KTAR Reporting That The Cardinals Will Sign Derek Anderson

[Early]

I don't like Anderson or Leinart altough i think Anderson will win the job, he has had terrible targets in Cleveland and still made it work somehow altough in short streches. Leinart struggles to even make a single TD with HOF targets in front of him and years and years of practice with them. I still think we are going to pick a rookie early on in this draft.

The picks given to Whitehurst are not non-sense. He has been in NFL behind one of the brilliant QB coaches in Norv Turner and great QB in Rivers. Offcourse, he is more worth than a mid round rookie in this draft. You pay for his value (a mid round pick) and you pay in addition to that for the years he has been in the league and learned and conditioned NFL style. Some would give a pick just for that experience and it's worth the risk.

He is ready to step in and play more than rookies are and personally I liked his college tapes alot, he is going to be a good pro QB. Caroll knows a whole alot about this position, and he knows what he is doing. He probably isn't the next big thing in all of football, but i think he has a chance in becoming a good NFL QB. Well worth the risk. In fact this is the position where you need to take risks and invest alot. It's by far the most important position on a football teams.

This is a decent depth signing, but without major production at QB, we really can't excel next year. I wanted Chad Pennington or Jason Campbell, but we still have a chance in getting Clausen, Kafka, Skelton or Bradford. I have seen alot of Lefevour recently and he defenitely has some mechanics that are pro style and lots of talent. Not talking about scrambling, but pocket passing.

I'm sure this is not the end of the hunt and competition at QB position. There are huge questions surrounding both QB's. A good coach doesn't start a season with a bunch of questions, especially at QB. The more competition you bring in, the lesser the questions as well a concerns become. Adding a day one rookie, is still a priority.

 

[az jam]

I'm happy with the signing and the fact that we still have 2 third round picks in a draft deep in defensive talent which is our biggest need. If Matt is up to the challenge that will be great for all of us, if not then Anderson will have to earn a starting role.

 

[jmt]

Good signing. Anderson may not be great ever again but has shown he can produce. Whitehurst who? He won't even be a foot note. Maybe the best news is we won't draft Tebow.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

As long as the Cardinals win I could care less who the QB is.

This.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

Whisenhunt says Leinart is "the guy"

Last week, Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said that he won't hand the starting quarterback job to Matt Leinart until he "goes to three Pro Bowls" and the Super Bowl.

Though no Pro Bowls nor Super Bowls have been played in the past eight days, Whisenhunt is suddenly singing a different tune. During the press conference introducing Derek Anderson as the latest addition to the depth chart, Whisenhunt said that Leinart "has earned the right to be 'the guy.'"

We're wondering precisely when he earned it. Was it when he blew the starting job in the 2008 preseason? Was it when he took no snaps during the 2008 postseason? Was it when he generated a 64.6 passer rating in 2009?

Leinart, in our view, has earned nothing -- including the bulk of his rookie contract.

So why isn't the starting job being turned into an open competition? Perhaps Whisenhunt realizes that, even if there's actually a competition, there still needs to be a man at the top of the depth chart. Otherwise, a team will experience the same back-and-forth indecision that marred that past two seasons of Anderson's career in Cleveland.

So, yeah, Leinart currently is No. 1 and Anderson currently is No. 2. Just like Leinart was in 2008, until the moment that Whisehunt suddenly sent Leinart to the bench and gave Warner the ball.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

The Seahawks can still come out OK in the end, but the Cardinals and Chargers look better right now.

QB market: Cardinals over Seahawks

 

[Rats]

DAnderson = Dave Brown = Jay Schroeder....We just went from having one of the most accurate passing games to one of the worst. I hope Matt stays on the field all season because what I saw of this guy scares the crap out of me and Matt isn't super accurate either. Whis will have to work serious overtime getting DA back to a respectable accuracy level. I guess if we can establish a great( and i mean top 5 in the league)running game then we just need our Qb to stay healthy and not give the ball away. I will not expect great things from our Qb this year and be pleasantly suprised when they end up top 10 in the league in the Qb catagory. I think Matt can be a great leader if he is not asked to do to much and carry the load. All I can say is Beanie Time!!!!

 

[Krangodnzr]

DAnderson = Dave Brown = Jay Schroeder....We just went from having one of the most accurate passing games to one of the worst. I hope Matt stays on the field all season because what I saw of this guy scares the crap out of me and Matt isn't super accurate either. Whis will have to work serious overtime getting DA back to a respectable accuracy level. I guess if we can establish a great( and i mean top 5 in the league)running game then we just need our Qb to stay healthy and not give the ball away. I will not expect great things from our Qb this year and be pleasantly suprised when they end up top 10 in the league in the Qb catagory. I think Matt can be a great leader if he is not asked to do to much and carry the load. All I can say is Beanie Time!!!!

When your top target is Braylon Edwards, you're going to struggle in the accuracy department. Dude dropped like 20 balls in his breakout, Pro Bowl year.

Anderson could turn out to be a very good QB if Whisenhunt can work his QB magic on him. He certainly has a big time, live arm and is a prototypical pocket passer.

Having Leinart and Anderson (who is actually younger than Whitehurst) gives us a decent, young QB corps, especially if we draft a decent developmental 3rd stringer

 

[Zeno]

When your top target is Braylon Edwards, you're going to struggle in the accuracy department. Dude dropped like 20 balls in his breakout, Pro Bowl year.

Anderson could turn out to be a very good QB if Whisenhunt can work his QB magic on him. He certainly has a big time, live arm and is a prototypical pocket passer.

Having Leinart and Anderson (who is actually younger than Whitehurst) gives us a decent, young QB corps, especially if we draft a decent developmental 3rd stringer

Thing is you can only blame the players around him for so long, his college completion % was 54.2%. That is one area QBs rarely make significant improvement on once they reach the pro's..it seems either you are accurate or your not.

I think he is a fine back-up though, he has experience and he is young.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

All I can say is Beanie Time!!!!

Yes it is. But the Oline needs to really improve for that to happen.

If the defense is in the backfield as he gets the ball and we are getting the 1 yard and a cloud of dust it's going to be a long year. Our Oline is more suited to pass blocking and to think we can just flip a switch and they will become a good run blocking group is not realistic.

 

[JeffGollin]

Random Thoughts on Leinart and Anderson...

Firstly, Leinart holds the high ground, but that doesn't mean Anderson won't be given a fair opportunity to take it.

Second, we're not really sure what we're getting in Anderson right now. All we really know is that he's a big (6-6) fella with a cannon arm who suffered a knee injury early last season...and who was plagued by inconsistent accuracy in recent years.

What we don't know yet is whether he (with the help of the Cardinal coaches) can regain his form of 2 - 3 years ago when he threw for something like 29 TD's. (Often inaccuracy is a function of poor or inconsistent mechanics - including delivery or footwork and this can be coached out of a guy. Or it can be a function of bad reads/poor decision-making (which can also be remedied by coaching. Or not). My point - I don't think Anderson is a static "what you see is what you get" entity. I think he's still a high-potential but fluid guy who can be coached up. (Question remains: will he respond to the necessary coaching)?

This is just a gut feeling, but in Anderson, I don't think the Cards are getting a "go along to get along" punch-the time-clock kind of place-holder who can be counted on to deliver a C+ to B-Minus performance each week. We'll either be getting a guy who can give us his A-game or his D-game (and we won't know which until we see how he does).

 

[WarnerHOF]

Even when you look at the gamelogs of his 07 season, it is still a train wreck. He had 4 excellent games and the rest were either below average or Jamarcus Russell bad.

 

[Rats]

We can color it with any brush we want but the bottom line is this guy has been inaccurate throwing the football no matter who he was throwing it to in college and the pros. To me this says he does not make great decisions quickly. His accuracy throwing is on par with some of the worst in the game. If we have to use him for any extended period of time we had better run the ball 30 times a game. No more Pass to set up the run and as was stated we need a huge improvement in our run blocking and over all Oline play. Matt has to stay healthy and play 14 plus games. I think the Niners and Seahawks beat us in the Qb derby. But we did have Matt already in our system so we should at least be ahead of them a little. Run the legs off of Beanie and TH.

 

[Crazy Canuck]

Yes it is. But the Oline needs to really improve for that to happen.

If the defense is in the backfield as he gets the ball and we are getting the 1 yard and a cloud of dust it's going to be a long year. Our Oline is more suited to pass blocking and to think we can just flip a switch and they will become a good run blocking group is not realistic.

Well, I think that Brown and Lutui, for two, have been looking forward to more emphasis on the run, and that's Hadnot's strength.

 

[ajcardfan]

Yes it is. But the Oline needs to really improve for that to happen.

If the defense is in the backfield as he gets the ball and we are getting the 1 yard and a cloud of dust it's going to be a long year. Our Oline is more suited to pass blocking and to think we can just flip a switch and they will become a good run blocking group is not realistic.

Which is why they signed Hadnot, whose strength is run blocking.

 

[Duckjake]

Well, I think that Brown and Lutui, for two, have been looking forward to more emphasis on the run, and that's Hadnot's strength.

In addition the Cards rushed for over 100 yards in 8 of their last 11 games (including the playoffs). By comparison in 2008 they had a stretch of 11 games where they failed to get over 65 yards in a game 8 times.

Watching the highlights on NFL.com of the last few games really shows how the run game was improving and really makes me feel positive about that aspect of the offense going into this fall.

I think we'll see more games like the Seattle game in 2006. Edge ran 26 times for 113 yards and Leinart was 21-34-2-1 with a 4th quarter TD pass to give the Cards the lead and AZ won 27-21.

 

[TJ]

The scenarios are quite different, DJ. Warner was supposed to play two more years, which would have made the Cardinals have to keep ML for $11m plus in 2011. C'mon man.

Mitch,

I have faith that if Leinart does excel as the starter, the organization will take care of him. I can't see a scenario where Leinart succeeds and the FO lets him go because of a roster bonus. A little different than Rolle's situation. Based on what he was going to make, he was expendable (and certainly the acquisition of Rhodes made that transaction much easier to handle).

But I do like your comments about Anderson's incentive laden contract. It is the ultimate insurance policy if something were to happen. I know your main concern is Leinart's mechanics. Trust me, I have my concerns too but it's mainly his durability. He didnt finish 2006 and 2007 because of injuries. Leinart admitted as much in an interview w/ Gambo and Ash that he is not the biggest guy and has trouble developing muscle, but he is taking prophylactic measures this offseason to decrease his chance of injury.

 

[Treefiddy]

I imagine Derek Anderson also understood that he has $11M reasons to try to beat Leinart out. You don't give those kinds of incentives to a clear #2.

Yes you do when you don't expect them to play and get a chance to earn that $11M.

Do we even know what he needs to do to earn those incentives?

 

[40yearfan]

Mitch,

I have faith that if Leinart does excel as the starter, the organization will take care of him. I can't see a scenario where Leinart succeeds and the FO lets him go because of a roster bonus. A little different than Rolle's situation. Based on what he was going to make, he was expendable (and certainly the acquisition of Rhodes made that transaction much easier to handle).

But I do like your comments about Anderson's incentive laden contract. It is the ultimate insurance policy if something were to happen. I know your main concern is Leinart's mechanics. Trust me, I have my concerns too but it's mainly his durability. He didnt finish 2006 and 2007 because of injuries. Leinart admitted as much in an interview w/ Gambo and Ash that he is not the biggest guy and has trouble developing muscle, but he is taking prophylactic measures this offseason to decrease his chance of injury.

He's wearing giant rubbers?

 

[Cheesebeef]

He's wearing giant rubbers?

40, i may disagree with pretty much everything you almost ever say, but I love you just the same. by far my favorite poster.

 

[TJ]

He's wearing giant rubbers?

Who said anything about them being "giant?"

 

[vinnymac]

I love this signing. This was a great move by the front office to sign a veteran pro-bowl qb for a saftey net. Great job front office.

 

[40yearfan]

In addition the Cards rushed for over 100 yards in 8 of their last 11 games (including the playoffs). By comparison in 2008 they had a stretch of 11 games where they failed to get over 65 yards in a game 8 times.

Watching the highlights on NFL.com of the last few games really shows how the run game was improving and really makes me feel positive about that aspect of the offense going into this fall.

I think we'll see more games like the Seattle game in 2006. Edge ran 26 times for 113 yards and Leinart was 21-34-2-1 with a 4th quarter TD pass to give the Cards the lead and AZ won 27-21.

On the strength of two Rackers field goals.

 

[Duckjake]

On the strength of two Rackers field goals.

That he kicked with no pressure whatsoever. Gimme's that Cardsfanmd could have made.

 

[40yearfan]

That he kicked with no pressure whatsoever. Gimme's that Cardsfanmd could have made.

Speaking of that, didn't he have a bet with somebody about that? Did it ever go off?