UPDATE: ESPN reports Cards to name Kurt Warner starting QB (1 Viewer)

[T Bell]

It's good that finances won't play a part here, but the concern you always have is that there's pride of ownership in the team's prominent draft picks, such that they can get extra chances not warranted by their play in an desperate effort to justify them. The pick obviously wasn't Whisenhunt's, so we'll see how much pressure if any the front office decides to impose on him regarding this decision.

 

[Ice Cream Man]

But when people look at his current QB ranking and use that as an excuse to bench him it needed to be pointed out that the one bad half of football dropped his ranking from 117 to 48 (or thereabouts).

Umm, but didn't just "one good half of football" raise his rating to a gaudy 117? According to your logic, that good half of play needs to be downplayed because it was only a one time event.

Oh, yeah... that's what the 48 overall QB rating represents... an average. On average, Leinart sucks.

 

[Bl Deep]

Wrench in the offense? I imagine if you asked Edge, Fitz, and Boldin who they wanted to QB, the answer would be Warner. If you want the offense to work, if you want to put points on the board, you start Warner. If you want to continue being a running joke in the NFL, you start Leinart. Their division is up for grabs. Start Warner if you're serious about this football thing.

I wonder if people with this position thought Green Bay was right to want to start a green high round draft pick over arguably one of the best QB's the NFL has produced?Just wondering.

Aaron Rodgers can produce at the NFL level. Leinart simply can not. It's not even a close comparison.

While I agree Leinart hasn't shown much...To declare Rodgers can without starting a regular season game is a huge huge stetch.

 

[fatness]

Whisenhunt is on local KTAR 620 radio right now. He denied the Mort report that Warner would start. Whiz said they have not yet made the decision on who will start for AZ in SF. He said Leinart did not play his best in Oak, but that he would not make a QB decision on one half of football.

Whisenhunt is obviously off base. Mort already reported that Warner will start.

 

[T Bell]

Whisenhunt is on local KTAR 620 radio right now. He denied the Mort report that Warner would start. Whiz said they have not yet made the decision on who will start for AZ in SF. He said Leinart did not play his best in Oak, but that he would not make a QB decision on one half of football.

Whisenhunt is obviously off base. Mort already reported that Warner will start.

Did Whisenhunt indicate whether Leinart would have to increase his yards per attempt to get them above the number of INT's he threw in order to keep his job, or is that 2/3 ratio acceptable to him?

 

[marcus allen]

My entire problem with this thing is this.......why now? I knew, everyone knew that Warner was better than Leinart last year and most likely this year. Why this bogus attempt at feeding us garbage about how Leinart is the guy and how he's matured etc.... why not just say that it's an open competition, the best guy wins because that's what Cardinal fans deserve as well as the current players on this team.I don't like the way the Cardinals handled it, which is probably why seeing that 79 percent of the people want something actually will effect their football decision.My one question to whoever is in charge over there would be: Did you ever believe Leinart was better than Warner before he was made the make believe starter for this year? I think this entire process has been handled borderline strangely, but with all the big news this offseason, I guess this just fits right in.

One topic I have not seen mentioned is Leinart's confidence; I would think the reason Whiz named him as the starter was to boost confidence hoping it may help him produce. Obviously Warner was better last year and will probably be better this year; next year however the cards will most likely not be able to rely on him anymore and will either need to go with Leinart or get a new QB. I think they were trying to do everything possible to help Leinart succeed, including giving him the "starting" job.

 

[purestrength]

If Mort ends up wrong on this (unlikely, but apparently possible since Whisenhut denies that a decision has been made), I will never listen to a word he says again.

 

[Delusions Of Adequacy]

I agree Leinert doesn't look very good so far, but it's still possible that he'll turn it around.

Don't forget that Drew Brees stunk up the joint his first 3 years, and suddenly turned it around his 4th season, AFTER San Diego had basically given up on him and drafted Rivers.

Not saying it's likely that Leinert will become a quality QB, but it's certainly possible.

 

[Liquid Tension]

Warner. The only question now is how many rounds does Warner move up in drafts?ETA: If Warner is indeed the starter (which I would be shocked if he wasn't), there is no reason why anyone should have have ranked below Derrick Anderson.

6 pts per Td, -3 for picks and 1 pt for every 20 yards has Warner scoring more points than ANY other fantasy player from week 10 on last year. He was great for the final 8 games.

 

[CrossEyed]

And this is why the Cardinals are the Cardinals.

 

[uconnalum]

I don't know Leinhart and Heath Schuler seem to have a lot of things in common both 1st round draft picks, both predicting to be franchise QB's and Leinhart cannot read and adjust on defensive schemes just like Schuler was unable to do. From watching a lot of Cardinals games last season when Leinhart lost his first option he had a hard time finding another option he looked helpless out there. No amount of time in the league can teach that; you need to know how to check off your receivers and get rid of the ball in under 5 seconds. Warner takes the snap and easily is able to read what the defense is giving him and delivers the ball to the proper receiver.

Warner gives the CARDS the best chance to win.

 

[BigGreenMachine]

I don't know Leinhart and Heath Schuler seem to have a lot of things in common both 1st round draft picks, both predicting to be franchise QB's and Leinhart cannot read and adjust on defensive schemes just like Schuler was unable to do. From watching a lot of Cardinals games last season when Leinhart lost his first option he had a hard time finding another option he looked helpless out there. No amount of time in the league can teach that; you need to know how to check off your receivers and get rid of the ball in under 5 seconds. Warner takes the snap and easily is able to read what the defense is giving him and delivers the ball to the proper receiver.Warner gives the CARDS the best chance to win.

I agree that Warner gives them the best chance to win right now but how can they feel AT ALL comfortable about the future of the franchise in Leinert's hands? He has all the time and chances in the world to learn the offense and to excell and can not/will not step up. If he can't beat out the wiley vet now....he may never live up to the potential and all the money they have invested in him. IMO

 

[joffer]

Whisenhunt is on local KTAR 620 radio right now. He denied the Mort report that Warner would start. Whiz said they have not yet made the decision on who will start for AZ in SF. He said Leinart did not play his best in Oak, but that he would not make a QB decision on one half of football.

it's a non-denial denial. i wonder if there are competing factions in the Cardinals camp right now, and one side decided to leak it that Warner has been named starter.

 

[uconnalum]

I find the Cardinals to be a very exciting team to watch and being an east coast person when watching 4PM games I usually end up watching the Cards play and they are fun. I think Warner will continue to make them fun and add winning to the equation on a more consistent basis than Leinhart will.

 

[KoolKat]

But when people look at his current QB ranking and use that as an excuse to bench him it needed to be pointed out that the one bad half of football dropped his ranking from 117 to 48 (or thereabouts).

Umm, but didn't just "one good half of football" raise his rating to a gaudy 117? According to your logic, that good half of play needs to be downplayed because it was only a one time event.

Oh, yeah... that's what the 48 overall QB rating represents... an average. On average, Leinart sucks.

The fact that he has sucked the entire time he has been in the NFL should aid in the decision making as well.

 

[gregjcross]

If Mort ends up wrong on this (unlikely, but apparently possible since Whisenhut denies that a decision has been made), I will never listen to a word he says again.

Understand something: Mort is not a coach. It's not Mort's job to bat 1.000. It is however his job to keep people talking about him and bat about maybe .400. THat is what gets him paid year after year. If you choose or not to listen to him, great, but if you chose to take every rumor started via his conduits as Bible Truth, you might reassess that approach. All Mortensen does is stokes a fire and gets people talking. He did it iwth the Ronnie Brown "being traded away" news last week. And, until these major injuries hit on Saturday, there was a big lull in the news between that and Farve becoming a Jet two weeks ago. Mort has to come up with something to say and make it plausible at the time. The NFL show and TV commercials at ESPN goes on regardless of what kind of news they have!

 

[fatness]

Did Whisenhunt indicate whether Leinart would have to increase his yards per attempt to get them above the number of INT's he threw in order to keep his job, or is that 2/3 ratio acceptable to him?

Are you suggesting a game plan of "throw deeper interceptions"?

 

[T Bell]

Did Whisenhunt indicate whether Leinart would have to increase his yards per attempt to get them above the number of INT's he threw in order to keep his job, or is that 2/3 ratio acceptable to him?

Are you suggesting a game plan of "throw deeper interceptions"?

Well, yes. It's a little more subtle than simply punting on first down.

 

[moderated]

After reading that Warner is making 4 mill and in the last year of his deal while Leinart is making roughly a million i don't see why they don't play Warner this year and get something out of their investment in him.

Play Warner this season and give the reins to Leinart next year (While also drafting/signing another QB for insurance).

I don't agree Leinart should be judged on his one bad half, but couple that with also looking really bad last season i think it's pretty clear he isn't ready for whatever reason. I mean those picks he threw this past weekend were inexcusable and even high school QB's don't throw up ducks that look that ugly.

 

[kutta]

After reading that Warner is making 4 mill and in the last year of his deal while Leinart is making roughly a million i don't see why they don't play Warner this year and get something out of their investment in him.Play Warner this season and give the reins to Leinart next year (While also drafting/signing another QB for insurance).I don't agree Leinart should be judged on his one bad half, but couple that with also looking really bad last season i think it's pretty clear he isn't ready for whatever reason. I mean those picks he threw this past weekend were inexcusable and even high school QB's don't throw up ducks that look that ugly.

I have a feeling if Leinart gets benched this year, he will not be the starter next year.

 

[yinzer]

After reading that Warner is making 4 mill and in the last year of his deal while Leinart is making roughly a million i don't see why they don't play Warner this year and get something out of their investment in him.Play Warner this season and give the reins to Leinart next year (While also drafting/signing another QB for insurance).I don't agree Leinart should be judged on his one bad half, but couple that with also looking really bad last season i think it's pretty clear he isn't ready for whatever reason. I mean those picks he threw this past weekend were inexcusable and even high school QB's don't throw up ducks that look that ugly.

I have a feeling if Leinart gets benched this year, he will not be the starter next year.

I think benching him is the smart move as of now, but Im not sure that is necessarily the case judging Wiz' wordsWarner put up numbers comparable to franchise QBs last season, not average QBs. Leinart's shown nothing to presume he'll be a very good QB in the NFL, but he could still possibly be average.Whether he starts or not next year would totally depend on his competition most likely, but its not like hes getting benched for JT O'Sullivan here