Whiz Now in Full Control

[Rats]

The days of Whis cowtowing to management I would bet a wooden nickel are now over. He has security and can run things as he sees fit. Now all choices and decisions will be on him and Graves. I can also see another possiblity in that the rope was just enough for Leinart to hang himself. I do not feel management or Whis wanted Matt beyond this season unless things radically reversed and Matt was the next coming of Warner. With the Lockout looming the brass didn't want to pay Leinart big bucks and they would have had to in order to keep him beyond this season. This is a win win for management and Whis...they just weren't man enough to come out and say so.

 

[CardsRamsalltheway]

Mitch,
Where did you hear Whiz say that..."Hall is the best QB in camp?”

Darrin Urbin said this after the Houston Texan preseason game...“John Skelton did look good, obviously, with a perfect passing rating and two touchdown drives. He played better tonight than he has looked in practice, quite frankly. But remember this: he was going against the back end of the Texans’ roster. Did he show his potential? Heck yes. Anyone calling for him right now to start over Leinart or Anderson, however, is just being silly and frankly loses all credibility just by suggesting such a thing.”

Who would've thunk that Whiz would be the one who has called for both Skelton and Hall to start before Leinart even though Whiz said Leinart is a better player today than he was 4 years ago when Matt started?

I was never pro or anti-Matt but think Whiz has handled this situation horribly. Now, I don’t trust hardly anything he says. I cringe when I watch/listen to him speak. Whiz has become so inconsistent in his remarks it’s now clear why the Cards have played so inconsistently the past 2 years. Like coach, like team!!! The way this situation has been handled has tongue tied Whiz too many times. Matt deserved a chance.

"82 CardsGrad,"

Vendetta, I think so! Whiz has made decisions based on personal matters as opposed to professional. The best players don’t necessarily start for Whiz. Whiz has turned political and I don’t care about his pet peeves. He says the draft order doesn’t mean much to him but it seems he prefers late round picks(like Whiz himself) and/or non-drafted players.

Hall surpassed Skelton on the depth chart not because he has outplayed Skelton during games but maybe because they were both Eagle Scouts, were late round draft choices, nepotism(Danny White’s relation to Hall and being from Mesa, AZ). I’d bet Whiz and Danny W. are buddy buddy? Or, maybe Hall sits and eats next to late round draft choices in the cafeteria.

Whiz failed to answer one question during his explanation for cutting Matt by deliberately not answering it, so we may never be able to trust a quote until Matt speaks out later after landing on another team if/when he does, or who knows maybe K. Warner might speak up someday.

Whiz sure has been remarkable at bringing guys like ESPN writer Bill Simmons to the forefront, ranking the Cards QB’s 32nd or last in the NFL. However, I do like his question…”Will we ever be told why Leinart didn’t make it?”

And, part of what Simmons goes on to say...”I keep going back to that “Punk’d” episode in 2006 when they pretended to arrest Leinart and his buddy for soliciting a …”

Actually, I think David Letterman should spoof Whiz as he has done with Mike Singletary. That, or Saturday Night Live should do a Whiz skit.

 

[Sandan]

Nidan: it was management who pushed ML as the starter and thus were not willing to pay the price for another legitiamte starting QB, figuring they already had one in ML.

If the decision were truly Whiz's, that may have been a far different story.

Mitch, it's the 'thus' I disagree with or rather suggest there is no evidence for.

And it's possible if the decision had been Wiz's it might have been exactly the same. Unless you know then it's pure speculation either way.

 

[BigRedArk]

Jeff:


But---here's what I would expect from Whiz regarding his desire to assimilate Hall into the team's plans:

(1) Whiz will put in a package for Hall---probably a red zone package---and if and when the time comes, he will run Hall into the game.

(2) If the team needs a boost or a jump start, Whiz will turn to Hall.

Thus...the hope is that Anderson plays well and moves the team...but if he doesn't, Whiz will see that as a good opportunity to play Hall. At this point, Whiz doesn't care about a QB controversy. Anderson is too new to the team for people to make that big a deal out of it. I could see him starting Anderson and coming in with Hall the way he did with Leinart and Warner the first year. That was a creative move that defied conventional protocol, wasn't it?

How is putting red-zone packages in for Hall and pulling DA for Hall when the team needs a boost or a jump start going to help DA's confidence though Mitch? Wouldn't it be better with two young QB's now in DA and Hall to just go ahead and pick one or the other and let them develop?

He didn't have to worry about developing Warner when he subbed him in the 2 minute package for ML back when. He doesn't have that luxury now. He's got 2 guys that still need to be developed it seems. Even DA with an All Pro year behind him still needs to be coached up in specific aspects of his game it appears. How did that help ML's confidence level by pulling him like that as well? Is that perhaps better for the college game than the NFL? Pick one guy and stick with him maybe? JMHO.

 

[ChandlerCard]

In my business, and I suspect in most, one does not go from being a member of the team to its leader without being publicly groomed. You either go lead another team, or you are set up to take over the leadership at some point. In this situation it is imperative that while being groomed that you show leadership in what you do, building team confidence. Max Hall already shows he wants to start, is confident, and isn't afraid to lead decisively when given the chance. Last year Brian St. Pierre wanted open competition to move up. And when Warner was backing up Matt it was clear he was earning respect and showing a desire to be the man. If Matt ever showed such leadership traits, they didn't come out publicly that I could see. So Mitch, once again you are spot on in your analysis. Whiz is no dummy and saw the writing on the wall, and in successfully maneuvering Matt out he showed another important leadership trait: that of managing up. It means compromise sometimes, which is why we don't have a seasoned backup now. But at least we won't suffer through a season of decent ball with little chance of QB leadership or spark. Given the options, the winner will roll the dice for the big win rather than settle for mediocre. I'll take this from my team any day!

 

[conraddobler]

We play St. Louis, which is bad because everyone thinks we're going to win, I don't doubt we should but this is exactly the kind of game we lose.

 

[moklerman]

And when Warner was backing up Matt it was clear he was earning respect and showing a desire to be the man.

Like when no one showed up to his BBQ and no one was speaking up for him when he was benched?

A QB earns respect and loyalty by winning games. Everything else he does can support that but unless a guy is given a chance to win games when they count, he'll never attain loyalty, support, etc.

Leinart has continued to show an improved work ethic, dedication and desire and from everything I've read, tried to become what Whis wanted him to be. I understand that it might not have been enough but I'm really tired of so many people acting like Leinart didn't care, didn't try and was such an a-hole that he couldn't walk into a room without someone throwing a bucket of piss on him.

If the Cardinals(Whis, Graves, Bidwill) are willing to risk the season by starting Anderson and Hall then I think it's crazy for them to have just cut Leinart without seeing what he could actually do with the first 6-8 games of the year. It wasn't like he was a total liability, he just didn't have chemistry(which would come with wins) and he wasn't comfortable in/with the offense(which would improve with repetition).

Yes, I realize the coaches must have a strong feeling about Leinart's potential for success based on practice but it seems reckless to me to cut a 1st round pick based so much(solely?) on it.

Pretty much any credible source on the subject that I've read says that it takes until year 3 of starting for the game to slow down and the light to go on for an NFL QB. Leinart didn't get close to that chance.

This all seems to boil down to Leinart being a rich kid in a shoreman mentality environment. And I can understand not liking a guy like that. I think I would probably dislike him on a personal level if the various stories are true. But the problem I have with the perception of him is he seemed to actually be trying.

For example, didn't he start signing autographs at practices like Warner used to? Making sure everyone got one or something along those lines? I know, it's not a huge deal but it indicates to me that he cares what people think of him. A true cornholio would not.

 

[Rats]

If you look at the timeline several things happened. Febuary evaluation was get ML ready to Qb by telling him that his hardwork got him the #1 job. While also thinking should we keep him after this season. I believe that with the price tag and possible lockout the decision was an easy one for the org but they needed someone this season so ML was the guy. Get DA in as a backup. Fast forward and they realize that DA is about on par with ML and the team really is not responding to ML so make the change and save a few bucks now in a transition year. ML feels lied to which he was and says it has to be an off field thing that is making things fall like they are. Actually a pleasant suprise in Max Hall has Whis thinking I really don't need the eventual drama ML may cause in season so lets cut him loose and announce the ext of DD so the backlash is not at the Front Office. For good or bad time to get behind DA and Max. With the OLine they have we may see Skelton before all is said and done.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

I think people are way over-analyzing this. The bottom line is Whiz and Leinart weren't a good match. Leinart will do well under coaches like Carroll and Green, and will struggle with coaches like Whiz.

If you ask me where the perfect place for ML to end up is, I say, Dallas. Wade Phillips is a notoriously easy coach to play for and Dallas has always coddled to the "star" system in how they handle their players.