Jun 3rd 2008 6:43AM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: AZ Cardinals, NFC West, NFL Fans
Reactions varied on the Matt Leinart hot tub pics, somewhere between shock and awe mostly, but head coach Ken Whisenhunt was predictably disappointed. At least publicly.
Leinart, the Cards’ former first-round pick, is looking to rebound from inconsistent efforts his first two years in the league, including last season, when he split time with Kurt Warner before landing on injured reserve with a bum shoulder.
Despite Leinart’s predilection for hot tubs and … other stuff, he’s still Arizona’s starter heading into 2008. Sort of: “It’s the same thing it was when I said back at the end of the season,” Whisenhunt said after volunteer workouts Monday in Tempe. “Matt’s our starter, Kurt’s going to be there pushing. It’s going to be a tough job for Matt to keep because Kurt played at a high level for us last year, he’s been doing a lot of work in the off-season and he’s looked sharp in these drills.
“It’s competition. And it’s not just at quarterback, it’s every position on our team and that’s the way you like to have it.” The concern, it seems, was that Whisenhunt may have been leaning towards Warner because the former Rams Super Bowl quarterback took most of the first-team snaps during a practice last week.
Whatever, letting the two quarterbacks compete for the job seems like a swell idea. Of course, Cards coaches had probably hoped Leinart would be further along at this point, but on the upside, having a competent backup means the team doesn’t have to force Leinart onto the field before he’s ready. So there’s that.
