How did #7 going to the media have anything to do with Max Hall being good in OTAs? That doesn't make any sense at all. #7 would be the starting quarterback right now if he didn't turn back and talk to the media that day. I firmly believe that.
That being said, if #7 were still on the roster, don't you think there'd be turmoil in the media and maybe in the lockerroom right now? Maybe the team didn't believe that #7 could win games, but now they know that Derek Anderson isn't going to win games for them, and will probably lose some. Even "Captain Checkdown" would have converted one third down last weekend. There would be a lot of eyes turning to #7 if he were still here. There aren't a lot of eyes turning to Max Hall right now, which is a good thing for Ken Whisenhunt.
When I said NFL competition I was meaning in the preseason in games that weren't against the fourth and fifth teams of the Washington Redskins. Maybe you didn't get to watch those games, but Max Hall looked impressive on the stat sheet, but not to someone who can see how that kind of play will translate against the #1s around the NFL. He'd be eaten alive against this level of competition because he doesn't have the arm to get the ball there in time.
I don't think that Whis moved Hall to #2 to spite #7. I didn't say that. You know I didn't. Whis installed Hall as the backup because he couldn't keep #7 as the backup and there was no one else on the roster to fill that role. It was that or go into the regular season with 2 QBs--one of whom played at Fordham last year.
Matt was unhappy because he got demoted. He got demoted because the coach didn't think the team believed he could do the job(among other things).
Demoting Matt didn't cause the team to lose faith in him, apparently they already had. And one of the reasons Whiz felt he could demote Matt, knowing full well Matt might want out if he did, was because Max Hall impressed him so much.
I watched every preseason game, I saw virtually every snap Max Hall took. I also know that Whiz is not the only person who disagrees with you about Max Hall, so does Jon Gruden, so does Ron Jaworski, so does Steve Young, so apparently does Billick(he mentioned today on NFL Net he thinks Hall will take the job from DA because he's picked up the system so quickly.)
They might all be wrong, but if it's so obvious that Max can't make the throws to play in the NFL, how come so many people who earn a living from the NFL seem to think he can?
If it was just Whiz that would be obvious, he's practicing CYA, but a lot of people who don't care if Whiz looks bad or not are agreeing with him.
Dan Arkush of PFW said a "Cardinal Insider" told him they would rather not start Hall right now but he will be the frontrunner to start in 2011. That the Cards were so excited by Hall that it played a role in them deciding to release Leinart. They are apparently polar opposites, Hall is very self confident, in your face, Matt wasn't, apparently their teammates picked up on that and it played a big role in Matt's demotion(again the team didn't believe in him). Arkush quotes him as saying he doesn't have a great arm, but it's good enough.
Mike Sando who everyone seems to like here is on record predicting Hall will start at some point this year.
It's not just because everybody believes DA can't play, it's because people believe Max Hall CAN play.
He'll make mistakes, he threw too many picks in college, he takes chances, but everyone that talks about the kid says the same thing he sees the game at a different speed than most rookie QB's, he's old for a rookie and he plays older than a rookie.
