Somers Take on the night

[Renz]

Whiz picked the right QB when he went with "washed-up" Kurt Warner; I hope he picks the right QB again. If he wants "washed-up" DA, I'm with him.

I think to be "washed up" you had to actually be good in the first place. Like was stated in another thread, during Anderson's one good season as a starter he actually had about 3 really good games and that's it. Even then he threw 19 picks that year.

If Whiz is actually giddy over Anderson's performace this preseason then he must have exceptionally low standards. Anderson had a chance last night to grab hold of the starter's job and he never came close to doing that, IMO.

 

[MrYeahBut]

Blah blah blah Captain Checkdown blah blah blah.

As I stated in another thread....

Quit stealing my nickname.

Sincerely,

Y.A. Tittle

 

[SunsTzu]

This line of reasoning continues to fly in the face of reality. Last night Derek Anderson averaged 7.83 yards per attempt.

And for the entire pre-season DA is at 5.4 yds/att while Leinart is at 7 yds/att. Add in the ints and comp% I don't see how anyone could argue who's been better this pre-season.

 

[Duckjake]

Other things that came out of that blog:

Abdullah starting ahead of Ware. Abdullah looks to be a much better tackler than most of the other DBs. Makes the classic form tackle instead of just flying into the ball carrier with his shoulder. I noticed that during the Titans game.

Beanie appears to be having issues holding on to the ball again.

And finally the comment about the offensive line. In addition to what Somers wrote it should be noted that the Bears were without all three of their starting linebackers and the Cards still had trouble running the football. Levi Brown looked lost again. Though I will admit it was hard to really tell much about the line play watching the internet feed so I will reassess after this afternoon's replay.

 

[82CardsGrad]

seems to be working in GB

Ha! Good call Bucky... Rogers is amazing...

 

[az jam]

Too much Matt love here for me. He's got a soft arm, looks scared in the pocket, moves the ball four yards when the Cardinals need nine, and doesn't inspire his teammates. He's a dink-and-dump QB who was saved by the system at USC (and his two RBs).

You're right, his completion percentage is good. When a QB makes most of his passes under five yards, percentages will soar. The argument that he needs to start because he's been here so long is weak. If he'd outplayed Warner, he'd have stayed our starter. (And Warner wasn't "Future HOF'er Kurt Warner" when he showed up here. He was "over-the-hill Kurt Warner". He had to fight past the doubters for the job.)

If you missed the first couple of preseason games, ask someone for a tape and watch 'em. Leinart started those games, had every opportunity to dazzle, and impressed no one. Worse, he thought he did just fine both games.

Whiz picked the right QB when he went with "washed-up" Kurt Warner; I hope he picks the right QB again. If he wants "washed-up" DA, I'm with him.

I agree with your comments. Matt played good yesterday but all his passes are short and over the middle. Our receivers are going to get killed with him as the QB. He also holds the ball too long thus taking sacks. Everyone brings up the yards per attempt but if you look at the yards per catch DA outshines him by far as he has a much stronger arm. Sorry but I got off the Leinart bandwagon last year when Whisenhunt gave him playing time when we had big leads and had to reinsert Warner as Leinart flopped. I know that I am in the minority here, but I just don't like Leinart. (Just my opinion.)

 

[daves]

Blah blah blah Captain Checkdown blah blah blah.

Yeah i was going to start a whole thread about this "Captain Checkdown" nonsense (not sure where that started - looks like profootballtalk or rotoworld based on this preseason's play) but i don't have the time or energy for that. So i'll just post the stats that i compiled from this preseason, which pretty much say it all.

First are the "standard" stats for each game and for the entire pre-season, then are stats i compiled by going through the gamebooks and determining how many passes by each QB were targeted toward WRs, TEs, or RBs, and how many of these were completed. It seemed reasonable to include targets and completions on plays that were nullified by penalties and 2-point conversions in this set of stats.

Of course, statistics don't tell the whole story, we can't know what play was called or who was the primary receiver. And clearly, Leinart's longest throw was shorter than the other QB's longest throws. But compared to Anderson, Leinart has a 25% (!) higher completion %, 40-points higher rating (!!), targeted WRs 1% more, TEs 4% more, and RBs 6% less (rounding error). He's completed 20% more passes to WRs, 6% more to TEs, and 3% fewer to RBs. He has 1.6 more yards per attempt and 0 int's vs. 2. The TD% is about the same. But Anderson does have 0.8 yards more per completion.

Draw your own conclusions!

vs. HOU   Att  Cmp   %  Yds   Y/A   Y/C  TD  Int Rating
========= ===  === ===  ===  ====  ====  ==  === ======
Leinart    7    6  86%   49   7.0   8.2   0   0   95.8
Anderson  22   13  59%   88   4.0   6.8   1   2   45.3
Skelton    6    5  83%   84  14.0  16.8   1   0  158.3
--------  ---  --- ---  ---  ----  ----  --  --- ------
Team      35   24  69%  221   6.3   9.2   2   2

@ TEN     Att  Cmp   %  Yds   Y/A   Y/C  TD  Int Rating
========= ===  === ===  ===  ====  ====  ==  === ======
Leinart    6    4  67%   28   4.7   7.0   0   0   77.1
Anderson  19   11  58%  105   5.5   9.5   0   0   73.4
Hall      15    7  47%  101   6.7  14.4   1   1   63.5
--------  ---  --- ---  ---  ----  ----  --  --- ------
Team      40   22  55%  234   5.9  10.6   1   1

@ CHI     Att  Cmp   %  Yds   Y/A   Y/C  TD  Int Rating
========= ===  === ===  ===  ====  ====  ==  === ======
Leinart   10    9  90%   84   8.4    9.3  1   0  135.0
Anderson  12    7  58%   94   7.8   13.4  1   0  111.0
Skelton    6    3  50%   38   6.3   12.7  0   0   70.1
Hall       3    2  67%   58  19.3   29.0  0   0  109.7
--------  ---  --- ---  ---  ----  ----  --  --- ------
Team      31   21  68%  274   8.8   13.0  2   0

Total     Att  Cmp   %  Yds   Y/A   Y/C  TD  Int Rating
========= ===  === ===  ===  ====  ====  ==  === ======
Leinart    23  19  83%  161   7.0   8.5   1   0  110.3
Anderson   53  31  58%  287   5.4   9.3   2   2   70.2
Skelton    12   8  67%  122  10.2  15.3   1   0  127.8
Hall       18   9  50%  159   8.8  17.7   1   1   75.9
--------  ---  --- ---  ---  ----  ----  --  --- ------
Team      106  67  63%  729   6.9  10.9   5   3


          Att Null by Pen   _________Targets________    _______Completions______
vs. HOU   + 2-pt Conv Att   WR   %   TE   %   RB   %    WR   %   TE   %   RB   %
========= ===============   ======   ======   ======    ======   ======   ======
Leinart          0           3 43%    2 29%    2 29%     3 43%    1 14%   2  29%
Anderson         2          14 58%    5 21%    5 21%     7 29%    3 13%   5  21%
Skelton          2           6 75%    0  0%    2 25%     3 38%    0  0%   2  25%
--------- ---------------   ------   ------   ------    ------   ------   ------
Team             4          23 59%    7 18%    9 23%    13 33%    4 10%   9  23%

          Att Null by Pen   _________Targets________    _______Completions______
@ TEN     + 2-pt Conv Att   WR   %   TE   %   RB   %    WR   %   TE   %   RB   %
========= ===============   ======   ======   ======    ======   ======   ======
Leinart          0           5 83%    1 17%    0  0%     3 50%    1 17%    0  0%
Anderson         1          14 70%    1  5%    5 25%     6 30%    0  0%    5 25%
Hall             1          15 94%    1  6%    0  0%     7 44%    1  6%    0  0%
--------- ---------------   ------   ------   ------    ------   ------   ------
Team             2          34 81%    3  7%    5 12%    16 38%    2  5%    5 12%

          Att Null by Pen   _________Targets________    _______Completions______
@ CHI     + 2-pt Conv Att   WR   %   TE   %   RB   %    WR   %   TE   %   RB   %
========= ===============   ======   ======   ======    ======   ======   ======
Leinart         0            7 70%    1 10%    2 20%     6 60%    1 10%    2 20%
Anderson        0            8 67%    1  8%    3 25%     5 42%    1  8%    1  8%
Skelton         0            5 83%    0  0%    1 17%     2 33%    0  0%    1 17%
Hall            0            3 100%   0  0%    0  0%     2 67%    0  0%    0  0%
--------- ---------------   ------   ------   ------    ------   ------   ------
Team            0           23 74%    2  6%    6 19%    15 48%    2  6%    4 13%

          Att Null by Pen   _________Targets________    _______Completions______
Total     + 2-pt Conv Att   WR   %   TE   %   RB   %    WR   %   TE   %   RB   %
========= ===============   ======   ======   ======    ======   ======   ======
Leinart         0           15 65%    4 17%    4 17%    12 52%    3 13%    4 17%
Anderson        3           36 64%    7 13%   13 23%    18 32%    4  7%   11 20%
Skelton         2           11 79%    0  0%    3 21%     5 36%    0  0%    3 21%
Hall            1           18 95%    1  5%    0  0%     9 47%    1  5%    0  0%
--------- ---------------   ------   ------   ------    ------   ------   ------
Team            6           80 71%   12 11%   20 18%    44 39%    8  7%   18 16%

A few other things that stand out: the rookies have targeted WRs more than either vet, and have very high Y/A and Y/C. Skelton's completion %, passer rating, and INT% are WAY better than Hall's.

...dave

 

[b8rtm8nn]

I agree with your comments. Matt played good yesterday but all his passes are short and over the middle. Our receivers are going to get killed with him as the QB. He also holds the ball too long thus taking sacks. Everyone brings up the yards per attempt but if you look at the yards per catch DA outshines him by far as he has a much stronger arm. Sorry but I got off the Leinart bandwagon last year when Whisenhunt gave him playing time when we had big leads and had to reinsert Warner as Leinart flopped. I know that I am in the minority here, but I just don't like Leinart. (Just my opinion.)

I'm not a big Leinart fan either, but given how positions flow, I think he has won the pre-season battle to start the season (given that they called him the starter earlier). I don't care if he gets pulled as the started in game 2 or 3 if he doesn't perform, but I think if DA is made the starter game 1, this situation backfires.

To lose a starting position you have to actually start, they should have never announced him the starter if it was going to be an open competition, IMO

 

[kerouac9]

And finally the comment about the offensive line. In addition to what Somers wrote it should be noted that the Bears were without all three of their starting linebackers and the Cards still had trouble running the football. Levi Brown looked lost again. Though I will admit it was hard to really tell much about the line play watching the internet feed so I will reassess after this afternoon's replay.

Yup. And Mark Anderson wasn't there to challenge Brandon Keith on the other side.

It's weird how often you'll look at the OL in the middle of running plays and they'll just be standing there looking around. You'll see this especially with Levi Brown, who on one run seemed surprised that Hightower got out of the pile and was suddenly standing next to him looking for someone to block.

Levi Brown chose to block nobody. Perhaps part of Russ Grimm's coaching is that you don't play to the whistle.

 

[az jam]

I'm not a big Leinart fan either, but given how positions flow, I think he has won the pre-season battle to start the season (given that they called him the starter earlier). I don't care if he gets pulled as the started in game 2 or 3 if he doesn't perform, but I think if DA is made the starter game 1, this situation backfires.

To lose a starting position you have to actually start, they should have never announced him the starter if it was going to be an open competition, IMO

I understand what your saying but Whisenhunt has been very hesitant on really proclaiming Leinart as the guy. He has gotten a very weak endorsement but you are right that he was considered the starter prior to the Bear game. But KW is the coach and believes in competition. In the post Bear game interview, he kept saying he wants to look at film tape and also that the game is not the only indicator on his decision. As you know, I'm not a big Leinart fan, but I'm not crazy about Anderson either. I just think that KW can coach him up and we will win with him. At least I hope so.

 

[cardsloco]

I watched the presser and did not see the "giddiness" that many of you had seen. He seemed pretty complimentary of both QB's, while he spent more time discussing Anderson, he had nothing negative to say about Leinart's play.

I gave up trying to read Wiz last year as he seems to keep everything bottled up and for the most part is even keeled. I do agree with the poster who reasoned that they have much more to lose if they start Anderson rather then Leinart. If Leinart does not start the season as the starter, he is officially done here forever, and we will never know what kind of player we have been paying all these years.

For the record I do not care who starts, but at this point I think Leinart has looked the best in the games and the practices I have watched. In the end I want to win, and will support whoever is doing that for us.

 

[D-Dogg]

Everyone brings up the yards per attempt but if you look at the yards per catch DA outshines him by far as he has a much stronger arm.

By far?

Yards per completion DA: 9.3
Yards per completion Toast: 8.5

Doesn't really back up the assertion that Leinart throws 3 yard passes and DA throws a bunch of bombs.

 

[Cardiac]

Yeah i was going to start a whole thread about this "Captain Checkdown" nonsense (not sure where that started - looks like profootballtalk or rotoworld based on this preseason's play) but i don't have the time or energy for that. So i'll just post the stats that i compiled from this preseason, which pretty much say it all.

First are the "standard" stats for each game and for the entire pre-season, then are stats i compiled by going through the gamebooks and determining how many passes by each QB were targeted toward WRs, TEs, or RBs, and how many of these were completed. It seemed reasonable to include targets and completions on plays that were nullified by penalties and 2-point conversions in this set of stats.

Of course, statistics don't tell the whole story, we can't know what play was called or who was the primary receiver. And clearly, Leinart's longest throw was shorter than the other QB's longest throws. But compared to Anderson, Leinart has a 25% (!) higher completion %, 40-points higher rating (!!), targeted WRs 1% more, TEs 4% more, and RBs 6% less (rounding error). He's completed 20% more passes to WRs, 6% more to TEs, and 3% fewer to RBs. He has 1.6 more yards per attempt and 0 int's vs. 2. The TD% is about the same. But Anderson does have 0.8 yards more per completion.

Draw your own conclusions!

vs. HOU   Att  Cmp   %  Yds   Y/A   Y/C  TD  Int Rating
========= ===  === ===  ===  ====  ====  ==  === ======
Leinart    7    6  86%   49   7.0   8.2   0   0   95.8
Anderson  22   13  59%   88   4.0   6.8   1   2   45.3
Skelton    6    5  83%   84  14.0  16.8   1   0  158.3
--------  ---  --- ---  ---  ----  ----  --  --- ------
Team      35   24  69%  221   6.3   9.2   2   2

@ TEN     Att  Cmp   %  Yds   Y/A   Y/C  TD  Int Rating
========= ===  === ===  ===  ====  ====  ==  === ======
Leinart    6    4  67%   28   4.7   7.0   0   0   77.1
Anderson  19   11  58%  105   5.5   9.5   0   0   73.4
Hall      15    7  47%  101   6.7  14.4   1   1   63.5
--------  ---  --- ---  ---  ----  ----  --  --- ------
Team      40   22  55%  234   5.9  10.6   1   1

@ CHI     Att  Cmp   %  Yds   Y/A   Y/C  TD  Int Rating
========= ===  === ===  ===  ====  ====  ==  === ======
Leinart   10    9  90%   84   8.4    9.3  1   0  135.0
Anderson  12    7  58%   94   7.8   13.4  1   0  111.0
Skelton    6    3  50%   38   6.3   12.7  0   0   70.1
Hall       3    2  67%   58  19.3   29.0  0   0  109.7
--------  ---  --- ---  ---  ----  ----  --  --- ------
Team      31   21  68%  274   8.8   13.0  2   0

Total     Att  Cmp   %  Yds   Y/A   Y/C  TD  Int Rating
========= ===  === ===  ===  ====  ====  ==  === ======
Leinart    23  19  83%  161   7.0   8.5   1   0  110.3
Anderson   53  31  58%  287   5.4   9.3   2   2   70.2
Skelton    12   8  67%  122  10.2  15.3   1   0  127.8
Hall       18   9  50%  159   8.8  17.7   1   1   75.9
--------  ---  --- ---  ---  ----  ----  --  --- ------
Team      106  67  63%  729   6.9  10.9   5   3


          Att Null by Pen   _________Targets________    _______Completions______
vs. HOU   + 2-pt Conv Att   WR   %   TE   %   RB   %    WR   %   TE   %   RB   %
========= ===============   ======   ======   ======    ======   ======   ======
Leinart          0           3 43%    2 29%    2 29%     3 43%    1 14%   2  29%
Anderson         2          14 58%    5 21%    5 21%     7 29%    3 13%   5  21%
Skelton          2           6 75%    0  0%    2 25%     3 38%    0  0%   2  25%
--------- ---------------   ------   ------   ------    ------   ------   ------
Team             4          23 59%    7 18%    9 23%    13 33%    4 10%   9  23%

          Att Null by Pen   _________Targets________    _______Completions______
@ TEN     + 2-pt Conv Att   WR   %   TE   %   RB   %    WR   %   TE   %   RB   %
========= ===============   ======   ======   ======    ======   ======   ======
Leinart          0           5 83%    1 17%    0  0%     3 50%    1 17%    0  0%
Anderson         1          14 70%    1  5%    5 25%     6 30%    0  0%    5 25%
Hall             1          15 94%    1  6%    0  0%     7 44%    1  6%    0  0%
--------- ---------------   ------   ------   ------    ------   ------   ------
Team             2          34 81%    3  7%    5 12%    16 38%    2  5%    5 12%

          Att Null by Pen   _________Targets________    _______Completions______
@ CHI     + 2-pt Conv Att   WR   %   TE   %   RB   %    WR   %   TE   %   RB   %
========= ===============   ======   ======   ======    ======   ======   ======
Leinart         0            7 70%    1 10%    2 20%     6 60%    1 10%    2 20%
Anderson        0            8 67%    1  8%    3 25%     5 42%    1  8%    1  8%
Skelton         0            5 83%    0  0%    1 17%     2 33%    0  0%    1 17%
Hall            0            3 100%   0  0%    0  0%     2 67%    0  0%    0  0%
--------- ---------------   ------   ------   ------    ------   ------   ------
Team            0           23 74%    2  6%    6 19%    15 48%    2  6%    4 13%

          Att Null by Pen   _________Targets________    _______Completions______
Total     + 2-pt Conv Att   WR   %   TE   %   RB   %    WR   %   TE   %   RB   %
========= ===============   ======   ======   ======    ======   ======   ======
Leinart         0           15 65%    4 17%    4 17%    12 52%    3 13%    4 17%
Anderson        3           36 64%    7 13%   13 23%    18 32%    4  7%   11 20%
Skelton         2           11 79%    0  0%    3 21%     5 36%    0  0%    3 21%
Hall            1           18 95%    1  5%    0  0%     9 47%    1  5%    0  0%
--------- ---------------   ------   ------   ------    ------   ------   ------
Team            6           80 71%   12 11%   20 18%    44 39%    8  7%   18 16%

A few other things that stand out: the rookies have targeted WRs more than either vet, and have very high Y/A and Y/C. Skelton's completion %, passer rating, and INT% are WAY better than Hall's.

...dave

You need to post more often. Just keeping it real.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

ML benefited from YAC on many throws last night. Those extra yards will not always be there. 2 minute drill the CB's play off the WR's and there is room to run. So his yards per completion will look better than it is.

DA does look down field and can throw long. This keeps the defense thinking about the long ball which benefits the offense. Definitely an erratic thrower and has very little touch on the ball.

Haven't seen ML look or throw long all preseason which does not help his cause.

I have always been hard on ML . (USC fan and expect a lot out of him). Waiting for him to show me that he can play on a consistent basis and get mentally focused. He has the tools, but lacks the mental part of the game.

So it boils down to a QB with no confidence or a guy with a big erratic arm. Which to choose?

 

[SunsTzu]

So it boils down to a QB with no confidence or a guy with a big erratic arm. Which to choose?

The one that's vastly out preformed the other and has a QB rating 40 points higher.

 

[Evil Ash]

ML benefited from YAC on many throws last night. Those extra yards will not always be there. 2 minute drill the CB's play off the WR's and there is room to run. So his yards per completion will look better than it is.

He was taking what was given to him. The Bears play Cover 2. Short passes are the way to consistently beat the cover 2 as the CB plays off the WRs to make sure they don't get beat deep.

 

[D-Dogg]

ML benefited from YAC on many throws last night.

So did DA. He also benefited from some fantastic adjustments by 14 on inaccurate passes. Last night neither QB looked downfield much, and basically both have only looked deep a couple of times, DA hit 14 once deep and Toast missed him once deep off PA.

 

[nashman]

Exactly Donald people act like DA has been tearing it up via the Longball which is total BS. He threw one deep ball to 14 that looked good ALL PRESEASON. Look people we don't have a bunch of deep threats on this team not sure what the hell everyone is thinking. We can be a very successful team running a WCO like we have been which is why we have been in the playoffs. In order to do that we need an accurate passer like .....Matt Leinart jesus what the hell is Whiz watching or getting ready to do to this team? Its really just unbelievable at this point!

 

[Cards_Campos]

The only thing that makes sense is that Whiz must see Warner in Anderson. Remember when Warner came here...the big knock on him from people here was...Big Stats but turnover prone. Warner would throw into coverage just to make a play. I think Whiz sees potential in Anderson...and for some reason thinks Leinart has tapped out. I didn't really care who started but Leinart did play very well Yesterday. And his stats are impressive.

The only thing I hope is that if Whiz starts Anderson(Which is my guess)...then we need to use Anderson's positives....We need to throw deep 4+ times a game to FItz, Breaston, and Williams.

We have a major WR core when We goto 4 WR set. I mean that may be the thing Whiz sees.....If we goto a 4 WR set Matt always checks down to the 6 yard pass....While Anderson goes for the deep ball....He may like that gunslinger way....

 

[Cards_Campos]

Exactly Donald people act like DA has been tearing it up via the Longball which is total BS. He threw one deep ball to 14 that looked good ALL PRESEASON. Look people we don't have a bunch of deep threats on this team not sure what the hell everyone is thinking. We can be a very successful team running a WCO like we have been which is why we have been in the playoffs. In order to do that we need an accurate passer like .....Matt Leinart jesus what the hell is Whiz watching or getting ready to do to this team? Its really just unbelievable at this point!

You are attacking Whiz way to much here.....He has earned the respect to make decisions...Everyone is giving to much credit for the Tennessee game last year...Point is with Warner we would have beaten Tenn by 14+ points....Leinart led us to 10 points!!! Remember(everyone seems to forget) we ran a Kickoff back for a TD!! ANd Vince Young got sacked on a play that ran out the half....so there is 10 gift points there.....It wasn't like Leinart threw for 350 yards and 3 TD's....his best game and we still lost to a marginal team...Whiz knows this.

 

[nashman]

Last I checked before all these shenanigans Whiz wanted a ball control efficient offense that didn't turn the ball over! He went with Warner which did NOT run the offense KW liked to run because it was successful. He was the one wanting to have a more balanced offense and now when we can actually do it he wants to go with a proven LOSER to try and run an offense it took a HOF in Warner to run? Yeah I have to question what the coach is thinking on this one!

 

[nashman]

Cards Campos your just wrong the Tenn game was not Leinarts best game and no one would ever state that. Most have said he played pretty well in that game which he did considering it was a GAME DAY decision for him to start. Not like he had all week to practice with the 1's, Warner did actually. And Leinart did have a solid second half in that game. And I am not attacking Whiz I am doing what any reasonable fan should do and questioning what seems to be a BIZARRO world decision!

 

[Cards_Campos]

Nash maybe he sees the OL is not not as good as he thought...Our running game is better suited when people think we are passing...and If Anderson is in the game...we will throw deep more often which pushes the safeties back...With Leinart defenses will try to tee off....Even yesterday Leinart got sacked while Anderson hung and hung and then got the ball off for a completion. If our OL breaks down...Anderson gets the ball off...Leinart doesn't....Just some observations.

 

[Cards_Campos]

Cards Campos your just wrong the Tenn game was not Leinarts best game and no one would ever state that. Most have said he played pretty well in that game which he did considering it was a GAME DAY decision for him to start. Not like he had all week to practice with the 1's, Warner did actually. And Leinart did have a solid second half in that game. And I am not attacking Whiz I am doing what any reasonable fan should do and questioning what seems to be a BIZARRO world decision!

Well it may haven't been his best game...But he played in it and people praise him for that game..and blame the loss on a fluke def collapse....But Leinart didnt tear it up....

 

[nashman]

Anderson hasn't done anything to praise heavily, go ahead stand it the pocket until you get creamed or injured not sure how that will help this team win! Matt Leinart has run a smart get the ball out ball control WCO which is what would make this team the most successful in the long run! Again not to question the coach in circumstances like this is just sticking your head in the sand!