Wisenhunt screwed up by proclaiming Matt the starter for next season without competition after Warner's season. Matt didn't help the situation by stating that he deserved it. As a result this thing will not go peacefully and will be a topic of discussion for the next few months. But it is obvious that Warner has friends at the Republic.
Whisenhunt takes risk with Leinart
A head coach can lose a football team in many ways. If he's a puppet for the organization, he will never be trusted. If he plays the wrong people, his judgment will be questioned.
When it comes to the Cardinals' starting quarterback in 2008, let's hope that Ken Whisenhunt isn't saddling up the wrong horse.
In the first move of the off-season, Whisenhunt simply handed the starting job back to
quarterback Matt Leinart. He leaned on the tired, illogical justification of a player never losing his job due to injury. Right. And what if the Patriots had given the job back to Drew Bledsoe, whose injury opened the door for Tom Brady?
Yet Whisenhunt also insisted that the best players would play next season. It sounds good and fair, but what exactly does that mean? You can bet that Kurt Warner is beginning to wonder.
"I'm going to show up, and I'm going to be ready to play, and I'm going to convince everybody that I can play, that I give us the best chance to win and that I should be playing," Warner said. "And whatever happens, happens."
But the problem suddenly has become a sticky matter of semantics. How does Whisenhunt determine who is the best player after giving Leinart the job? How does Warner react if it's clear that he's back to playing the role of sage mentor, that he had no chance to prove what he believes, that he indeed is the best player? And exactly what purpose does it serve feeding Leinart's sense of entitlement? What is wrong with having an open competition come training camp?
Whatever the answers, Whisenhunt runs the risk of a divided team and a splintered fan base. For reference, see what the Sam Keller-Rudy Carpenter fiasco did to Arizona State two years ago.
Again, this is not to suggest that Warner deserves the starting job. His fumbling is problematic, just as Leinart's fumbling was problematic in 2006. And if Leinart eventually lives up to the hype, he clearly is the future of the Cardinals.
But Leinart also had a 61.9 quarterback rating when he went down with a shoulder injury, along with four interceptions in five games. Meanwhile, Warner threw 27 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions, very close to the numbers produced by Brett Favre (28 touchdown passes, 15 interceptions).
And here's the biggest thing: No matter what the future holds, the Cardinals should not be willing to take a step back next year just to spoon-feed Leinart. Not when they were so close to making the playoffs in 2007.
"It speaks volumes about Kurt's commitment and his passion to the game of football," Rams wide receiver Torry Holt said. "Every time Kurt steps on the football field, he feels like he's the best quarterback in the
National Football League, and he played that way. And he handled himself that way. And the guys responded to him.
"I think going into next year, the Cardinals' organization and coaching staff has a decision to make on who's going to be the starter, either Warner or Leinart. And I think right now, if you ask me, I think Warner gives the Arizona Cardinals the best chance to be successful."
From an opposing player such as Holt, that's a mouthful. Of course, Holt might be biased, having won a Super Bowl with Warner in St. Louis. But he also is the brother of Cardinals safety Terrence Holt, thereby privy to inside information. And the truth is, Warner won over a lot of players in the locker room last season, players who don't want to go backward in 2008, players who might begin to wonder about motives.
Near the end of the season, it was clear that the entire organization was shifting toward Leinart, who brazenly called the Cardinals "my team" during a sideline interview near the end of the season. Think he knew something? And do you think Warner didn't hear about it when the Cardinals' official Web site ran a fan poll for the team's Most Valuable Player, and omitted Warner as a candidate?
In some ways, it would be easier if Whisenhunt simply said that Warner's gunslinging style just didn't fit his offensive vision. But, again, it's not as if Leinart has that much juice in the room. His work habits were questioned at the beginning of last season. And for all the stardust he brings, he wasn't among the team captains named (but Neil Rackers was).
We all know that football is a ruthless, violent business. But this quarterback situation could get really ugly come September, and it already is shaping up to be shabby treatment for a guy who helped save Whisenhunt's hide more than once in 2007. In the end, the head coach better hope that the golden boy is ready to be a star in 2008.
Topics: SPORTS, cardinals
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