I understand things can get heated regarding our QB play, so this isn't about rubbing anyone any way. The issue about Leinart and groupthink here on ASFN just doesn't fly on its merits. Everyone can have an opinion, it's what America is supposed to be about. But because it's Leinart, let's analyze it, and analyze it, ONLY because it's Leinart, and only in regards to Leinart.
Groupthink is when people stop/suspend/never start thinking and rally around a certain viewpoint without thinking alternatives through. They don't consider how any alternatives would impact the situation versus say the first idea to come out of someone's mouth, or the first sort of good sounding idea, and thus for whatever reason (maybe intellectual sloth or laziness) come to a consensus or thereabouts just for the sake of making a decision.
Sometimes it revolves around a person with influence or positional power, and no one objects or offers alternatives because of that. Either way it's about abdicating the responsibility to figuring out the best path forward by not turning over every stone.
Here on ASFN, we've talked about Leinart since at least 2006, probably a year or two earlier somewhat. Nothing about him has changed. If anything, everything has been shown to be true again with his usual performance in the Raiders vs Cowboys 3-0 stinker. There has probably been a hundred threads involving Leinart at least throughout his years here and after discussing what sort of QB he is. I can confidently say as an ASFN'er I don't believe there is a group think about Leinart. Perhaps some people never thought it through, but I feel confident that enough people did. Including me.
In the present he was 11-16 mostly checkdown throws (only one was a short-medium slant going forward and the only one actually down field was thrown incomplete near the end of a half). Overall his performance netted 0 points fwiw. He also fumbled, but it was recovered.
What we continued to see.
He's still captain checkdown.
He still throws far more passes with people running back towards him instead of them running down field. So there's short passes of 10 yards where the guy has a chance to go up field, and then there's 10 yard passes where the guy has little to no chance of gaining any more yards because he's running back to the QB when he's catching it. Those and similar were Leinart's passes almost exclusively. It's what we've seen for years. He takes the checkdown.
He still has a tendency to put arc on the ball, though maybe better than previous years in how he uses it. But there was one short pass that seemed to be in the air forever and had that typical moon shot orbit we've seen from him. Luckily no one was around to make him pay for it.
Still has a mediocre arm at best.
Although he isn't injured currently, there is little doubt he's coming due pretty soon. This is speculation. But it's what has been shown. I wouldn't bet against this clearly set trend of his. So when comparing Leinart to Skelton toughness wise it isn't even close. Especially behind this line.
Had he thrown the ball down field consistently for a year, and went through a season without getting injured, and then people didn't account for this, where it would have to be almost everybody doing all of the above after Leinart did all of the above, THEN on this topic it would be possible a groupthink situation could come into play.
I would call Leinart, group resolved. We've figured him out, and unless he produces on the field to warrant a change of the injury prone, check down, backup QB label, then it cannot in any way be groupthink. He still hasn't even given one game, not even that Houston game last year to make people think otherwise. He did a bit better in the Houston game with a couple of throws down field, but still for the majority was Captain Checkdown and got injured.
As is, his first preseason game, and his game with Houston where he got injured last year have only further cemented what he is as being spot on with what ASFN people thought in a very non-group think way, and determined what he was over the course of a hundred or more threads.
The term group think and Leinart doesn't apply. If something were to change about Leinart, a possibility would then maybe open. But, nothing about Leinart has changed.
If any Cardinals QB reminds me of Leinart, it's Kolb. Not in every sense of course. But in the way he can't play, tends to throw underneath (though does at least attempt down field passes occasionally when for HIM he has time...Leinart doesn't seem to want to thrown down field even if he has it), and gets injured far too often, many times because like Leinart, he doesn't know how to fall correctly. Heck even the demeanor seems pretty similar.
Also here is the play by play for Leinart the first game (on passes/fumbles)
http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/playbyplay?gameId=320813013
Drive 1
M.Leinart FUMBLES (Aborted) at OAK 46, and recovers at OAK 43.
M.Leinart to OAK 43 for no gain (M.Spears).
(Shotgun) M.Leinart pass short left to J.Criner to OAK 48 for 5 yards (B.Church).
Drive 2
M.Leinart pass deep middle to R.Streater to DAL 46 for 18 yards (T.Williams)
M.Leinart pass short left to O.Schmitt to DAL 38 for 8 yards (M.Butler). PENALTY on OAK-R.Gordon, Illegal Block Above the Waist, 10 yards, enforced at DAL 38.
(Shotgun) M.Leinart pass short right to R.Streater to DAL 34 for 13 yards (T.Williams; M.Silva).
M.Leinart pass incomplete short left to J.Criner.
(Shotgun) M.Leinart pass incomplete short left to B.Carswell [K.Wilber].
This was the drive they blocked the field goal of shank-a-kowski.
Drive 3
M.Leinart pass short right to R.Streater to OAK 25 for 9 yards (T.Williams).
M.Leinart pass short left to R.Streater to OAK 34 for 9 yards (M.Butler; M.Silva).
M.Leinart pass incomplete short left to T.Humphrey.
(Shotgun) M.Leinart pass short middle to L.Miller to OAK 47 for 9 yards (O.Lemon; A.Albright).
Drive 4 (last couple minutes of the half)
M.Leinart pass short middle to R.Streater to OAK 27 for 5 yards (A.Albright).
M.Leinart pass short left to B.Carswell to OAK 30 for 3 yards (C.Wilson).
(No Huddle, Shotgun) M.Leinart pass short left to L.Miller to OAK 37 for 7 yards (D.McCray).
(No Huddle, Shotgun) M.Leinart pass short middle to R.Streater to OAK 49 for 12 yards (M.Silva).
(No Huddle, Shotgun) M.Leinart pass incomplete deep left to R.Streater.
(Shotgun) M.Leinart pass incomplete short middle to D.Ausberry.
I see the same stuff as we're used to? I notice how many short passes out of the shotgun he did. The only time he went long was basically at the end of the first half and had to go for it. Only one of his passes wasn't a comebacker that was completed. Even then it was only medium length. A good decent throw.
Matt Leinart is who we thought he was, and continues to showcase exactly that.
Personally I don't see how that's better than Skelton. Lindley did better than Leinart at the end of the 1st half playing against the same roughly level of competition. But Lindley got points on the board, and Leinart didn't.
One thing about group think is that you can form consensus with groupthink, or you can have consensus without groupthink. I think we've formed a virtual consensus about Leinart legitimately about what he is. Just because people agree doesn't mean groupthink has set in. It's all about how the process getting there was. For Leinart, it was anything but groupthink.
For fun this is what Lindley did.
Drive 1 in the two minute drill
(Shotgun) R.Lindley pass short right to T.Heap to ARZ 45 for 6 yards (D.Washington).
(Shotgun) R.Lindley pass short left to L.Byrd to KC 49 for 6 yards (D.Menzie).
(Shotgun) R.Lindley pass deep right to L.Byrd to KC 28 for 21 yards (A.Elam).
1st and 10 at KC 28 (Shotgun) R.Lindley pass short left to L.Byrd to KC 22 for 6 yards (D.Ellis).
Timeout #2 by KC at 00:07.
Drive 2 (powell td drive)
R.Lindley pass incomplete short right to S.Skelton (A.Studebaker).
R.Lindley pass short right to J.Dray to KC 7 for 6 yards (J.Reeves).
R.Lindley scrambles right end to KC 2 for 3 yards (J.Fanor).
(Shotgun) R.Lindley pass short right to M.Floyd to KC 2 for 3 yards (J.Reeves).
R.Lindley pass incomplete short right to M.Floyd.
Drive 3
R.Lindley pass incomplete deep right to J.Johnson.
R.Lindley pass incomplete short right to J.Johnson.
(Shotgun) R.Lindley pass incomplete short left to I.Williams.
Lindley was constrained by being in a short field and two minute drill in 2 of his 3 drives. Yet this rookie threw deep more than Leinart given these bigger number of constraints and five fewer passes. Leinart was looking at long open fields all of his possessions. Yet he consistently checked down and picked comebackers for his more downfield passes.
Lindley's offense scores 10 points with him under center.
Leinart's offense score 0 points with him under center.
I really don't know why Leinart is even being brought up based on these reasons as a legitimate wish compared to what we have. 11/16 doesn't mean anything. I'll take 6/11 and 10 points with a guy who throws deep and is a rookie with upside over a veteran who still checks down almost every throw and goes 11/16 and scores 0 points against comparable depth chart talent. Also Lindley did it with our OL.
I think Skelton and it appears Lindley are better talents than Leinart. Above all this, what would Leinart do behind our line? Get injured again, and until then check down even more no doubt in my mind.
I guess it's something about Leinart that just gets us all up in a tizzy. Too much hope lost I guess.