Matt Leinart Released - Good or Bad Move?

[The Crock]

The Cardinals have parted ways with Matt Leinart, in what I think is a terrible decision. He's not an amazing player but he was their best option at the position, don't get me wrong Derek Anderson isn't bad, but he is extremely overrated. Also, their other QBs aren't much either. In my opinion they should have tried a little harder to trade him, there was plenty of interest. Hell, better to take something even if it's small rather than nothing. I think Leinart will probably sign with one of the following three teams: The Oakland Raiders, New York Giants, or the Buffalo Bills.

What do you think? Good or bad move, and where do you think he'll end up?

 

[hatehabsforever]

Very surprising move, in my opinion. He's been in the shadow of Kurt Warner for the last few seasons, you would think he may have learned something from him in a mentor sort of way. I'm not totally sold on Derek Anderson. If I were a Cardinals fan, I think I'd be a little worried about the upcoming season, not to say that I was particularly optimistic with Leinart at QB either.

Leinart will end up somewhere, but back into a secondary/back-up role again. His most likely destination will be Oakland, but I agree with you that the Bills could be a possibility as well.

 

[Megatron]

While Leinart was accurate, the main fault with him is that he could never hit the deep ball. His arm just isn't strong enough. All of his stats and completions have come from check downs. At least with Anderson the Cards have a guy who has a cannon that can hit the deep ball to Fitzgerald. Is he a significant improvement? No. But at least he can connect with throws 20 yards down the field, unlike Matt. I couldn't give a fuck if you're accurate if you're only gonna get me 3 yards a play. If he were ever to get better on the deep ball he could be good, but I severly doubt it will happen.

Add the fact that he can't do that on the field, to him just not being a very good teammate, it should come no surprise that he was released. And the G-Men aren't gonna get him, they just got Rosenfels from Minny as his backup. His best destination would be in Arizona. He might actually get a few starts there b/c Campbell is hurt atm I believe. However, he'll probably never be more then a career backup, due to his lack of arm strength and bad attitude.

 

[People's Champ]

The problem for Matt was that he was not drafted by Ken Wisenhunt, he was drafted by Dennis Green. Wisenhunt was given Leinart, and I don't think he cared for him. Also, what has he done for the. Cardinals? Don't forget that he was given the starting job but sucked so bad they sat him for Warner and, well, you know the rest.

Listen, the guy has been there for 5 years. Don't you think they see stuff that we can't? Practices and what not that tell them he's not their guy? I don't fault them or think it was a bad move. He wasn't wanted and Leinart needs a fresh start elsewhere. They both got what they wanted. Win-Win.

 

[Buffalo Dave]

I think it was a bad move. It leaves them with Anderson and a rookie. Two guys that barley know the system. Plus what happens if Anderson starts to play like he did last year, were some games he didn't even have 50 yards passing in a half. Remember when the guy went 2-17 23 yards passing last year? The Cards at least could've waited a year to see how Anderson will pan out before releasing him.

As for where he goes, I think Buffalo is out of the question, the Bills already have 3 backup QB's in the fold, with one of them as our starter. We need a solid proven QB, Leinart doesn't fit the bill. We are more in need of another WR right now. Besides Lee Evans theres no number 2, just unproven guys and Roscoe Parrish who is nothing but a slot receiver/special teams player. I think Oakland seems more like a choice. P Grande, Campbell is a little banged up, but should be ready to go for the season. But they like Gradkowski there so who knows. Then there is Seattle, with them acquiring Pete Carrol and him having success with Leinart back in USC that seems like a possibility also.

 

[goodlay]

It's definitely a big surprise, and it will be interesting to see where he signs and how Anderson turns out for Arizona. Anderson is kind of like Jekyll and Hyde, hopefully they don't get the 2 for 17 Derek Anderson. It's a pretty ballsy move by Arizona, and while I don't like Leinart, he was probably the best option for them at QB. Though I can understand Whisenhunt's logic on this one.

Leinart had been there long enough to know the system by heart, and he had plenty of time to watch on the sidelines and learn the game from a great QB in Kurt Warner. He obviously didn't progress the way the coaching staff wanted him to. So thus the reason for his release.

 

[justinsayne]

Well supposedly Oakland, Buffalo, & NYG, had all expressed some interest in Leinhart as recent as this past Wednesday, so you gotta think at least on of those 3 teams would've given up at the very least a late round draft pick for the guy, which is certainly better than getting rid of him and not getting a danm thing in return

I can understand the move though, Leinhart hasn't really done shit for Arizona since being drafted and signing a huge fucking deal, and it's not like he hasn't had an arsenal of solid talent surrounding him, I mean what QB wouldn't love having a guy like Fritzgerald to work with week in and week out?, Leinhart was a bust and a bust that was costing Arizona a shit load of money, by cutting him they just cut their losses, that being said I would have at least tried to shop him around and see if I could get anything for him before releasing him

 

[Big Sexy]

Leinart was never really given a chance because the current coaching staff was never a fan of him. He wasn't exactly blowing people away with his play but he was only given a few series. He has never been the deep ball type but plenty of quarterbacks have had success without a cannon for an arm. The Cardinals weren't going to make the playoffs regardless but now they'll be lucky to win 7 games.

Derek Anderson had one fluke season that really wasn't as good as people think. Outside of that he has been an absolutely atrocious quarterback. In fact he has played like shit in the pre season for Arizona this year. He is inaccurate and turns the ball over way too much. He'll connect with Fitzgerald for some bombs but other then that the Cards passing game will be horrendous this year.

As for Leinart apparently the Raiders, Bills, and Bengals have the most initial interest. No matter where he winds up he's going to be a back up at least to start. Buffalo gives him the best chance to start at some point this season but I doubt we'll see much from him this year. At the worst he can be a solid career back up.

 

[48.7 is Approximately 49 Times Better Than You]

I want Seattle to cut Hasselbeck and sign Leinart. Roll into a rebuilding season with Whitehurst and Leinart, too extremely gifted quarterbacks who either haven't been given opportunity or were a bad fit in their system. Carrol and Leinart could be a magic combination.

 

[Stickstar 16]

Yeah, hope Arizona have fun with a bust Quarterback, and a rookie. If Leinhart had been picked by Wisenhunt, then i reckon he would still be playing and starting for the Cardinals. But the fact is he wasn't, and I hope to hell that Wisenhunt isn't under any illusion that they can get Warner to do a Favre, a) because he seems the type of guy not to go back on a decision he made, and b) ever since Favre most people won't feel they have option to retire, and then comeback, and then retire again.

I hope things work out better for Leinhart, he got less plays than Anderson in all of the pre season games, yet put up better numbers, and although there were less touchdowns, the whole offence for Arizona was not firing so you can't put it all on him, and no interceptions compared to I believe 3 from Anderson. Also, Anderson was dropped from starter to 2nd string for Brady Quinn the last two years, and only got time when Quinn injured himself, and never put up numbers that were that impressive.

In the end I hope that it works out for Leinhart, and that he gets picked up by a team that appreciates his skill and talent, and that Anderson goes on to throw another 20 ints, and that the Cards don't get anywhere near the playoffs for making dumb decisions.

 

[Stormtrooper]

there are a few reasons why this is a great move for the Cardinals.

1. When has Matt Leinart proven he can start in the NFL? Never. He's been in the league 4 years and has been pretty bad all 5 of them.

2. Because of his shit 4 years, the fanbase (rightfully so) has absolutely no faith in him. Sometimes you need to make moves to help appease the fanbase, and getting rid of the most unpopular player on the team is a good way to do that.

3. Derek Anderson has outplayed him so far this preseason, and has had more success in his pro career then Leinart.


As for where he ends up, The only team I can see him going to is the Seahawks to reunite with Pete Carroll. The Giants are out of the question now, since they traded for Sage Rosenfels to be their backup, plus they should be worried about how he would handle playing in the biggest market in the country.

 

[Davi323]

Matt Leinart is a bust...plain and simple. He had every chance in the world to prove he was an NFL QB, and failed miserably. How many more chances did he need to have to prove himself? The Cardinals gave him ample opportunity, and he simply didn't get the job done.

Do you really think that with what the Cardinals had invested in Leinart, if he was a better QB than Derek Anderson, they wouldn't have kept him? Even if he wasn't Wisenhunt's draft pick, the Cardinals had invested a lot of money in Leinart. The fact is he was a bad draft pick. He hasn't been quite the disaster Ryan Leaf was, but he is certainly at a Joey Harrington level of suckitude. It says something when a 1st round pick, who was supposed to be the franchise QB, gets outplayed by Derek Anderson. Anderson isn't very good. But, Leinart couldn't even beat him in training camp.

This was a good move by the Arizona Cardinals, who can now wash their hands of him, and move on with their season without the distraction.

 

[Mustang Sally]

It's possible Leinart will eventually develop into a first-string QB but as long as the Cards didn't believe in him, they did the right thing for him (and themselves) by releasing him. It gives the man a chance to hook on with someone else rather than leaving him hanging on with an organization that doesn't want him.

But what took St. Louis so long? Kurt Warner retired at the end of last season. I suppose they can claim they wanted to see what he would look like in the pre-season, but exactly what miracle were they expecting?

This instance again exposes the folly of giving huge contracts to unproven college players. Guys like Leinart and JaMarcus Russell were awesome collegians but showed that the difference between college and the pros is so enormous that it's foolhardy to pay mega-bucks to a player who has never take an NFL snap.

 

[Davi323]

This instance again exposes the folly of giving huge contracts to unproven college players. Guys like Leinart and JaMarcus Russell were awesome collegians but showed that the difference between college and the pros is so enormous that it's foolhardy to pay mega-bucks to a player who has never take an NFL snap.

I hope that when the NFL owners and players union finally can come to terms on a new CBA, that a rookie wage scale goes into effect, and for exactly the reason you mention. So that teams like the Cardinals and Raiders don't spend 40 million bucks on a guy that hasn't proven a damn thing, when that money could have been spent on keeping proven veterans around. Rookies get a base wage, prevents holdouts, and forces them to prove they are worth the cash.

 

[Big Sexy]

ESPN is reporting that Leinart has signed a 1 year deal with the Houston Texans. This is a good move by Houston as they only had two quarterbacks on the roster and with the exception of last year Matt Schaub has never been able to get through a whole season as a starter injury free.

Right now the Texans back up is Dan Orlovsky and while he isn't a horrible quarterback, I wouldn't be completely comfortable with him as my back up. Leinart will start as the number 3 obviously but could work his way into the back up role at some point this season.

 

[Big Sexy]

1. When has Matt Leinart proven he can start in the NFL? Never. He's been in the league 4 years and has been pretty bad all 5 of them.

When has he really been given the chance? He has been in the league 4 years and started 17 games. 16 of those games came in his first two years, with 11 of them coming in his rookie season. Last time I checked quarterbacks tend to improve after their rookie and sophomore seasons.

2. Because of his shit 4 years, the fanbase (rightfully so) has absolutely no faith in him. Sometimes you need to make moves to help appease the fanbase, and getting rid of the most unpopular player on the team is a good way to do that.

This I agree with somewhat. However, if he started the season, put up good numbers, and the Cardinals were playing decent, then those same fans would turn right around and start praising him. Would that have happened? I have no idea, but he wasn't given the chance.

The more important thing is that the coaching staff has never believed in him. Leinart was Denny Green's guy not Ken Wisenhunt's. For whatever reason the two have never meshed well together.

3. Derek Anderson has outplayed him so far this preseason, and has had more success in his pro career then Leinart.

Really? You sure about that? In the pre season Matt Leinart was 22-28 for 175 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 picks for a 104.6 qb rating. Derek Anderson was 33-56 for 334 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 picks for a 73.1 qb rating. Leinart completed 78.6 % of his passes to Anderson's 58.9 %. Leinart's average yards per attempt was also 6.3 to Anderson's 6.0. The only thing Anderson did was throw deep more often but when the majority of those throws fall incomplete it's really a moot point.

As far as pro careers go I've already shown that Leinart hasn't really been given much of a chance in the regular season to start. Derek Anderson on the other hand has, and with the exception of an overrated 2007 season he has been complete shit. If you look at his 2007 season he threw for a lot of yards and tds but he also only completed 56.5 % of his passes and threw 19 interceptions. He also had the majority of his good games in the first half of the season. Once defenses got him on tape in real game situations he was not as successful. That was made evident by his sub par second half to the 2007 season and his completely embarrassing 2008 and 2009 campaigns.