Got Questions for the Arizona Cardinals?

I still believe that Matt will be, if he’s not already, a decent, productive NFL QB. He had a great offseason and training camp and he’d have been the starter of this team if not for a bad first half against the Raiders in the preseason. If he was still on the bench behind a guy who was struggling, I’d be worried but he’s relegated to backup duty behind an MVP candidate. He’ll still get his day in the desert, as long as he’s patient.

First off, who could have seen the MVP-like explosion that Kurt Warner has produced thus far? It will create an interesting offseason in terms of contracts, but it is a “positive” interesting. Unlike Alex Smith. Let me toss this hindsight is 20-20 question, would you rather the Niners worked Rattay another year and waited for Leinart? Vince Young?

Considering Warner’s performance the Cards have to figure he still has something left in the tank for next year. That leave’s Matt in a back-up position for a third year. This can only help him. He get’s to go the “old-school” route and learn under a vet, much like Rodgers in GB. Remember, Montana was behind Steve DeBerg to start his career for a year and half (2-14 and 6-10 seasons, not stellar but then there was ’81…).

So we’re likely looking at ‘10 to ultimately answer your question. Matt has the talent. Matt has shown flashes. His biggest issue has been confidence and trust in the team around him. He was handed a powerful team in USC and kept the flow going there. He came to a Dennis Green coached Cards. No wonder he’s had a rough time. Seeing Warner’s confidence, seeing the WR-corp’s confidence, seeing the defenses confidence grow, it will only help Leinart to have confidence and be successful. I think he will be the Cards’ starting QB for years to come.

One word: Whiz. You won’t find a bigger Ken Whisenhunt fan than myself and I think he’s the reason that this team is finally playing NFL-caliber football. Is he the only reason? Of course not. The players are better and they are on a roll right now (especially at home and especially on offense), but he’s the biggest difference in my opinion. There’s no moral victories or excuses anymore. There’s only one acceptable outcome each and every game, victory. His mentality is infecting this team and I hope he’s the head coach of this thing for quite some time.

He’s been in on ST and playing some nickle to get his “feet wet”. One thing we have learned is he doesn’t shy away from contact! He reminds me of a 49ers DB named Hank in that regards, about as skinny too. DRC is susceptible to all the usual rookie problems of biting too much on jukes and fakes, he gets his body out of position, but he does show raw physical ability that is enticing. He should get the nod Monday so we can all come to a conclusion afterwards.

Hawk beat me to it and naturally we had about the same thoughts……

They decided to take it slow with DRC given that he was coming from such a small school and inferior competition. I think most of us thought during camp that mid-season was the earliest we’d see him in a starting role. When he has been on the field he’s shown some good things (mostly that’s he much more physical than we expected) and some bad things (burned by Lee Evans) but overall he’s looked…..like a rookie. We’ll see how he plays the second half of the season, rumors are already surfacing that he might start on Monday night.

So DRC’s side should be the targeted side. Hill just better know where Antrel Rolle is while he’s dodging Adrian Wilson on a safety blitz.

…will be to my Tony Kornheiser voodoo doll attempting shut his flapping cake hole.

Not used to questions like this. I refuse to put my head on the chopping block.

At least with being the regular starter in Arizona. Only three people didn’t see the field last week against the Rams: Leinart, Pat Ross (back-up center), and James. Expect Timmy “the Ballista” to get the starts for the remainder of the season with JJ Arrington as the primary back-up. Edge will get some touches, I’m sure, as rooks tend to wear down quickly due to the arduous work schedule of the pros vs. college.

Edgerrin is a classy guy and though I hate to see him sit, his lack of burst is really the crux of the matter. At least for one game, the o-line does a better job of pulling and blocking in space and letting Hightower to weave through the masses of humanity. Two 30-yard runs in one game…pinch me, I must be hallucinating.

Expect to see James on the FA market in March. Pop over to Revenge of the Birds if you want to read more on Edge’s situation and how our peers see things going.