Cards’ defense bends, but it’s Warner who’s broken

By Peter Altman  |   Sunday, September 24, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Arizona Cardinals
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article!

Dennis Green should start thinking about ushering in the Leinart Era in Arizona after Kurt Warner cost the Cardinals a victory in Week 3 with his painful mistakes. One of his three interceptions was so awful that the television commentator offered the explanation that Warner must have flashed back to his days as a Ram and thrown to the wrong uniform.

That was not the most mind-boggling play Warner would make. The no-brainer is that there is no point in waiting much longer to play Leinart. The devastating 16-14 loss to the St. Louis Rams laid bare what most knew already: now is not the Cardinals' time.

The Cardinals showed some signs of improvement. The offensive line responded well to the return of right tackle Oliver Ross and protected Warner well. Edgerrin James enjoyed the most room to run he's had all season. The receiving tandem of Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin made tough plays and showed why they are the class of the league. Unfortunately, Warner gave the Rams the ball four times, including a disgraceful fumble with the Cardinals moments away from attempting a game-winning kick.

If the Cards are going to lose because of bad quarterback play, then let it be Matt Leinart making the mistakes. Sooner or later this is going to be Leinart's team. Warner is certainly not the future of the Arizona Cardinals, and his play on Sunday suggested that he shouldn't be the present. Let Leinart get his growing pains out of the way now, before the Cardinals have all of the other pieces in place. Since the team has shown that it is not ready to compete on a high level, it only makes sense to let the young quarterback mature along with the team.

The Cardinals just lost to a seriously flawed team. The Rams have already looked awful in a loss to the 49ers. They have scored two touchdowns in three games and only picked up this victory because Warner left it on the ground. This is the only kind of team the Cards are going to have a chance to beat this year.

If the loss to the Seattle Seahawks made it clear that the Cardinals are not ready to play with the big boys, the loss to the Rams at home showed they could lose any game on their schedule. Scattered wins against the likes of the Raiders, Packers and 49ers with Warner at the helm will be meaningless. These games can be transformed if they serve to prepare Leinart and the offensive line for a serious run in 2007.

Kurt Warner has been here before. In 2004, after a poor start by the Giants, Warner had to step aside for the young Eli Manning, who stepped in and looked absolutely awful. Maybe the Matt Leinart who takes the field for the Cardinals will look every bit as awful as Manning, but never as awful as the gray-bearded Warner looked on Sunday as he walked off the field at Cardinals Stadium having fumbled away a near-certain victory.

Get weekly Arizona Cardinals coverage at RealFootball365.com
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article! (0)

Article Tools Share!   |  RSS  |  Bleacher Report About Bleacher Report