Comments on: Cardinals’ Pre-Camp QB Analysis

By: Jeff Gollin

Jeff Gollin — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 15:44:44 +0000

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?

By: Walter Mitchell

Walter Mitchell — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 12:08:04 +0000

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.

By: Garthshort

Garthshort — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 11:13:35 +0000

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?

By: Walter Mitchell

Walter Mitchell — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 02:53:19 +0000

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.

By: David

David — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 23:19:12 +0000

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.

By: Walter Mitchell

Walter Mitchell — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 18:47:05 +0000

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.”

By: Jim Skane

Jim Skane — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 18:26:44 +0000

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.