Compare Leinart against any two winning QBs you select, does he match up in talent? Does he throw with accuracy? Can he pick a defense apart? Can he lead this team to a playoff or Superbowl? It seems to me that we're light years away unless Leinart starts playing at another level when he returns.
The easiest question to answer is the playoff/Super Bowl one and that answer is yes...mainly because of the surrounding talent and current coaching staff. Leinart, IMO, is not good enough to lift the entire offense on his shoulders and carry it (and you can say that about alot of great QBs).
I think Leinart has the physical talent to match up with alot of the winning QB's out there but I will allow for the fact that he is still growing into the NFL game so while he is not at their level, I think he can achieve what alot of the winning QBs have done over time.
Honestly, I question his mental toughness/ability and that may hamper his physical skills in the end.
I am slowly starting to question his early penchant for getting hurt in the NFL. He can have all the skills in the world but if he cannot stay on the field for entire seasons, the skills are wasted on the Cards (or any other NFL team).
He is in a difficult leadership position because Kurt is around. Kurt not only has earned a ton of respect around the lockerroom (and league) but I think the players look to Kurt in times of crisis long before they look to Matt. That will be an issue until Kurt is gone...or Matt starts playing decent.
Picking a defense apart requires good coaching, even better play calling and then executing those plays. There are times Rex Grossman or Josh McCown have picked apart defenses and Matt is probably (hopefully) better than them so I think at some point the game will become easy for Matt and you will see him dissect more defenses.
Next year is make or break for Matt, assuming he wins his starting job back...if the Cards make the playoffs this year, he may have to earn the job back from Kurt.
