Harry
ASFN Consultant and Senior Writer
I noticed a few recent threads labeling him a bust. For the most part it’s hard to argue he wasn’t. In one of my recent posts I talked about first round QBs ruined by their teams. I’d put Leinart in that category. Leinart could have come out a year earlier and might have been the first QB selected. No one doubted his athletic abilities, but in his final year at USC they must have set a record for drops. The dropoff in record was unfairly tied to Leinart and in the draft he fell to the Cards at ten. A bright guy (98th percentile on the Wonderlic), he wanted to be paid on ability, not draft slot. He held out, eventually signing after the Cards openly said they were losing patience.
The Cards already had Warner, but he hadn’t recovered his confidence after the NY debacle. With him struggling Leinart got his chance. He started game 5 and threw for 2 TDs, completing 22 of 35 attempts. The next week against the Bears he threw for 2 first half TDs, completing 24 of 42. Despite throwing no interceptions in that game, Dennis Green got very conservative and lost the game 24-23. After the game Green exploded and the Cards were never the same. The team was in shock the next couple of games and Leinart’s completion percentage dropped to 40 in both games. Leinart’s next game against the Boys was slightly better, but in the 3 games Leinart threw for only 1 TD and 5 interceptions.
In the final 6 games Leinart returned to his best form. He completed more than 60% of his passes, setting a Cardinal rookie record for passing yards in a game (405) and for a rookie season (2547). The Cards won 4 of those 6 games. Overall he completed 57% of his throws for the season.
Predictably Green was fired and Whisenhunt brought in a new offense. He and Leinart were never really on the same page and Whisenhunt seemed to desire the experience of Warner. Leinart lost 2 road games and won both home games. In the next game Leinart suffered a broken collarbone and Leinart wouldn’t start again for more than 2 years. It’s certainly important to add Warner played great. When Leinart did finally start against Tennessee, he lost a tough game even though he completed nearly 68% of his passes. I’ve heard he was promised the starting job would be his when Warner retired. However when Leinart played poorly in the following preseason the job was given to Derek Anderson. Anderson was so bad Max Hall eventually replaced him. Anderson was released after being caught on TV laughing at the Cards’ poor play.
Leinart kicked around a couple more years but was never the same. I’m not certain he would have led the Cards to numerous victories but I think he might have been a successful QB.
The Cards already had Warner, but he hadn’t recovered his confidence after the NY debacle. With him struggling Leinart got his chance. He started game 5 and threw for 2 TDs, completing 22 of 35 attempts. The next week against the Bears he threw for 2 first half TDs, completing 24 of 42. Despite throwing no interceptions in that game, Dennis Green got very conservative and lost the game 24-23. After the game Green exploded and the Cards were never the same. The team was in shock the next couple of games and Leinart’s completion percentage dropped to 40 in both games. Leinart’s next game against the Boys was slightly better, but in the 3 games Leinart threw for only 1 TD and 5 interceptions.
In the final 6 games Leinart returned to his best form. He completed more than 60% of his passes, setting a Cardinal rookie record for passing yards in a game (405) and for a rookie season (2547). The Cards won 4 of those 6 games. Overall he completed 57% of his throws for the season.
Predictably Green was fired and Whisenhunt brought in a new offense. He and Leinart were never really on the same page and Whisenhunt seemed to desire the experience of Warner. Leinart lost 2 road games and won both home games. In the next game Leinart suffered a broken collarbone and Leinart wouldn’t start again for more than 2 years. It’s certainly important to add Warner played great. When Leinart did finally start against Tennessee, he lost a tough game even though he completed nearly 68% of his passes. I’ve heard he was promised the starting job would be his when Warner retired. However when Leinart played poorly in the following preseason the job was given to Derek Anderson. Anderson was so bad Max Hall eventually replaced him. Anderson was released after being caught on TV laughing at the Cards’ poor play.
Leinart kicked around a couple more years but was never the same. I’m not certain he would have led the Cards to numerous victories but I think he might have been a successful QB.
