Lucky Leinart

I wrote this column after the NFL draft, but I didn’t get a chance to put in the Observer. Still, it seems relevant with NFL mini-camps just finishing. Besides, proving how big of a tool Matt Leinart is, is always a worthy of an article.

I don’t get it. Matt Leinart does not deserve this. How does this whiny douchebag (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft06/news/story?id=2441017) walk from one of the greatest offenses in college history to the most promising young offense in the National Football League?

Not only did Leinart land with the suddenly juggernaut-esque Cardinals offense, he avoided being drafted by both the Jets and the Titans. For all we know, Leinart may be a completely average quarterback, but, unfortunately, he’s always played behind talent capable of masking his deficiencies.

Throughout his 3 years as starting quarterback for the Trojans, Leinart was surrounded by more talent than the cast of 24, and by the cast of 24, I mean Jack Bauer because that’s all you really need. While at USC, Leinart got to throw to Mike Williams, Dwayne Jarrett, and Steve Smith who consistently burned the defensive backs. Arm strength isn’t much of an issue when your receiver has 10 yards of separation. When he got tired of throwing to open receivers, Leinart could hand the ball off to Reggie Bush and LenDale White. He was also protected by the best offensive line in college football. Tough life.

Taking all this into account, there’s serious doubt over whether Leinart is a legit NFL quarterback or a product of the immense talent accumulated by USC during their rebirth as a college football powerhouse. Come draft day, I awaited to see which inept offense Leinart would go to, the Titans or the Jets (I was desperately hoping the Jets wouldn’t draft Leinart, but the thought that the Jets offense would ruin his career gave me some consolation).

When neither the Titans nor the Jets selected Leinart, the look on poor Matt’s face has to go down as one of the top 5 or 10 greatest sports faces of all time. I didn’t think the moment could get any better, but then ESPN kept zooming the camera right in on his face after the next 5 teams subsequently opted not to select Leinart.

But life sometimes has a way of throwing you a cruel twist, and it came for me this time with three words that I never thought could conceivably go together: ‘good’ and ‘Arizona Cardinals’. My initial delight that Leinart fell all the way to the #10 pick was immediately trumped by the realization that he had just fallen into the best possible situation imaginable for him.

With Kurt Warner as the sacrificial lamb starter for next season, Leinart will have a chance to sit and learn while Warner suffers his 22^nd concussion behind the Cardinals rebuilding offensive line. When Leinart finally does take over the offense, offensive line intact, Leinart will be throwing to two of the best young receivers in the league in Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, and he will have one of the best running backs in the NFL, Edgerrin James, preventing defenses from focusing solely on the passing game.

Not only did Leinart get drafted by the best young offense in the NFL, he avoided getting drafted by two of the worst offenses in the league. Quick, name more than one offensive starter on either the Jets or the Titans. Takes you a while, huh. To do a quick comparison, if Leinart had been selected by the Titans, he would be throwing to Drew Bennett and Tyrone Calico with Chris Brown as his starting running back. With the Jets, his receivers would be Laverneous Coles and Justin Mccareins with the aging Curtis Martin as his running back. Just breathtaking the offensive weapons at the disposal of the Titans and Jets (I can’t tell you how much it pains me to say this).

If this were a Monopoly game, Leinart would be the guy already with the most money who then misses the hotels on Marvin Gardens AND Pennsylvania Avenue only to land on Boardwalk when he already was in possession of Park Place. He’d also be the guy complaining that he had to pay so much money when he landed on Income Tax (seriously, read the link I put up at the beginning of the article).

Well, I guess I can take consolation in one thing. Although Leinart lucked into being drafted by the Cardinals, he did get drafted by the Cardinals. The franchise that has won exactly one playoff game since 1980 while making the playoffs only twice. The franchise that has never won a Super Bowl despite existing since the NFL’s inception. The franchise that repeatedly has not empty seats, but empty sections at their home games year after year. I mean, they have to be doing something wrong, don’t they?

Leinart can’t change all that. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself.