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Matt Leinart: Learns, Grow,s and Reflects
Published: May 22, 2009
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Matt Leinart is on the verge.
Of what exactly, no one knows for sure.
He could be on the verge on being a first-round bust. The former Heisman Trophy winner was taken 10th overall in the 2006 draft by the Cardinals. He was tabbed the starter for the 2007 season but after being injured early in October of that season Kurt Warner has started 31 consecutive games and led the moribund franchise to the Super Bowl.
But then again, Warner is 37 and today’s NFL has quarterbacks needing replaced because of injuries as often as baby’s diaper. He also might be on the verge of taking over the offense for the defending NFC Champions.
One thing is for sure, Leinart is no longer a baby and he knows he is ready to make an impact in the league.
Here are the questions that I’d ask Leinart for a feature story. Some serious, some not so much.
Reports of your offseason have all been positive, which hasn’t always been the case since your rookie season. What turned your approach around this time?
The coaching staff has noticed there is a difference in your footwork and even command of the offense. Is it fair to say this is most prepared for a season you have been in your professional career?
A Super Bowl run has a weird effect on teams. The coaching staffs get raided, the players get big contract offers after performing in highly-visible games and others want new contracts.
At 26, you are heading toward the prime of your career and yet Kurt Warner was signed to a two-year deal. Was there a part of you that wanted to find your wait out of Arizona?
How are long are you willing to bide your time behind Warner before you start thinking about your career?
It’s apparent that your relationship with Warner has been pretty positive. How long did take for you to realize that it might be a good idea to latch on to a guy who is a former league MVP and guided his time to the Super Bow?
What’s the dirtiest word you ever heard come out of Warner’s mouth?
How different do you think the offense will be this season with Todd Haley in Kansas City instead of on the Cardinals sideline?
The nation only gets to see the sickness of Larry Fitzgerald once a week for 16 weeks or so per year. Does he make those amazing, ball-at-the-top-of-its-apex type catches daily and does it ever get old?
You were drafted in the Dennis Green era. That’s didn’t last too much longer. Coach Whisenhunt came in and basically said may the best man win. You did, beginning the 2007 season as the starter, but were injured.
Warner came in and started every game since. Do you think if Green was still running things there would have been more of chance to re-take your starting spot?
Every backup player in the NFL has probably uttered some variation of the phrase about “being ready because you are always one play away from being the starter.” What do you do to make sure it is not just a cliché and something the coaching staff and your teammates believe in?
There is a sense that quarterback play in the NFL is down compared to years past. Heck Vinny Testaverde started against you guys a few years back, Brett Favre is still dangling out there and there is the Michael Vick saga.
Do you think this is the result of colleges going with spread offense and the QBs coming into the league unprepared or are this generation of players under rated?
Your son, Cole, is approaching his third birthday. Has Peter Carroll sent out any feelers yet about his college choice?
Former USC QB Mark Sanchez made some recent headlines because of his spread in GQ. Do you have any cautionary tales for your fellow alum?
Cardinals’ Coaching Staff Adjusts to Departures, Promotions
Published: May 19, 2009
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The wake left behind from a Super Bowl run often leaves a coaching staff about as stable as a dingy boat caught in a small boat advisory enforced because of eight-foot waves.
Coaches become highly sought after, and the cohesiveness of the coaching staff essentially becomes capsized.
The Arizona Cardinals were no different.
Offensive coordinator Todd Haley left to take over the Kansas City Chiefs franchise, defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast was fired and ended up on Haley staff as did former running back coach Maurice Carthon, while Jeff Rutledge was fired as quarterbacks coach.
Evidently it is going to take three people to replace Haley, who was the talk of the postseason after the Cardinals rode its offensive prowess to Super Bowl XLIII.
Russ Grimm and Mike Miller will share offensive coordinator duties as the running game coordinator and passing game coordinator, respectively.
Meanwhile, head coach Ken Whisenhunt is expected to be the man calling the plays, returning to the role he had in Pittsburgh as OC before taking over the Cardinals.
The defensive duties will fall to Bill Davis, who was promoted from linebackers coach after the Cardinals missed out on the Steelers’ Kevin Butler, who appeared to be front runner before deciding to stay in Pittsburgh.
The Cardinals ran a hybrid 3-4 defensive scheme last season as Whisenhunt and Pendergast, a holdover from the Dennis Green era, found a common ground.
With Davis, who was the DC with the 49ers from 2005 to 2007, in place the Cardinals will definitely morph into a 3-4 scheme.
Under Pendergast, the Cardinals forced plenty of turnovers and got to the quarterback often on blitzes. The personnel is in place to keep the same attacking style with improved containment as their young players mature and buy into their roles even more.
While there will be changes at the top on offense, expect to see more of the same as the Cardinals have one of the league’s most potent units.
Haley had no problems forgoing the running game at times to let Kurt Warner do his thing as Larry Fitzgerald blossomed into the game’s best and two other receivers, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston, produced 1,000-yard seasons.
Whisenhunt has a dual personality when it comes to play calling.
He comes from Pittsburgh stock, so he loves the running game.
Don’t forget the selection of Ohio State running back Beanie Wells in the first round, but he also loves the trick play and has no problems calling them at any moment.
Whisenhunt is witty and bright, and you can probably expect his playing calling to follow suit.
