Leinart staying at USC

so this essentially drops us by one pick in the draft.

I think it's great that he stayed in school. I mean look the wonders it did for Manning. Having more college experience only helps when comes going pro. To me, him staying indicates that he is more interested in football than money. That he loves the game. If he busts his knee in the last game of the season next year I'd still picking in the first round. His accomplishments in the college ranks is too good to over look.

seeing matt play all year, he has great vision, decision-making ability, accuracy, and overall leadership... the knock on him is his lack of arm strength. he definitely risks dropping down in the draft next year (his stock right now is the highest it can be), but he may take the next year to get stronger. his combine performance next year may be more complete (here's praying the injury gods stay away from him).

He could do that this offseason and still get picked #1 overall.

Everyone has a limit to the years left in which their talent will be sufficient to suceed at the NFL level. He is essentially wasting on of those years. And lets be honest...this has nothing to do with getting a degree...i have no idea what his status is but I'd guess he is only half a semester away from a degree either way. He'll probably end up working on grad classes to retain eligibility. This is a bad move made for the sole reason of trying to win a third National Championship and the Heisman again. That gives him what? A gerater sense of pride at most. It certainly doesn't add anything in terms of stature and draft status. His status cannot go higher at this point so this is a bad decision for him but its his call so who are we to quibble with it I guess.

Great post FRPLG!

USC is returnning a lot of players from the 2004 team, so his chances to win another national title and Heisman are strong.
However, he is ready to progress and take the next step as a player and playing against weak college and PAC 10 defenses is just NOT going to help him improve as a player. You are only as good as the competition you play against and college defenses are miles away from NFL defenses. He is holding back his development in a serious way for selfish reasons.."so he can say he won three titles and 2 Heisman trophies.
The main reason I do not like his choice is... a players body only has so much football mileage in it. The average NFL football players career is something like 3.5 years. He is trading one year of college for one year less of NFL. Not a smart trade off. Plus an NFL title has more weight than a NCAA title.

You guys crack me up. You talk as if you take it personally that he wants to stay in college for his last year, like he is stealing a year of his usefulness from the NFL. The fact is he can get more prepared for a pro career by staying in school one more year, and he can have fun doing it.
I think that he is probably smart enough to take some kind of insurance policy out in case he gets hurt (the same way Manning did). Also, when did football become all about money? Yes, he could cost himself millions if he gets hurt or his team doesn't perform... or... the NFL could restructure its salary cap with the new TV agreements being reached with disney, Matt and USC have a great year, and he makes millions more.
If I were a player, I'd follow the Manning example. Stay in school, insure yourself, hone the more precise passing in the senior year so that the NFL leap wont be as difficult, and work on any weaknesses.
It sounds like a "Gibbs guy" doesn't it? The football and records are way more important than the money. I'd like a whole team full of guys that think like that.

You guys crack me up. You talk as if you take it personally that he wants to stay in college for his last year, like he is stealing a year of his usefulness from the NFL. The fact is he can get more prepared for a pro career by staying in school one more year, and he can have fun doing it.
I think that he is probably smart enough to take some kind of insurance policy out in case he gets hurt (the same way Manning did). Also, when did football become all about money? Yes, he could cost himself millions if he gets hurt or his team doesn't perform... or... the NFL could restructure its salary cap with the new TV agreements being reached with disney, Matt and USC have a great year, and he makes millions more.
If I were a player, I'd follow the Manning example. Stay in school, insure yourself, hone the more precise passing in the senior year so that the NFL leap wont be as difficult, and work on any weaknesses.
It sounds like a "Gibbs guy" doesn't it? The football and records are way more important than the money. I'd like a whole team full of guys that think like that.

I am not taking it personally, I am just giving my own opinion. Did I sound angry?
An insurance policy only covers for career ending inury, not an injury that will lower his draft position and cost him millions (see Willis McGahee).
Playing well and dominating in college football does not translate into playing well in the NFL. In fact the example you gave of Peyton Manning, he did not have a great rookie year, 26TD's and 28 INT's. It took a full year of NFL experience before he became great. In contrast Ben Roethlisberger came out his junior year is having a great rookie year. So serving all four years in college does not mean you will have a smaller learning curve.
The only way to become a great NFL QB is by gaining experience against the great and complex NFL defense's as soon as you are physically and mentally ready. The sooner the better.
Plus the offensive system you run at your college may not be the same that your NFL team will be running, so you most likley will have learn a whole new system.

I agree, how many powderpuff teams does the normal team see in a football season in college? All the big schools have at least 4-5 guys they should beat with their 3rd string guys in. I think he may be trying to save the glory before his name is one notch behind Ryan Leafs. Honestly, if someone does great in the college ranks but fails in the pro's we often don't annoint them a great player. I think if he goes to the Pro's and makes it he will be seen as a great player.

He is holding back his development in a serious way for selfish reasons.."so he can say he won three titles and 2 Heisman trophies.
The main reason I do not like his choice is... a players body only has so much football mileage in it. The average NFL football players career is something like 3.5 years. He is trading one year of college for one year less of NFL. Not a smart trade off. Plus an NFL title has more weight than a NCAA title.

These were the comments I thought were a little off base.
Selfish? For what? Staying in college and holding off from the NFL for one more year is not selfish.

Also, good NFL QB's have a longer shelf life than 3.5 years. So, are we concerned about the money one more NFL year will deliver or the chance for more accomplishments at the NFL level? In my opinion, money wont be a problem for him and where he wants to accomplish things is certainly a choice that he can make.

I disagree with the idea that because the college defenses are easier to exploit, he needs to jump right into the NFL. Take for example Calculus. To really be able to exploit Calculus, you have to have a total mastery of Algebra, Trig, and other Math fundamentals. If you are pretty good at the lower level stuff, you can usually learn Calculus, but you really can't exploit what it can do. In other words you end up going through the motions, getting the problems right, but not really learning how to open it up to it's full potential. I think that playing QB is the same thing. You have to have a complete mastery of the basics at every level below the NFL to fully exploit the NFL QB position. It all about how comfortable can you get in a complicated system and I disagree with someone saying that the best option is to jump ahead. At best, jumping ahead is a crap shoot.

I do agree with you guys that the NFL is where he will really develop his skills. The talent is, of course, much better and there are few powderpuff teams (if any). Performing at the pro level will determine if he is truely a great player. When he decides to make that leap, we will see. If he is a Ryan Leaf or a Heath Schuller (sp) , he will be glad he set the records in college so that he can look back at those successes.

Couldn't one argue he understands the fundamentals after a Heisman and a National Championship?