Leinart has turned me into a believer

[Feeble Mcjackson]

Let me start this out with a little bit of background. I went to school at the University of Oklahoma and in my senior year I flew to Miami only to see USC and Leinart completely dismantle my Sooners. After watching him play that game it gave me a newfound respect for Matt but also a deep animosity for the guy who beat my team for the NC.

When the Cardinals drafted Leinart I was excited because I knew he had the ability but at the same time that animosity was lingering in the back of my head and never could fully back him.

Now after watching Matt as a cardinal for three years I have seen some ups and some downs in his career but the way he took his demotion and fully supported this team without crying or whining started to win me over. Now you read about him doing intense MMA training with Jay Glazer and the way he talks about his situation it has finally made me a believer in the guy.

I'm not saying he should start or anything, and of course I believe Kurt Warner is the better player. All i'm saying is that Leinart is gonna bide his time, not complain, and one day be the starting QB the Arizona Cardinals always wanted him to be and that gets me excited.

 

[IAWarnerFan]

Well put!
I'm a Warnerphile right now and hopefully will get to be for the next two years, but when he retires I could easily see myself as a Leinartphile. I believe he will turn his career around when he takes over the starting QB spot from Kurt Warner.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

What took you so long ?


:fireball:

 

[Perfectionist]

I am proud of Matt, wish he would have seen the light a fews years back. But I guess that is what maturing is about.

 

[freebyrd]

like i said in another post our situation at QB is very much like the 9ers of the 80's with steve young riding the bench behind montana young soaked up everything like a sponge and you can see matt doing the same thing

when his time comes hes gonna be great watch

 

[chickenhead]

I'm liking what I'm seeing, too. This is the NFL: starters go into slumps, get hurt, etc. His era could begin at any time. He needs to be ready.

 

[SuperSpck]

His summer checklist has been pretty solid:

1) Working with Tom Brady, a Hall-of-fame QB.
2) Spending time with his new OC to get things like footwork improved.
3) Diversified training in the form of MMA. Some players, like Herschel Walker, took ballet, whereas other players have been known to take yoga and other outside activities to find an edge on the field. Regardless of what they choose, it's a sign of dedication to improvement that's encouraging.

 

[seesred]

He is still a young guy. But I think he is ready now and when his time comes it will be his team to lose. When he came to us he was a kid. He still did many good things on the field. Warner is Warner, Hall of fame QB. How far Matt goes will depend not on his talent as much as his ability to lead. This guy has talent.

GBR
40

 

[Arizona's Finest]

I think I am starting to come around to him too......

 

[bigredjane]

Matt has been-

taking Yoga at a studio in Paradise Valley! My son has a Yoga School in Chandler, he is also a big Cards fan and he heard it on the "Yoga Grapevine"!!

 

[devilalum]

I hope Leinart is making growth. As we all know he is one play from being the Cards starting QB.

 

[Skkorpion]

I hate to break up this premature love-fest but Leinart's participation in faddish MMA training tells me nothing about whether Matt has improved his lousy footwork mechanics.

Yoga can't hurt. Matt spent an entire semester at USC enrolled in one class - ballroom dancing. So yoga qualifies even though we know ballroom dancing did nothing for Matt's football footwork. Maybe peaceful no-motion will teach him more about placing his feet than a saucy Samba dance or a less frenetic Tango.

What matters is whether Leinart can direct our offense well and hit the correct receiver in stride. Then and only then, will I believe.

Carry on.

 

[Perfectionist]

I hate to break up this premature love-fest but Leinart's participation in faddish MMA training tells me nothing about whether Matt has improved his lousy footwork mechanics.

Yoga can't hurt. Matt spent an entire semester at USC enrolled in one class - ballroom dancing. So yoga qualifies even though we know ballroom dancing did nothing for Matt's football footwork. Maybe peaceful no-motion will teach him more about placing his feet than a saucy Samba dance or a less frenetic Tango.

What matters is whether Leinart can direct our offense well and hit the correct receiver in stride. Then and only then, will I believe.

Carry on.

That is true, but I feel many of us think the transformation of party boy to serious athlete is great. The kid has had talent and now he might have a chance to succeed when he gets a chance.

 

[Skkorpion]

That is true, but I feel many of us think the transformation of party boy to serious athlete is great. The kid has had talent and now he might have a chance to succeed when he gets a chance.

I agree too. The maturity seems real. It's the offseason and I was feeling cantankerous.

 

[Gaddabout]

I hate to break up this premature love-fest but Leinart's participation in faddish MMA training tells me nothing about whether Matt has improved his lousy footwork mechanics.

Yoga can't hurt. Matt spent an entire semester at USC enrolled in one class - ballroom dancing. So yoga qualifies even though we know ballroom dancing did nothing for Matt's football footwork. Maybe peaceful no-motion will teach him more about placing his feet than a saucy Samba dance or a less frenetic Tango.

What matters is whether Leinart can direct our offense well and hit the correct receiver in stride. Then and only then, will I believe.

Carry on.

Thank you! I was saying this when he was at USC that it would be a problem for him as a pro, but USC fans drowned me out. At USC, maybe 75 percent of his drops were 3-step. They rarely broke out of that mode because the goal of the offense was to get the ball out of the QBs hands as quickly as possible (true West Coast football).

You can see his footwork problems on the deep drops, where his ball tails, drags, and generally doesn't get to where it needs to be. His arm strength is fine, but his footwork was killing his accuracy on anything further downfield than 15 yards. The mechanics of quarterbacking rely so much on what's going on below the waist, and you can't be out there thinking about footwork. It has to be instinctive, intuitive.

I'll withhold judgment on what goes on between his ears. If he can even begin to approach Warner's accuracy, he should be fine.

 

[lobo]

I agree too. The maturity seems real. It's the offseason and I was feeling cantankerous.

From my point of view he is going to exceed the expectations of most. It appears he is going about things the right way and also appears to be taking guidance the way it should be taken. When his time comes he will be ready to dance.

 

[Feeble Mcjackson]

ironically i was up late and caught a replay of NFL total access and they asked Sapp and Dukes who will have a better career, VY or Leinart and both picked VY. So they would rather have the locker room cancer with mental problem that has suicidal tendencies then the guy working hard and maturing before our eyes? I can't wait till Leinart proves them wrong or VY self implodes, which ever comes first.

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

ironically i was up late and caught a replay of NFL total access and they asked Sapp and Dukes who will have a better career, VY or Leinart and both picked VY. So they would rather have the locker room cancer with mental problem that has suicidal tendencies then the guy working hard and maturing before our eyes? I can't wait till Leinart proves them wrong or VY self implodes, which ever comes first.

Anything Dukes and Sapp give an opinion on you should completely dis-regard. They are usually completely wrong, and don't really base any of their opinions on facts. They probably feel bad for Vince Young because he can't count to 10 without using his fingers for reference.

 

[chickenhead]

I think a lot of the love for Matt is relief. A big change from worrying he'd be a bust. I still think we were incredibly fortunate that he fell to #10. One thing I really like about our QB situation is the stability. There's been a lot of musical chairs at the QB position throughout the league. I'm happy the Cards aren't part of it for once.