Was anyone else able to turn on the TV last night and not hear about Matt Leinart’s comments about the QB situation in AZ yesterday? Every sports show was covering this story: ESPN Sportscenter, ESPN News, Jim Rome is Burning, Around the Horn, PTI, NFL Live, NFL Total Access ……I mean come on!! Yes, I know those are all sports shows that I have to watch by myself because my wife can only take so much, but the Arizona Cardinals’ QBs are making some headlines here.
But let me say this right from the start, I am a big fan of Matt Leinart. I think he has all of the tools and is the future of this team, and I am looking forward to seeing him in uniform for the big red for years to come. But there is one thing that Matt needs to understand: DON’T COMPLAIN ABOUT A SYSTEM THAT GOT YOU A WIN AGAINST A GOOD FOOTBALL TEAM ONLY HOURS AFTER YOUR TEAM PULLED OFF THE UPSET!!
I get that Leinart is a competitor, he’s a gamer. And true to form, anyone who is as used to winning as he was all throughout High School and the College ranks is not just going to sit there and be happy with not being the one guy for their team. And personally, I think it is good for him to have that edge and to want to prove everyone wrong and make plays out on the field. Here’s the problem: the last two games you haven’t done it consistently.
Matt, you need to play better to take all of those snaps, that’s the bottom line. In four outings you have had two terrible outings (San Francisco & Baltimore), one average performance (Pittsburgh), and one great showing (Seattle). And now you are coming up against a beleagured St Louis Rams team on the road where you have been terrible this year. You want the full time job? Then get it done this weekend in St. Louis!!
In head coach Ken Whisenhunt’s brief tenure with the team, I think one thing is for certain: you are not owed anything, if you want the job you have to take it!! And you take it by performing well on the field. Whisenhunt knows that to get this town energized, to get the players motivated, and to get this franchise out of the cellar there is one thing he needs to do above everything else; W-I-N, WIN WIN WIN!!
Whatever gets this team a W on Sundays is the right call, despite your ego or any other reason you may come up with. Winning games is how you are judged, that’s all it comes down to.
Here’s my tip for you Matt:
Be a team player, enjoy the win and keep those frustrations and concerns about your job within the clubhouse where they belong and stop giving the media an opportunity to kill this team’s momentum.
Mike Duggan
AZCardsfan4life