Ornery Green spews venom; Leinart signs

By Connor Byrne  |   Tuesday, August 15, 2006  |  Comments( 2 )

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Arizona Cardinals head coach Dennis Green expressed his disdain for quarterback Matt Leinart's continuing holdout on Monday, even though the media didn't even ask the Cards' leader about it. Although unsolicited, Green went off on a short rant over the absence of Leinart from training camp and preseason. The former USC star signal caller was the 10th overall pick in April's draft and has missed the team's first two weeks of practice and one exhibition game.

"It would be a shame if Matt Leinart is still sitting out there as the only player in the National Football League who is not in the National Football League, and you've got an impressive deal on the table," Green told surrounding reporters.

Late Monday evening, ESPN's Len Pasquarelli reported that Arizona finally agreed with Leinart on a six-year, $50.8 million deal that includes $14 million in guarantees.

The Cardinals' current starting quarterback, Kurt Warner, has the job etched in stone for 2006, but the backup slot will likely be Leinart's in a short period of time. In the team's first preseason game this past Saturday, current No. 2 John Navarre looked incapable of holding down the demanding position, completing 11 passes for 60 yards and two interceptions.

At 35 years of age, it's clear that the stone-footed, fragile Warner doesn't necessarily have many productive years remaining in the pros. In fact, some are worried he won't even be able to hold up this season. Assuming he does continue performing well, though, Leinart will be sitting behind him for at least one year, possibly two.

In his three-year career running the Southern Cal offense, Leinart compiled a jaw-dropping 37-2 overall record and won the Heisman Trophy in 2004. He helped lead the Trojans to two national titles and a berth in the BCS Championship Game last January. Unfortunately for Leinart, that contest resulted in a 41-38 loss.

Now that Leinart is finally signed on as a member of the Cardinals, he won't have much time to acclimate himself to the pro game. Since Cards camp concludes this Thursday at Northern Arizona University, it gives the young QB just three days to practice. From there, he'll need to properly utilize the remainder of the preseason to win the No. 2 job behind Warner.

When it comes to Green, he'll have to work through early differences with Leinart for the two to bond properly. Given Green's past history with young quarterbacks, don't expect initial tensions to last long.

--Connor J. Byrne can be reached at cbyrne@realfootball365.com.

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