You guys have gone off the deep end!

[clif]

I will be the first to say that Warner had a bad game Sunday but to start Leinhart this early in the season and his carreer is not very well thought out. It is like giving up on the season after only three games. We were not going to win the Seattle game no matter what. Warner fumbled on a play that cost us the game. You might also say our cornerback cost us the game by not being able to cover Tory Holt. You might also say D. Green cost us the game by not moving someone else to cover Holt. Warner had a bad game. What QB does not. I just do not think it is time to move our new QB into the starting lineup in front of a suspect OL. Green just does not seem to know what he wants to do. The sooner this guy is out of here the better. I just have this feeling he does not have a clue.

How many more times does Kurt have to turn the ball over for people to realize it is time? John this isn't the first time. I would bet that if the decision is made to switch it won't be just based on Sunday's performance. He is a freaking nightmare when it comes to protecting the ball. There is no excuse. He benched Josh after 3 fumbles in the redzone so why would this be any different?

 

[devilfan02]

No its not. Roth sat behind a good OL but not the best in the league. Our OL actually pass protects VERY WELL overall so its a very good example. Roth also didnt have the skill set of players we have. By far better than what Roth had to work with. Nice try though.

Hines Ward and Randle El, while not Q and Fitz, are very good recievers. They have an OL that is very well rounded and IS one of the best in the league. They could run the ball and control the game. Anyone who watches football knows that Roths main responsiblity was to not make mistakes and keep his team in it. His pass attempts were extremely low as they primarily ran the ball with Bus and Parker. They also had a much better D then ours which took tons of pressure off Roth. Bad example, nice try though

 

[clif]

Hines Ward and Randle El, while not Q and Fitz, are very good recievers. They have an OL that is very well rounded and IS one of the best in the league. They could run the ball and control the game. Anyone who watches football knows that Roths main responsiblity was to not make mistakes and keep his team in it. His pass attempts were extremely low as they primarily ran the ball with Bus and Parker. They also had a much better D then ours which took tons of pressure off Roth. Bad example, nice try though

I swear that is all Kurt had to do this past weekend and we would have won.

You can't possibly think Matt would turn the ball over 4 times do you?

 

[MadCardDisease]

exactly.

I can pinpoint EXACTLY the moment where i realized that Kurt Warner OFFICIALLY wasn't an NFL QB anymore and it wasn't this week. It was during the Seattle game, when he bought time and stepped up int he pocket where he planted himself and threw to a WIDE-OPEN Bergen for a TD and underthrew the ugliest duck I've ever seen by TEN YARDS. That was it - that was the moment I said: This guy is not an NFL QB anymore - than he went out continued to play like, well, a grocery bagger last week against an AWFUL Rams team that made Alex Smith look good last week.

As much as I hate to do this I do agree with you(I think Warner is a great guy that is a shell of his former self). That throw was so pathetic it really made me question if Warner still had it. I think he had another one against the Rams that started fluttering just like the one in Seattle. Couple that with his inablitity to protect the football and change is needed.

 

[40yearfan]

Hines Ward and Randle El, while not Q and Fitz, are very good recievers. They have an OL that is very well rounded and IS one of the best in the league. They could run the ball and control the game. Anyone who watches football knows that Roths main responsiblity was to not make mistakes and keep his team in it. His pass attempts were extremely low as they primarily ran the ball with Bus and Parker. They also had a much better D then ours which took tons of pressure off Roth. Bad example, nice try though

So why can't the Cards run the ball and control the game clock. Our running game has progressed every week and Edge is due for a real break out this week. If all Lienart has to do is hand off the ball, he won't need any protection.

 

[devilfan02]

I swear that is all Kurt had to do this past weekend and we would have won.

You can't possibly think Matt would turn the ball over 4 times do you?

This is my whole point. Roth came into the perfect situation in Pitt because of his core surrounding cast. We all know how great our offensive position players are but football starts in the OL and DL. Pitt had both which took pressure off of Roth. Look at the stats- Pitt, QBed by Rothlisberger, had the fewest passing attempts in the league- 379 attempts. Pitt also ranked 24th in passing ydg. This is all due to Pitt having a great OL that produced a great running attack- most rushing attempts in the league last season and the 5th most productive.

Everyone here is acting like Leinart is a proven commodity. He will be a PB QB but to throw him in the fire this early could be a mistake. He looked good in the preseason but at ATL against a real defense is a totally different animal. While our OL strength is pass blocking, Leinart will still be under a huge amount of pressure. I am not against Leinart starting but I also don't think it's wise for his development. If Warner lays another egg this Sunday, start Leinart at home vs KC. I just don't want him to get rocked like Eli did his rookie year

 

[Russ Smith]

Everyone here is acting like Leinart is a proven commodity. He will be a PB QB but to throw him in the fire this early could be a mistake. He looked good in the preseason but at ATL against a real defense is a totally different animal. While our OL strength is pass blocking, Leinart will still be under a huge amount of pressure. I am not against Leinart starting but I also don't think it's wise for his development. If Warner lays another egg this Sunday, start Leinart at home vs KC. I just don't want him to get rocked like Eli did his rookie year

So if you're the DC for Atlanta what do you do, 8 in the box to stop us pounding Edge? That puts you in a situation with man coverage on Boldin and Fitz, which is PRECISELY what we want.

Yes Matt will see things he's never seen before, he'll make mistakes, he's human and young. But he's not going to be overwhelmed, he's not Alex Smith he's not going to look terrified and completely overmatched.

 

[CardShark]

For everyone that wants to point out how many times Warner has fumbled the ball since he's been here, stop and think about how many of those were from poor pass protection and him being blindsided. People have suddenly forgotten that we've had the worst line play in the league during that time. Even the Seattle game has to be attributed to poor line play as well as poor play calling. You can't just look at stats and say everything falls on Warner now. Was Warner hit by Little as he threw the pick in the endzone? Was the ball knocked from his hands to cause the fumble? Some are saying both of those things happened. Why not hold the coaches accountable for not taking a couple kneel downs and then kicking the game winner? It just sounds to me like alot of Chicken Little talk going on.

For everyone that thought the Rams are the same team as last year, you didn't pay any attention to the offseason. They still have talent on that team, but their biggest improvement was to get rid of Marmie. The Rams are contenders this year. I would love to have Steven Jackson on this team.

 

[conraddobler]

Good lord, listening to this you'd think if Warner broke his arm we should throw Navarre in there because the risk to Matt was too great.

Fact is this is almost like Warner breaking his arm, he went goofy after that hit, I said it at the time when I saw the replay, uh oh that was bad, that's precisely the hit everyone trys to put on Warner, imagine the Rams knowing to do that, who'd have thunk it?

Warner can honestly not be trusted to tell the truth about that hit, if I'm the coach that one thing makes me think I gotta do something different at least the Atlanta game, if I think Kurt may be lying to me then I've got to go with Matt now to give him reps.

This isn't the end of the world, you tell the team it's a one game precaution, seems Kurt may have gotten a concussion, heck Warner can't argue that, someone with a concussion can't always be trusted to know if they have one or not and just tell the team to suck it up and win the game.

 

[devilfan02]

So if you're the DC for Atlanta what do you do, 8 in the box to stop us pounding Edge? That puts you in a situation with man coverage on Boldin and Fitz, which is PRECISELY what we want.

Yes Matt will see things he's never seen before, he'll make mistakes, he's human and young. But he's not going to be overwhelmed, he's not Alex Smith he's not going to look terrified and completely overmatched.

I agree. Hall got banged up last night so who knows if he'll be playing this Sun. I don't think that Atlanta will have 8 in the box. I'm sure the ATL DC will blitz a lot, like every other opponent we've faced, and force Leinart or Warner to make plays. They will make us prove we can run before they will reward us with one-on-one coverage. I would hope Q and Fitz have garnered that much respect around the league

 

[jefftheshark]

Why not hold the coaches accountable for not taking a couple kneel downs and then kicking the game winner?

Did you watch the end of the 49er game this year? Did we really want to give the ball back to the Rams with any time on the clock when we would have been only up by 1 point? Would we like to be one good kickoff return away from losing the game to Wilkins?

The Shark

 

[clif]

This is my whole point. Roth came into the perfect situation in Pitt because of his core surrounding cast. We all know how great our offensive position players are but football starts in the OL and DL. Pitt had both which took pressure off of Roth. Look at the stats- Pitt, QBed by Rothlisberger, had the fewest passing attempts in the league- 379 attempts. Pitt also ranked 24th in passing ydg. This is all due to Pitt having a great OL that produced a great running attack- most rushing attempts in the league last season and the 5th most productive.

Everyone here is acting like Leinart is a proven commodity. He will be a PB QB but to throw him in the fire this early could be a mistake. He looked good in the preseason but at ATL against a real defense is a totally different animal. While our OL strength is pass blocking, Leinart will still be under a huge amount of pressure. I am not against Leinart starting but I also don't think it's wise for his development. If Warner lays another egg this Sunday, start Leinart at home vs KC. I just don't want him to get rocked like Eli did his rookie year

Again as others have stated. You can say alot of things about our Oline.. but one thing they do well is pass protect.

Eli getting rocked sure has slowed his development... NOT! Come on... whether he is a rookie or a 15 year veteran the kid will get rocked at some point. They all do. I would rather find out if he can take it now rather than after he has sucked 50 mil out of the Cards.

 

[conraddobler]

So if you're the DC for Atlanta what do you do, 8 in the box to stop us pounding Edge? That puts you in a situation with man coverage on Boldin and Fitz, which is PRECISELY what we want.

Yes Matt will see things he's never seen before, he'll make mistakes, he's human and young. But he's not going to be overwhelmed, he's not Alex Smith he's not going to look terrified and completely overmatched.

If I'm the DC for Atlanta I guess I do put 8 in the box for a while and do make Matt beat you in one on one coverage.

I'd bring pressure too though, does Atlanta run any kind of zone blitz? that might be another option, that would give a rookie QB a headache.

I don't think as a DC you assume the rookie QB will be able to hit a WR, I think you have to assume that the Cardinals will try to run to protect him but there's nothing stopping you from adjusting if he can hit the WR's, a couple complete passes and a TD drive later and I'm in coverage daring Edge to find holes I guess.

 

[Russ Smith]

I agree. Hall got banged up last night so who knows if he'll be playing this Sun. I don't think that Atlanta will have 8 in the box. I'm sure the ATL DC will blitz a lot, like every other opponent we've faced, and force Leinart or Warner to make plays. They will make us prove we can run before they will reward us with one-on-one coverage. I would hope Q and Fitz have garnered that much respect around the league

I agree I doubt we see 8 in the box much at all that's my point. We can run the ball we don't have to just throw Matt to the Wolves. If they are dumb enough to go 8 in the box, Matt will pick them apart with our WR's. That's how this offense is supposed to work, the OL still is a work in progress obviously but if we eliminate the TO's we score a lot more points.

 

[devilfan02]

There would have been a little over a minute left for St. Louis to kick a game winner. I don't understand his kneel down argument. Doesn't the QB have to handle the snap to take a knee as well? Did anyone watching the game notice the waiver wire pickup getting abused all day by Torry Holt? Based on the way the game was going, Holt would have got the Rams into FG position in 2 plays. It's rediculous to say we should have sat on the ball to kick a FG

 

[slanidrac16]

Wanting to start Leinart is ludicrous. It's still early in the season and we know that Warner is capable of playing better than he did Sunday, even though I'm not so sure all of the turnovers were due to him playing badly.

If we start Leinart, for whatever the reason may be, it'll only serve to bring to life the concerns alot of us shared when we talked about him starting at anytime this year.

A) Probably the biggest concern of all, who'll protect his blindside? Do you all of a sudden expect Ross to do it? If he gives the same type of protection he did last year, Leinart will be lucky to make it through the season.

B) Who expects Leinart to have suddenly developed into the guy who's going to be able to go out and read the complex defenses that he's going to be facing? I don't think he's anywhere near ready for that. Please don't confuse preseason with true gameplans.

C) Isn't this sending the message that we are giving up on this season? I for one am not ready to forfeit the season after two losses.

I'm okay with giving Leinart spot duty in games that have already been decided or if it's clear that we have no chance to make the playoffs, but until then I'd rather stick to the original plan of having Leinart learn from the bench.

Every time a QB struggles on this team, we have all kinds of people screaming for a change at QB. I remember everyone calling for Navarre to be put in during his rookie year and now everyone wonders why the guy is even allowed to remain on the team.

Let's show a little more patience. What are you guys going to do if Leinart is put in and he throws six picks?

What are YOU going to do if Warner throws 3 more interceptions? What are we suppose to do if Warner gets hurt, forfeit the rest of our games?

 

[clif]

For everyone that wants to point out how many times Warner has fumbled the ball since he's been here, stop and think about how many of those were from poor pass protection and him being blindsided. People have suddenly forgotten that we've had the worst line play in the league during that time. Even the Seattle game has to be attributed to poor line play as well as poor play calling. You can't just look at stats and say everything falls on Warner now. Was Warner hit by Little as he threw the pick in the endzone? Was the ball knocked from his hands to cause the fumble? Some are saying both of those things happened. Why not hold the coaches accountable for not taking a couple kneel downs and then kicking the game winner? It just sounds to me like alot of Chicken Little talk going on.

For everyone that thought the Rams are the same team as last year, you didn't pay any attention to the offseason. They still have talent on that team, but their biggest improvement was to get rid of Marmie. The Rams are contenders this year. I would love to have Steven Jackson on this team.

Wow there is so many things wrong with this post I just don't know where to start.

First... Warner is really not being sacked alot. I believe he was only sacked 1 or 2 times sunday. Even then it is his responsibility to hold on to the ball and he clearly doesn't. This isn't something new. HE has a documented history of not holding on to the ball well. He has been known to get rattled after getting hit as documented by his former teammates!

Not only that he has been downright careless with the ball. He threw 9 picks last year in limited duty. He is a freaking statue back there as evidenced by some of the sacks he takes. He has completely missed reads uncharacteristically the past few weeks and it seems to be getting worse since he can't scramble he just forces the ball.

Oh and the Rams are not a contender by any stretch of the imagination. I saw a team struggling to find offensive rhythm and when they did it was against a freaking seive at CB.

 

[jefftheshark]

Good lord, listening to this you'd think if Warner broke his arm we should throw Navarre in there because the risk to Matt was too great.

Fact is this is almost like Warner breaking his arm, he went goofy after that hit, I said it at the time when I saw the replay, uh oh that was bad, that's precisely the hit everyone trys to put on Warner, imagine the Rams knowing to do that, who'd have thunk it?

Warner can honestly not be trusted to tell the truth about that hit, if I'm the coach that one thing makes me think I gotta do something different at least the Atlanta game, if I think Kurt may be lying to me then I've got to go with Matt now to give him reps.

This isn't the end of the world, you tell the team it's a one game precaution, seems Kurt may have gotten a concussion, heck Warner can't argue that, someone with a concussion can't always be trusted to know if they have one or not and just tell the team to suck it up and win the game.

Matt will actually be safer with this line than Warner because he is more mobile. (Not Vick mobile, but more mobile than a tree-like Warner). The DC will have to account for more variables with Leinart, than he would with Warner. If I was the DC for ATL I would blitz the heck out of Warner until he was reeling, and then set back in coverage and reap the interception bonanza. With Leinart, I would have to at least respect his ability to run forward more than 2 yards.

The Shark

The Shark

 

[conraddobler]

Matt will actually be safer with this line than Warner because he is more mobile. (Not Vick mobile, but more mobile than a tree-like Warner). The DC will have to account for more variables with Leinart, than he would with Warner. If I was the DC for ATL I would blitz the heck out of Warner until he was reeling, and then set back in coverage and reap the interception bonanza. With Leinart, I would have to at least respect his ability to run forward more than 2 yards.

The Shark

The Shark

Exactly

I don't understand what people are so afraid of, he's got to face big bad mean D linemen sometime, I know they should pay him to do that.... oh wait...

 

[CardShark]

What are YOU going to do if Warner throws 3 more interceptions? What are we suppose to do if Warner gets hurt, forfeit the rest of our games?

Okay, if Warner gets the start in Atlanta, I'll use that game as a litmus test. If he causes the team to lose in any fashion, then I'll consider starting Leinart at home, not on the road. If he is hurt, then it's a foregone conclusion that Leinart would start, ready or not. Everyone's hope was that Leinart would be able to hold the reins until Warner was back in, no one in their right mind should be looking at Leinart to step right in and take us to the promised land. starting him now doesn't mean he's going to develop any faster either. Look at Eli Manning. Two years later and they're still trying to develop him. I still think Warner is our best shot for this year and I'm not ready to throw in the towel just yet.

 

[slanidrac16]

Okay, if Warner gets the start in Atlanta, I'll use that game as a litmus test. If he causes the team to lose in any fashion, then I'll consider starting Leinart at home, not on the road. If he is hurt, then it's a foregone conclusion that Leinart would start, ready or not. Everyone's hope was that Leinart would be able to hold the reins until Warner was back in, no one in their right mind should be looking at Leinart to step right in and take us to the promised land. starting him now doesn't mean he's going to develop any faster either. Look at Eli Manning. Two years later and they're still trying to develop him. I still think Warner is our best shot for this year and I'm not ready to throw in the towel just yet.

I'm glad we can respectfully disagree. Warners overall performance since he came here has be mediocre at best. I don't see how thats going to change with 1 more game.
I don't think putting Leinart in there is throwing in the towel.

 

[phillycard]

I don't know what those in favor of Leinart playing are expecting. What if he goes 24-37 256 and 2 tds' 2 int's and we lose. What then? Those are very Kurt like numbers so we're essentially damned if we don't and damned if we do. I'd be willing to bet that Matt won't light it up that much better than Kurt would with a few adjustments on O made. All I know is that a Matt start indicates to me that DG has thrown in the towel. Too much is to be lost if M.L. stinks it up.

 

[Pariah]

I don't know what those in favor of Leinart playing are expecting. What if he goes 24-37 256 and 2 tds' 2 int's and we lose. What then? Those are very Kurt like numbers so we're essentially damned if we don't and damned if we do.

I don't buy this premise...but let's run with it for a minute: if it really is a wash for this week/this season, wouldn't it be better for Leinart to get the game experience so that he's better out of the shoot next year?

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I don't know what those in favor of Leinart playing are expecting. What if he goes 24-37 256 and 2 tds' 2 int's and we lose. What then? Those are very Kurt like numbers so we're essentially damned if we don't and damned if we do. I'd be willing to bet that Matt won't light it up that much better than Kurt would with a few adjustments on O made. All I know is that a Matt start indicates to me that DG has thrown in the towel. Too much is to be lost if M.L. stinks it up.

I would be happy with those results. Nothing is lost if Leinart stinks it up. You attribute it to growing pains. Eli didn't exactly set the league on fire his rookie year, but he is a better QB because of it.

 

[joko4]

I would be happy with those results. Nothing is lost if Leinart stinks it up. You attribute it to growing pains. Eli didn't exactly set the league on fire his rookie year, but he is a better QB because of it.

Funny, Eli totally sucked Sunday.