter.
It’s not a bad idea…and I know Whisenhunt wants results NOW like every other coach…but I think Leinart has real future potential, he just needs a season under his belt where he’s not asked to win the game, but manage it (like Sanchez). Anderson will be a good back up maybe, but he’s not a starting QB most games.
Shadarr
1887
Could be the end of the road for Antonio Bryant.
I didn’t realize he’s only 29. If his knee really is giving out on him, that sucks.
Oghier
1888
Sam Bradford can play football. Wow. I can’t believe I just saw the Rams outplay the Pats in the first half.
Must resist unrealistic expectations… ;)
So whenever I watched Packer games on ESPN in the past, I just assumed that the announcers were gushing over Favre because… well, Favre.
But after listening to the first half of tonight’s Packers/Colts game, where half the crew was ready to enshrine Rodgers in the HOF and the other half demurred on the basis that it was slightly premature, I think there’s just something about QBs in Packer uniforms that gets their juices flowing.
(Or maybe just QBs in general, because there was a lot of Manning gushing, too. But, y’know, Manning.)
I agree that Anderson isn’t really a starting QB but a good backup, but Leinart hasn’t shown anything that makes him better than a backup either, and he’s had plenty of chances. He’s had quite a few starts, isn’t a rookie, plays for a good team, and yet he looks lackluster. Neither of these QBs may be the answer for Arizona.
Heh. Yeah, that was fun, as was coming back to win after the Rams yanked their starters after the half and NE kept their first team offense in into the 4th quarter.
The Rams may not be a good team, but they look better than the 1-15 team of last year.
Sarkus
1893
Leinart hasn’t had as many opportunities to show as you might think. His rookie season was, by far, most of his actual game time. That year he managed a decent 74.0 QB rating. The next year his performance wasn’t great, but that was from only five starts. He’s had one start since. Or, to put in other terms, his career 595 passing attempts through four seasons is only 20 more then what Peyton Manning got in his rookie season alone. And while everyone says Leinart’s had a horrible preseason, he’s only attempted 13 passes in 2 preseason games and had a rating of 90.9 while Anderson has a 58.3 rating and over three times the attempts.
I’m not saying Leinart is getting a raw deal or that he’s not a bust, just that it’s an awfully tiny sample size to be considering simply cutting the guy or making him a backup to a very mediocre Derek Anderson.
Honestly, I’m not too worried at this point in time.
Before preseason started I thought, if Leinart just avoids making mistakes the team will be fine, not needing big passing plays and leaning more on the run game. The problem so far is that the run game hasn’t been going, mainly due to the offensive line not meshing.
Thing is, last preseason, the offense had similar issues. Warner, with Fitz and Boldin, just weren’t clicking, and it looked like it could sink the team’s chances. After a few regular season games, however, the team got back into their groove and the Cards went 10-6, their first double-digit win since the mid-70’s, a repeat division title, and an amazing win over a really good Packers team.
So as it is right now, I’m not worried. Leinart may even play better once the line gets better, and thus the running game. I wouldn’t ditch on him till week four or five, and even then I wouldn’t want to fall back on Anderson, who still has obvious consistency issues.
Fair enough, but how many times have they wanted him to seize the job in preseason, only to find he couldn’t? Plus, when he does play (last year against the Titans, for example), he doesn’t look great. He wasn’t awful in that game, by any means, but there was a noticeable drop from Warner to Leinart, and so far nothing he’s doing is suggesting that will change. You are right that it’s still possible to turn things around though.
Damien makes a good point, in that a lot of AZ’s problem is that OL. It looked pretty bad in the Titans game, especially considering the Titans were missing 3 starters from their DL. 3!!! So against Titan backups, that OL was getting pummeled pretty good, and not just from all the blitzing.
Cubit
1896
Man, Bradford sure looked sharp last night.
The problem with leaning on the run is you still need your QB to make plays, or else the defense stacks in the box. The Rams faced that last year with their horrible offense. Jackson was a threat running the ball, and he got his yards, but the Rams never had much to loosen up the defense with the pass.
Lorini
1898
I have to say I agreed with Peyton’s irritation with this new referee rule. Like everyone else, I certainly don’t want to see anyone hurt on the field. But if Peyton or any other QB has to worry about exactly how fast the ref gets in place before he calls for the ball, that’s a game changer.
Does anyone know why the refs aren’t in pads/helmets like everyone else on the field?
Re: refs and pads/helmets.
In theory, refs shouldn’t be getting hit, unlike players. Yeah, it will happen from time to time, but probably far less direct and intentional hits than the players absorb, and certainly fewer hits than most players. Helmets limit sight and hearing.
Re: Pads - I don’t know - they might have some light padding on. But mainly they need agility to stay out of the way, and they are on the field for every play, unlike players who are typically on the field for 5-50% or so of the plays.
Pretty sure that Fisher said they saw 100 hits to refs last year alone. That’s a lot. Yeah, most aren’t big hits, but one guy got a concussion, IIRC. As for the Colts, I can’t stand how they game the system by catching too many players on the field all the time. I get that it’s part of the game, but the way they do it seems unsportsmanlike to me.
