Matt Leinart Benched for Cards' Game vs. Bears

Russell definitely had bust written on him coming in. I thought Quinn and Leinart seemed like good pro prospects. Oh well.

I always thought Quinn would be better than Russell because Quinn is more of a passer than Jamarcus. I bought into the idea that Leinart would be Boomer Esiason, very good, but probably not great.

I never really saw the hype in Quinn (maybe GTripp can clarify). Russell was one of the more obvious busts-to-be of recent NFL drafts. I thought Leinart would at least be able to be an effective game manager, who knows maybe he still can.

If we hadn't traded for Beck, I'd say keep an eye on the Redskins for Leinart if he were to get cut. Remember what I told you guys this past fall/winter, when Leinart was drafted Shanahan was originally trying to trade up to draft him but the Cardinals took just before he could so he went with Cutler.

There is a rumor out there about Leinart to Seattle, which I think was just made up by someone who figured Pete Carroll wanted him. But Leinart to Seattle really doesn't make sense to me.Quinn was a very good vertical passer in college with a high completion percentage. What's killed him in the pros so far is the inability to throw the intermediate out route accurately, an NFL staple. It's been a big reason he's floating around a Grossman-esque 52% for his career and not a McNabb-esque 59%. I mean, no idea if he will ever improve even though he's only 25, but no matter what projections I have for him, you can't win in this league as a 52% passer. And completion percentage tends to predict itself better than any other stat.

It's almost the same thing for Leinart, who's struggles in the vertical game require a higher completion percentage to be successful, really around 61%. To this point, he's at 57% for his career. That's an improvement that can be made, I think, but it would be ludicrous for the Cardinals to give up on him and not let him go elsewhere to prove them wrong. Especially when letting him play, and fail, is a better alternative than anything Derek Anderson can possibly give you.

I expected Leinart to be at least average, Quinn about the same... Russell was a bust from a mile away. Leinart looked bad the other night, but Quinn has looked horrible. He actually made Tebow look like a pro qb by comparison.

To answer the question... Quinn has been the most disappointing.

Gtripp thanks for putting some numbers, completion %, good stats. I thought Quinn looked really good coming out of school...To the quote above, Leinart looked absolutely horrible, does not look like the same QB at alllll coming outta USC. He display no confidence at all on the field the other nite. He has that JC look of he is thinking too much on the field and just not reacting naturally in the QB position. Kinda robotic. Leinart could still turn it around, but he needs to stop thinking so much and just play.

Hey, so do I. I'm surrounded by a combination of Jackass Eagle fans and silent Steeler fans since the "bar incident", with Ravens fans just below me.

I never liked McNabb, but I've come to realize it's more because he was wearing that ugly shade of green. Personally, especially since I've been hearing him speak as a Redskins, he seems like a great guy and you can't argue with a 6-time Pro-Bowler's resume much. His system in Philly sucked. 70% passing/30% rushing schemes won't help your numbers. Most of his career, he won with absolute garbage depth at WR.

I see big things happening with him in D.C. He has the best surrounding cast and coaching staff in his career, which may help him get over the Super Bowl hump that Philadelphia will NEVER conquer.

He's our QB. Yes it's strange to see him in B&G but I'm excited he's here and not on another opponent's roster...and I'm going to support him.How would you explain a 70%/30% playcalling split not helping a QBs numbers? I'd love my QB to have such a competitive advantage.

speaking of do you subscribe to PFF now? I think that they charge too much personallyNo. The depth of work they do is incredible, and well worth the price they charge, IMO, but from a football research perspective, their stats do not scale well to any point or yardage equivalent, and so I can't make use of them directly.

Or put another way, "GTripp doesn't have any money."

I've followed him since his SU days, always been a fan of his despite that little Eagles thing.

Yeah he's going to bounce passes in the dirt that will make you scratch your head, but then he'll avoid a rush 90% of other QBs would've taken a sack on, then throw a strike 60 yards down the field for a TD. That's always been his game. The guy is a winner, end of story.Agree and added my :twocents:

The thing you can't coach or scheme for on D is QB who can escape the rush and still make plays downfield. McNabb has the rare ability to do this. As did John Elway and Steve Young. McNabb isn't to the level they are in the pocket, but he's always been a pass-first guy, then make plays with his legs if necessary, unlike a Vick or V. Young. McNabb's strength and mobility will help our WRs and run game because the D has to try to account for him breaking the rush. I'll take the occasional bounce pass from him, if he can put up the passing numbers he has over the few years.

How would you explain a 70%/30% playcalling split not helping a QBs numbers? I'd love my QB to have such a competitive advantage.This isn't fantasy football.

- takes pressure off the QB to have to "make a play" on almost every play.
- more 2nd + 8 and 3rd & longs.
- Minimal play-action threat.
- Throwing against a pass-D most of the time, rather than a base D, minimizing mismatches being created against the extra LB.
- More blitzes to go against without a run threat.
- More speed on the field, rather than bulk, that can contain McNabb on the edge more effectively. Keeping him from breaking contain and putting the LB in a no-win situation.

Look at Elway's QB rating, he posted the 2nd thru 5th highest QB ratings of his career under Shanahan when the Denver run game was in the top 5. Favre had a career year last year.....AP and the run game had a great deal to do with that. A good running game is a QBs best friend.