Cardinals’ Pre-Camp QB Analysis
July 5, 2007 by Walter Mitchell
The Cardinals head into training camp with four quarterbacks on their roster: 7-Matt Leinart; 13-Kurt Warner; 9-Shane Boyd; and 12-Toby Korrodi. Let’s examine the prospects of each player and determine what the Cardinals need to do to get the most value and productivity at the quarterback position in 2007.
7 Matt Leinart (6/5, 230), 24, 2nd Year, D1/06, USC.
Strengths: Smart, savvy player, who exudes impressive leadership, star quality and charisma. Thrives under the big lights. First-rate at attacking the middle of defenses. Stands tall in the pocket. Smooth, natural backpedal and release. Has excellent vision. Reads defenses well. Understands where defenses are vulnerable. Manages the clock with aplomb. Checks off and goes through his progressions extremely well for a player with his limited NFL experience. Runs a very efficient two minute drill. Can be masterful in uptempo situations. Doesn’t like to sit on leads. Has killer instincts.
Weaknesses: Lack of mobility. Needs to develop a quicker sense of where pass rush pressure is coming from. Needs to improve his footwork in the pocket. Not as strong throwing to the perimeter. Needs to become more instinctive and decisive on perimeter throws. In college he had the time to wait for a longer passes to develop. In the NFL he does not have that luxury. Some of his longer passes tend to tail to the left, which can be more of a liability when throwing up the right sideline. Inconsistent throwing on the run. Hurt both shoulders last year. Hasn’t had much experience handling adversity.
2007 Prospects: If healthy and focused, Leinart could put up very good numbers and find himself booking a hotel room in Honolulu next February.
13 Kurt Warner (6-2, 222), 36, 11th year, FA/05, Northern Iowa.
Strenghts: Experienced veteran who has achieved the ultimate in this profession. Has Super Bowl rings and MVP trophies to prove it. Has a lively arm. Can still throw darts down the middle of the field. When in a rhythm, has a good sense of timing on his passes. Moves the ball well between the 20s. Highly likable persona. Strong character. Outstanding team guy, role model and mentor.
Weaknesses: Turns the ball over in key situations. Doesn’t finish off drives with aplomb. As immobile as QBs come. Tends to freeze under pressure. At times, holds on to the ball far too long, which tends to lead to untimely turnovers. Because he relies on timing, he can be duped by clever d-backs. Has surpringly poor touch on short throws. Not the long thrower he once was. Is injury prone. Has registered a 3-12 record as a starter in Arizona the past two years.
2007 Prospects: The Cardinals seem happy to pay him in excess of $4M this year to be the backup and mentor to Leinart. That’s a questionable decision on management’s part, not only for the salary cap ramifications, but particularly considering that Warner looks like he no longer has what it takes to win games in the NFL. Regardless, the Cardinals appear to be committed to Warner as the team’s #2 QB. If so, perhaps Warner will experience a Renaissance playing for Whisenhunt and crew. The Cardinals’ playoff hopes may depend on it, should, God forbid, Leinart get hurt.
9 Shane Boyd (6-1, 232), 24, 2nd year, FA/06, Kentucky.
Strengths: Live arm and excellent mobility. Only QB running threat on the roster. Knows Whiz’s system, having played for Whiz in Pittsburgh. Ideal scout team QB because he can put every kind of pressure on the first team defense in practice.
Weaknesses: Lacks NFL experience. Was not impressively productive in college or NFL Europe. Lacks height, although he seems to have pretty good vision and awareness.
2007 Prospects: Will have to play well in the pre-season games to stick as the #3 QB.
12 Toby Korrodi (6-3, 223), 23, Rookie, UCFA/07, Central Missouri.
Strengths: Unlike Boyd, Korrodi put up eye-popping numbers in college, albeit at a lower level. Another lefty to go with Leinart. Has solid, accurate arm. Has maturity.
Weaknesses: Lack of mobility. Lack of height. Will need to perfect his slide steps in the pocket to buy added time and get a better view of the passing lanes.
2007 Prospects: With a good camp he could establish himself as a keeper at #3 QB. Would seem at this point to be a lock for the practice squad if he doesn’t make the 53 man roster.
Cardinal QB 2007 Pre-Camp Rating: B+. Leinart can be special as long as he stays healthy and can show improved fundamentals and poise in the midst of adversity. The backup situation is iffy, however. Keep an eye on Brian St. Pierre, a player that Whiz had been grooming in Pittsburgh. St. Pierre has some Tom Brady type qualities. He doesn’t overly impress you with his size or arm strength, but he hangs tough in the pocket, he’s cool under fire and makes smart decisions. If St. Pierre becomes available, Whiz may very well swoop him up.
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Walter, I think you are being generous with your pre-camp rating of B+.
I want to see evidence of Leinart’s supposed full recovery from his shoulder injuries before I start getting excited.
However, I agree with you on Brian St. Pierre. Always liked him.
My guess is Boyd is toast but Korrodi stays (I hope)
Overall, nice take.
I think we live or die, this year and next, on Leinart’s health. He is the best QB talent, by far, on this roster. If anybody else has to play, we are dead meat and will have to draft another QB next year.
I concur with everything you just wrote, Jim, although I still have vestiges of hope for Shane Boyd. I really liked the way he played against the Cardinals in pre-season last year. I thought he got some bad breaks in that game—-dropped passes at key times and one pass deflected for an interception—-but I really liked his arm strength and especially liked the way he bolted out of the pocket when he needed to. But, I would agree that unless he lights it up for the Cards this pre-season he may be true NFL—“not for long.”
Mitch,
The biggest problem our QBs have is the OL. Every position on the OL has a question mark next to it. Its hard to be successful as a QB without at least a decent OL.
Agreed, David. I will be posting an o-line article similar to this one soon. I’ll be interested in your thoughts. I actually think if there was some way to trade for G Alan Faneca, I think he would galvanize this entire line and the Cards would be headed to the playoffs for the first time since 1998. Without Faneca, I am not sure if the Cardinals win seven games. Can one player make a huge difference? You bet. How about losing Pete Kendall in year one of Denny Ball…had the Cardinals won two more games, they would have won the NFC West…and the two games they could have easily won—if they could have run out the clock on the ground in both cases— were the two losses to the 49ers…the only two wins of their 2-14 season. Go figure.
Walter, thank you. Ratings (B+) don’t mean much to me, but the verbiage that goes along with it, does. I think you’re being too hard on KW. For a few games, IMO, he could be a very effective backup, PROVIDED he has a good running game to work with. And the intangibles that he brings to the job enhances his value. I would think that upon retirement as a player that he would be scooped up as a coach by some team, college or pro. And didn’t gloves make a big difference in his play, last year?
I hope you are right about Warner, Garth. The fact is that in two seasons he’s gone 3-12 as the starter, while Josh McCown went 3-3 and rookie Matt Leinart went 4-7 (which would have been 6-5 had Neil Rackers not missed two game winning field goals). During Warner’s tenure he has proven to be more likely to fumble with the game on the line than throw a winning TD. His red zone woes have been significant. Perhaps with Whiz mentoring him, Warner will rise to the occasion this time. Regardless, one really has to question his $4M+ price tag.
Walter and Jim – Nice points, counter-points and counter-counter points.
One mistake I think we’re all prone to make is failing to consider the performance of a player at any position within the context of surrounding cast.
When they get blocking, both Warner and Leinart will appear to “gain poise” and “make better decisions.”
When both Fitz and Q are at the top of their games, both QB’s suddenly are “more adept at hitting the open man” (because – duh! – a man is open).
When the running attack is more dangerous, suddenly KW and ML seem “more mobile” (because fewer defenders are blowing in on them with reckless abandon).
Therefore, rather than evaluating our QB’s in isolation, we might be better off thinking in terms of a many-tentacled Cardinal “passing monster” that has a throwing mechanism, several passing mechanisms and a complex protection mechanism.
We should be asking ourselves: how effective is the Cardinal passing monster and why?