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QB Matt Leinart, Arizona Cardinals

HT: 6-5, WT: 217, Born: 5-11-1983, College: USC, Drafted: Round 1, Pick 10

2008 Projections

2007 Game Summaries

Week 1 - Leinart had a tough game and had his first pass intercepted by the 49ers. He never looked comfortable in the pocket and was hit several times by the blitzing 49er defense. At the half, he was seven for ten for only 42 yards. He did have the key play of the game winning drive when on a third and two; he scrambled 20 yards down to the San Francisco seven yard line. On the next play, he hit Anquan Boldin on a seven yard touchdown pass to give the Cardinals the lead. He rarely threw down field choosing to target short to mid-range passes.

Week 2 - Leinart was calm and composed under pressure, often waiting until the last possible before letting go of the ball. He seems to know his receivers capabilities well, and uses them wisely. He often throws high to Fitzgerald, for example, who usually outreaches whoever is covering him and comes down with the catch. He was one yard shy of 300, with one TD and one interception. Most impressive was his willingness to throw to the open man when his two wideouts were covered.

Week 3 - Leinart had a rough game. He was flustered by the Ravens' defensive schemes and pass rush, which led to a bevy of inaccurate passes and obvious frustration. Leinart was pulled for backup Kurt Warner on Arizona's third drive of the game. It was announced by the television commentators as a "change of pace" move, but it was also clear that Leinart wasn't getting the job done. Leinart returned for the next four drives, but continued to suffer from inaccuracy, drops by his targets, and an intense Baltimore pass defense. Whisenhunt pulled the plug on Leinart for good towards the end of the third quarter. Warner led the team all the way back to a tie and played well enough for Leinart's job security to come into question. This should be an interesting week for the Cardinals' quarterback situation.

Leinart's favorite targets were Anquan Boldin (eight) and Larry Fitzgerald (six). His other eight targets were spread around five other Cardinals. He threw no touchdowns and no interceptions, and only led them team on one scoring drive (a Rackers 40 yard field goal in the third quarter).

Week 4 - Leinart started slowly completing only four of his first ten passes for 39 yards and he was sacked once. He was replaced by Warner with 4:56 left in the first half, and didn't return until the 11:33 mark of the fourth quarter. On his first play in the second half, he completed a pretty 38 yard pass to Larry Fitzgerald. That completion started a 13 play, 82 yard drive that gave the Cardinals' a 21-7 lead. Leinart finished the game seven for 14 for 93 yards with no interceptions.

Week 5 - Leinart got off to a shaky start by throwing an interception on the Cardinals first drive of the game. He looked ok early on going seven for 12 for 100 yards before making way to QB Kurt Warner midway through the second quarter for one possession. Leinart would return on the next series of the game. He would leave the game on his second play back in the game as he was driven into the turf on a sack. His left shoulder appeared to be injured on the play as he was holding his left arm awkwardly as he left the field. The sideline reporter said it was a left collarbone injury. He did not return to the game.