Rate Leinart's year....

[Divide Et Impera]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=7759

Now that we know that his rookie year is over, give him a grade. Below categories are based on starts only, thus excluding the ATL game....

Noteable stats:

4 Wins
11 TDs
2 Rushing TDs
11.9 yards per completion
6.76 yards per attempt
2574 total passing yards
7 games of 60%+ completion percentage
405 yards in Week 12 vs. MIN (rookie record)
4 games with TD and no Int
3 games with 100+ QB rating

Dubious stats:

7 losses
11 Ints
2 games of under 50% completion percentage
3 games with Int and no TD
4 games with less than 60 QB rating
Overall QB rating of 74 (very average rating)

 

[dreamcastrocks]

For a rookie.

B+

 

[Divide Et Impera]

I'm myopic, so I gave him an A. If I could remove my bias, I would probably have given him a B....

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Since B+ wasn't an option, I gave him an A.

 

[Mulli]

Since he is the best QB ever to play the game, A.

 

[Billy Flynt]

For a rookie whose OL was tragic for the majority of the season: B.

He's made some of his own mistakes but for the most part he has played well above any rookie standard for QB.

 

[Goldfield]

Not a full minicamp/preseason, bad Oline in begining of year. Rookie. half the year no running game...

Gave him an A.

 

[RedViper]

Not a full minicamp/preseason, bad Oline in begining of year. Rookie. half the year no running game...

Gave him an A.

Exactly. To me its a no brainer given the situation he got and what he did with it.

 

[Zeno]

I gave him a B...just lacks a little consistency. He misses some open WRs a little too often and makes the WRs attempt difficult catches more than he should.

My early prediction for next year....3500 yds passing, 28 TDs 15 Ints 62%

 

[football karma]

In context of how other rookie qb's play in their first season -- he did great

I think next year at this time, nobody will be satisfied with a QB rating in the 70s.

Heck -- look at Alex Smith's first year -- utter disaster. In his second year, he put up numbers pretty similiar to Leinart's this year (and with the benefit of a 1500 yard rusher) and people in SF think he has proven he is the guy. Yikes.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

In contest of how other rookie qb's play in their first season -- he did great

I think if its next year at this time, nobody will be satisfied with a QB rating in the 70s.

Agreed. I expect a 2:1 TD/INT ratio, which should put him in the 90s.

 

[seesred]

If you see the growth game to game, I would say he is the best the Cardianls have seen in Arizona and with more upside than Lomax. I give him an A+ considering all the changes and missing Fitz and an O line for part of his short year.

GBR
40

 

[az jam]

I gave him a solid B.

 

[Indiana Hoosier]

Guys and Gals, we have a "STAR" in the making. Full training camp, "Look Out Next Year"!

 

[Cardiac]

Anyone who gives Leinart less then an A must be forgetting that he is a Rookie. For a Rookie QB to perform this well is extremely rare. Then factor in the Oline and coaching mess and you have to be thrilled with what he has accomplished.

Maybe everyone is still holding him to one of the most NFL ready QB's to enter the league in....well maybe ever. That's why Matt hasn't sucked behind an Oline that was the worst in the league with no running game and horrible pass protection. Change in OC's which took away some of the one on one coaching he would have received.

I challenge anyone to come up with 5 QB's who played better in their rookie year in the past 25 years.

My concerns about Matt are his durability and arm strength. These are the same concerns on why he dropped in the draft.

 

[ajcardfan]

My concerns about Matt are his durability and arm strength. These are the same concerns on why he dropped in the draft.

I think he's proven his arm strength is more than adequate. He's shown good velocity when need be and he has a nice long ball.

 

[Cardiac]

I think he's proven his arm strength is more than adequate. He's shown good velocity when need be and he has a nice long ball.

I think we can both agree that Matt doesn't have a rocket for an arm. There have been a couple of throws that didn't have enough zip on them to ensure the completion. I should qualify my comment that I'm not overly concerned about his arm strength. I did give him an A for his performance this year.

 

[Divide Et Impera]

Well, Peyton Manning had 26 TDs his rookie year. Unfortunately for him, he also had 28 picks and a slightly lower QB rating. But, you could argue that he had a much better year than Leinart.

Leinart had a very comparable year to Palmer's rookie campaign.

Those are the only 2 active QBs that you can reasonably compare rookie seasons with. Plummer actually had a comparable season, too. I guess that's pretty lofty company, though....

 

[Cardiac]

Well, Peyton Manning had 26 TDs his rookie year. Unfortunately for him, he also had 28 picks and a slightly lower QB rating. But, you could argue that he had a much better year than Leinart.

Leinart had a very comparable year to Palmer's rookie campaign.

Those are the only 2 active QBs that you can reasonably compare rookie seasons with. Plummer actually had a comparable season, too. I guess that's pretty lofty company, though....

If I'm not mistaken Palmer sat his first year behind Kitna.

So that leaves Manning, I guess we agree that Leinart has had an incredible rookie campaign.

 

[PJ1]

Had to give him an A. This is a position that can take a long time to develop. Matt has shown he is capable of winning now.

 

[Stallion]

I gave him a C because I think he'll be great next year. Guess I didn't use a rookie grading curve.

Now it's time to figure out the GM/coach situation and spend money on the O-line and D.

Go Cards.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

i love matty and would have given him an A- for his year (due to being a rook), but if y'all are trying to compare rookie seasons how can y'all overlook vince young right now??? the dude is just outrageous. his passing numbers may not measure up to the matty's, but he also has dogmeat receivers, his legs are making incredible plays, and he's winning with a team that was left for dead. am i saying i would want young over matty? hmm, i'm just saying i'd be happy with either one . . .

 

[Skkorpion]

Matt gets a C- from me. He played a couple of stinker games at Raiders and Green Bay where I thought he played scared. In terms of results, both Vince Young and Cutler outplayed him.

The other thing that worries me more is his fragility. He injures too easily.

 

[Cardiac]

i love matty and would have given him an A- for his year (due to being a rook), but if y'all are trying to compare rookie seasons how can y'all overlook vince young right now??? the dude is just outrageous. his passing numbers may not measure up to the matty's, but he also has dogmeat receivers, his legs are making incredible plays, and he's winning with a team that was left for dead. am i saying i would want young over matty? hmm, i'm just saying i'd be happy with either one . . .

Simply amazing what the Titans have achieved this year. I give more credit to Coach Fischer but since I haven't watched any of their games I can't argue against VY.

 

[Divide Et Impera]

If I'm not mistaken Palmer sat his first year behind Kitna.

So that leaves Manning, I guess we agree that Leinart has had an incredible rookie campaign.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/stats?playerId=4459

According to this link, he at least played (if not started) 13 games....