moklerman
Rise from the Ashes III
...I have to wonder how people would view the QB situation if they had just watched the preseason games and not been influenced by so many other opinions?
While Anderson has had his moments chucking the ball down the field, those passes aren't "real" in a lot of ways. They certainly look good while they happen but with all of the talk of him aggressively pushing the ball down the field, he's only got 2 pass plays of 20+ yards this preseason. That's in 53 attempts for those keeping track.
His yards per attempt is only 5.4 this preseason also. So, it's hard for me to not consider much of this "competition" good, old-fashioned spin. Even with his so-called impressive showing this last game, he only completed 58.3 percent of his passes. Which is what he's done all preseason. In three games, he's right at 58%.
So, while a couple of his throws have been dazzling to watch, his overall game has been that of a backup. He's turned the ball over, he's fumbled, he's missed open receivers in the red zone...other than being in sync with...dang, what's that rookie's name, anyway, other than being in sync with him, likely because of all the time they spent working with the backup units, I haven't seen Anderson do much of anything.
The last game vs. Chicago for example, the first string offense with Anderson to start the game didn't look any better than the first two drives that Leinart got to start each of the first two games. The difference is Anderson got more time to work himself into a rhythm.
But speaking of the Chicago game and Leinart, he looked sharp to me. With very little playing time this preseason he came off the bench and looked good to end the half before Beanie fumbled and looked sharp on the TD drive. For example, the TD he threw was vintage Warner. The Cards were backed up 3rd and long after a penalty and Leinart threw it short of the goal line to Breaston who made a play to get in the end zone.
That was starting QB material. That was how Warner would have done it too. Warner who averaged 7.3 ypa last year. Leinart, supposedly afraid to throw it deep, supposedly only capable of checking the ball down who has a 7.0 ypa this preseason. That's certainly close enough to Warner for me and what Warner was doing was good enough so why not for Leinart. Especially considering Anderson is at 5.4 ypa this preseason.
I think we have to look outside the lines for what's going on and after gazing into my crystal ball for a while, I think Fitzgerald is dictating the anti-Leinart movement. I'm not sure why he would take it so personally when Leinart "got him injured" in the first preseason game but I think all of this stems from that play. It's the only semi-logical reason for all of the unnecessary drama coming from the Cardinals this offseason.
Sure, Leinart hasn't "earned" anything in live action but he's put in his dues and deserved to come into camp and remain the unquestioned starter. I'm certainly hesitant to question Whis but these last few years I've often disagreed with splitting the team on the QB position. Perhaps this whole drama will actually work to solidify Leinart as the starter and garner support from his teammates but I'm not so sure.
But having just watched the preseason games I think it would be obvious that Leinart was the QB that gives the Cardinals the best chance to win.
While Anderson has had his moments chucking the ball down the field, those passes aren't "real" in a lot of ways. They certainly look good while they happen but with all of the talk of him aggressively pushing the ball down the field, he's only got 2 pass plays of 20+ yards this preseason. That's in 53 attempts for those keeping track.
His yards per attempt is only 5.4 this preseason also. So, it's hard for me to not consider much of this "competition" good, old-fashioned spin. Even with his so-called impressive showing this last game, he only completed 58.3 percent of his passes. Which is what he's done all preseason. In three games, he's right at 58%.
So, while a couple of his throws have been dazzling to watch, his overall game has been that of a backup. He's turned the ball over, he's fumbled, he's missed open receivers in the red zone...other than being in sync with...dang, what's that rookie's name, anyway, other than being in sync with him, likely because of all the time they spent working with the backup units, I haven't seen Anderson do much of anything.
The last game vs. Chicago for example, the first string offense with Anderson to start the game didn't look any better than the first two drives that Leinart got to start each of the first two games. The difference is Anderson got more time to work himself into a rhythm.
But speaking of the Chicago game and Leinart, he looked sharp to me. With very little playing time this preseason he came off the bench and looked good to end the half before Beanie fumbled and looked sharp on the TD drive. For example, the TD he threw was vintage Warner. The Cards were backed up 3rd and long after a penalty and Leinart threw it short of the goal line to Breaston who made a play to get in the end zone.
That was starting QB material. That was how Warner would have done it too. Warner who averaged 7.3 ypa last year. Leinart, supposedly afraid to throw it deep, supposedly only capable of checking the ball down who has a 7.0 ypa this preseason. That's certainly close enough to Warner for me and what Warner was doing was good enough so why not for Leinart. Especially considering Anderson is at 5.4 ypa this preseason.
I think we have to look outside the lines for what's going on and after gazing into my crystal ball for a while, I think Fitzgerald is dictating the anti-Leinart movement. I'm not sure why he would take it so personally when Leinart "got him injured" in the first preseason game but I think all of this stems from that play. It's the only semi-logical reason for all of the unnecessary drama coming from the Cardinals this offseason.
Sure, Leinart hasn't "earned" anything in live action but he's put in his dues and deserved to come into camp and remain the unquestioned starter. I'm certainly hesitant to question Whis but these last few years I've often disagreed with splitting the team on the QB position. Perhaps this whole drama will actually work to solidify Leinart as the starter and garner support from his teammates but I'm not so sure.
But having just watched the preseason games I think it would be obvious that Leinart was the QB that gives the Cardinals the best chance to win.
