If anyone nationally still doubts Leinart...

[Arizona's Finest]

......Read his Profile on Wikipedia

Since the Rose Bowl ended (and i truly believe that if USC had 35 seconds on the clock rather than 19 when they got the ball back it would have been a completly revisionist history with Leinart, not Young getting all the accolades) many scouts, analysts, and 9 other NFL teams (who all out thought themselves) would lead you to believe that you were getting potentially the third best QB in the draft and potential bust. This is just a reminder.....



2003

In his sophomore season, Leinart beat out Matt Cassel and former Purdue transfer Brandon Hance for the Trojan starting job at quarterback. His first career pass was a touchdown against Auburn. Leinart would win the first three games of his career before the then-No. 3 Trojans suffered a 34-31 triple-overtime defeat at California on September 27 that dropped the Trojans to No. 10.
Leinart and the Trojans bounced back the next week in one of Leinart's most famous college moments against Arizona State. Leinart injured his knee in the second quarter and was not expected to play again that day, but he returned to the game and finished 12-of-23 for 289 yards in a 37-17 victory.
Including ASU, Leinart and the Trojans reeled off victories in their final eight games to finish the season 11-1 and ranked #1 in the AP and coaches' polls (a position that had been held all season by Oklahoma before they lost their conference championship game). However, in one of the biggest controversies in college football history, USC was left out of the BCS championship game after finishing third in the BCS behind Oklahoma and LSU. The Trojans instead went to the Rose Bowl to face Michigan. Leinart was named the Rose Bowl MVP after he went 23-of-34 for 327 yards, throwing three touchdowns and catching a touchdown of his own. The Trojans claimed the AP national championship.
In 13 starts, Leinart was 255/402 for 3,556 yards and 38 TDs with 9 INTs. He finished sixth in the Heisman voting (Oklahoma quarterback Jason White won the Trophy that year).
[edit]

2004

Leinart started his junior season with his Trojans ranked No. 1. The season started with three more victories to push the USC winning streak to 12 before Leinart faced the biggest obstacle of his career to that point at Stanford on September 25. After Stanford took a 28-17 halftime lead, Leinart sparked the offense with a 51-yard reception to Steve Smith and scoring on a one-yard sneak to cut the Cardinal lead to four points. Leinart and the Trojans were able to take the lead on a LenDale White touchdown rush and hold on for the victory, 31-28. Leinart completed 24 of 30 passes.
Leinart and the Trojans completed a perfect regular season, finishing 12-0, during which Leinart threw for a career-high 400 yards against Notre Dame. He finished on a weaker note in the final regular season game against UCLA, as he was held without a touchdown pass for the first time in 25 starts. Nonetheless, Leinart was invited to New York for the Heisman ceremony, along with teammate Reggie Bush, Oklahoma's freshman sensation Adrian Peterson, incumbent Jason White, and Utah's Alex Smith. In what many had considered one of the more competitive Heisman races, Leinart became the sixth USC player to claim the Heisman trophy.
USC went wire-to-wire at #1 in the polls and earned a bid to the BCS title game at the Orange Bowl against Oklahoma, which was also 12-0 and had been on USC's tail all season. A dream matchup on paper (including White vs. Leinart, which was to be the first time two Heisman winners would play against each other), the Orange Bowl was a thumping, as Leinart threw for five touchdown passes on 18-for-35 passing and 332 yards to lead the Trojans to a 55-19 victory. Leinart received Orange Bowl MVP honors and the Trojans claimed their second straight national championship, extending their winning streak to 22 games.
Leinart's stock could not be higher at the end of the 2004 season, and many NFL analysts believed Leinart would turn pro and become a possible #1 pick in the draft. In a move that surprised many, however, Leinart held a press conference in which he declared that he would be staying at USC for his senior season to try and help the Trojans claim a third consecutive championship. With nearly the entire offense returning, the Trojans were ranked #1 again and were an overwhelming favorite to win another championship at the beginning of the 2005 season.
[edit]

2005

The Trojans' offense was powerful, statistically ranking among the greatest of all time, but Leinart and Co. began developing a habit of falling behind in the first half of their games before exploding in the second half; this was exemplified in their road games against Oregon and Arizona State. The Trojans were 5-0 before they were scheduled to meet No. 9 Notre Dame in South Bend. With the Trojans down 31-28 after Irish quarterback Brady Quinn scored with two minutes left, Leinart gave the most definitive performance of his entire college career.
After an incomplete pass and a sack led to a fourth-and-nine situation with ninety seconds left at the Trojans' own 26-yard line, Leinart called a gutsy audible fade route at the line and threw deep against the Irish's man-to-man coverage, where Dwayne Jarrett caught the ball and raced 61 yards to the Irish' 13-yard line. Leinart moved the ball to the goal line and scored on a QB sneak to give the Trojans a 34-31 lead with three seconds to go, giving the Trojans their 28th straight victory.
Aside from a home game against Fresno State, the Trojans remained relatively unchallenged for the rest of the season, running their record to another 12-0 regular season and 34 wins in a row. Leinart, who was having arguably a better season than in 2004, was again invited to New York for the Heisman ceremony along with teammate Reggie Bush and Texas quarterback Vince Young. As a former Heisman winner, Leinart cast his first-place vote for Bush and ended up third in the voting behind the winning Bush and runner-up Young.
The Trojans advanced to the Rose Bowl to face Vince Young and No. 2 Texas in the BCS title game. With 53 consecutive victories between them, the title game was considered another "dream matchup". Leinart himself had a great game, going 29-of-40 for a touchdown and 365 yards, but was overshadowed by Young, who piled up 467 yards of total offense and rushed for three touchdowns, including a score with 19 seconds remaining and two-point conversion to put the Longhorns up, 41-38. The Trojans lost for the first time in 35 games, and Leinart lost for just the second time in his 39 starts. In a postgame interview, Leinart said that despite the Trojans' loss to Texas, "I still think we're a better team. They just made the plays in the end."
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http://www.arizonasportsfans.com/vb/
Career

Leinart finished his college career 807/1245 (64.8%) for 10,693 yards and 99 touchdowns with just 23 interceptions. He is USC's all-time leader in career touchdown passes and completion percentage, and is second at USC behind Palmer in completions and yardage. He averaged nearly 8.6 yards per attempt, and averaged one interception every 54 attempts. He was 37-2 as a starter.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

More Leinart love from NFL.com....

If you know anyone who dogs our draft pick (like i do) tell them to read this profile without saying who that player is. Then ask them what the chances they think that player has at being a star. I would say it's pretty unanimous they would think this is the profile of a future stud. Reading this made me feel pretty warm in my heart as i have never had a QB i felt this good about coming out of college....


SUMMARY
Leinart is a big, well-built quarterback who has consistently shown a willingness to stand strong in the pocket to make the good throw right before he takes the big hit. He lacks the athleticism to consistently avoid pass rushers in the NFL and is going to take some very hard hits, but he has shown the ability to stay on his feet while defenders are grabbing at him and he can make strong, accurate throws. He does a very good job of throwing the deep ball with touch, but needs to improve throwing the deep ball with zip. Right now, he relies too much on his receiver just going up and winning the battle for the touch pass.

Overall, Leinart looks like Tom Brady in many ways, except that Leinart is coming into the NFL with a much more muscular build and a stronger arm (remember, when Brady came into the NFL, he had an adequate arm and was able to improve it as he bulked up and added weight/strength). Leinart is going to be a very similar quarterback to Brady in that he will consistently win games with his head and can make most of the throws, but is not going to win games by just out-throwing the opposing quarterback. He will be successful because he has the physical tools to take advantage of his excellent mental skills.


STRONG POINTSLeinart is a very smart quarterback who has consistently shown the ability to read defenses and make the right decision. He does not force passes into coverage and has consistently shown a willingness to throw the ball away to avoid the sack. He is a big, well-built quarterback with the strong arm to make all the throws. He has a quick, compact and efficient delivery to get rid of the ball fast -- he especially does a good job when pressured. He does a very good job of identifying the defense, reading the blitz and making the correct decision consistently. He does a good job of looking off the safety and coming back to make the good throw.


WEAKNESSES
Leinart is a limited athlete who lacks the foot quickness and playing speed to make big plays with his feet. While he moves around in the pocket well, he is not a guy who is going to buy a lot of second chances. He needs to become more consistent throwing deep passes with zip because he has such great receivers at USC that he gets into a bad habit of throwing touch passes too often. The biggest thing that Leinart will have to overcome is that he has never lost regularly and in his first few years in the NFL, he is going to lose a lot and how he handles this will determine if he makes it in the NFL.

POSITIONAL FACTORS

6.5 Mechanics - He has a quick, compact delivery to get rid of the ball fast. He strides into throws well when he wants to get zip.

6.0 Arm Strength - He has good arm strength to make all the throws with zip and accuracy.

7.0 Convert Pct.- He consistently stepped up and converted on the most important downs -- 64.8 percent in graded games

5.0 Athletic Ability- moves decently in the pocket to buy extra time, but lacks the foot quickness to avoid sacks consistently.

6.5 Accuracy Short in Pocket- He consistently throws the short passes accurately. He's accurate on touch throws and ones he puts zip on.

6.0 Accuracy Long in Pocket - He throws the medium pass accurately with zip and the deep ball with touch, but does not zip deep throws often.

6.5 Accuracy on the Move -He does a good job of getting his feet set and making accurate throws outside of the pocket.

6.5 Big Plays - He has consistently made accurate deep throws with zip and makes key plays when they matter most.

7.0 Under Pressure- He stays poised in the pocket vs. pressure and always makes good decisions; does not force passes.

7.0 Leadership/Poise- Leinart is a charismatic leader who takes control of the team verbally and the team rallies behind his charge.

7.0 Read Defenses-He does a good job of identifying the defense and making the right decisions to take advantage of what he sees.

7.5 Big Errors- Leinart does not make the big error. He will not force passes and will throw the ball away rather than risk interception

 

[dreamcastrocks]

6.0 Accuracy Long in Pocket - He throws the medium pass accurately with zip and the deep ball with touch, but does not zip deep throws often.

6.5 Big Plays - He has consistently made accurate deep throws with zip and makes key plays when they matter most.

 

[JeffGollin]

Funny thing - I tend to think of all the pre draft scouting reports as the "words on the outside of the package" or in the ad the gets you to buy the product.

Now that we've "bought" the product and gone over the instruction manual, it's time to find out precisely what this sucker can do.

i.e. time to put the scouting reports on the shelf and see what Matt's actually got within the context of NFL speed & complexity - when live bullets are fired.

Saturday (start of Camp) seems a trillion hours away; doesn't it?

 

[phillycard]

6.5 Mechanics - He has a quick, compact delivery to get rid of the ball fast. He strides into throws well when he wants to get zip.

6.0 Arm Strength - He has good arm strength to make all the throws with zip and accuracy.



Some people just talk to hear themselves talk. (or write to see themselves write)

 

[Lloydian]

Hey, I'm planning on Leinart being the top QB in the NFL some day, but I'd never stake something on a Wikipedia entry for a recent news story. Wikipedia is just too subject to error.

 

[BigRedRage]

ill see what i think of him on the NFL field, college means nothing to me

 

[vince56]

I don't need a wikipedia to tell me he's good, I watched him play college ball. He had me at hello.

I screamed like a little girl when we drafted him.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

The only people that doubted Leinart were USC haters, or more accurately people who were bitter and envious over Leinart and USC's success. The guy is probably the most celebrated and accomplished QB in college football history with all the measurables to be successful at the NFL level. Whether it was divine intervention (very possible considering the Cardinals lack of luck)or something as simple as NFL personnel guru stupidity (thanks again Isiah Millen) we should all just be very thankful he's a Cardinal.

 

[john h]

Funny thing - I tend to think of all the pre draft scouting reports as the "words on the outside of the package" or in the ad the gets you to buy the product.

Now that we've "bought" the product and gone over the instruction manual, it's time to find out precisely what this sucker can do.

i.e. time to put the scouting reports on the shelf and see what Matt's actually got within the context of NFL speed & complexity - when live bullets are fired.

Saturday (start of Camp) seems a trillion hours away; doesn't it?

A year ago I thought Leinhart had to be the #1 pick. He was no where within sight of my long range radar. I am still in shock that we got Leinhart and signed Edge. The stars just have to be aligned for us.

Edge has really impressed me with his off the field attitude. He has got me convinced we are winners and I am the eternal pessimist when it comes to the Cards. Great player and clearly a great motivator.

 

[ajcardfan]

ill see what i think of him on the NFL field, college means nothing to me

I don't get statements like this. What are draft picks supposed to be evaluated on, if not their play in college?

 

[jefftheshark]

I don't get statements like this. What are draft picks supposed to be evaluated on, if not their play in college?

Who they date.

The Shark

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I don't get statements like this. What are draft picks supposed to be evaluated on, if not their play in college?

The combine, how much effort they give, and the Senior Bowl.

- Dave McGinnis

 

[JeffGollin]

The combine, how much effort they give, and the Senior Bowl.

Obviously, guys are evaluated both on college and post season performance. But those are the factors that got you to select them.

Now that they're selected, a different set of factors come into play. All that predraft stuff theoretically gets put on the back shelf with each of the 80 guys on the extended roster having the same shot at making the final roster as every other guy. It all becomes "what are you doing for us lately?" And there are always a few surprises.