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Matt Leinart
#0 - QB - Arizona Cardinals
Height: 6'5'' Weight: 224
Born: 05/11/1983
College: USC
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Player Analysis: Leinart could be an interesting option if Warner goes down, as the Cardinals have an explosive offense. Denny Green is notorious for avoiding rookies; but rookies rarely come in as ready as Leinart, and there is no solid alternative. Leinart is as NFL ready as any rookie QB has been in recent memory, but he's still a rookie and will struggle with the speed of NFL defenses if he gets extended playing time.
Fantasy Football Impact: Leinart won't be worth drafting, but keep an eye on him in case Warner is injured or benched.
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Boldin Will Report to Camp - 07/21/2008
Source: Arizona Republic WR Anquan Boldin will report to training camp despite being unhappy with his contract. Fantasy Impact: The Cardinals should really consider giving Boldin an extension. If his Sugar Bowl performance against Georgia was any indication, he's probably the second best quarterback on the roster, too. | | | Boldin Threatens To Skip Camp - 06/19/2008
Source: Yahoo Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin said recently that he may skip training camp in a contract dispute. Fantasy Impact: This sounds like posturing at its finest, as Boldin will be fined $15,000 per day of camp missed. If he does holdout, the values of QBs Matt Leinart and Kurt Warner take a hit as Boldin is one of the premier wide receivers in football when healthy. | | | Broncos stop Cardinals, snap losing streak - 12/17/2006
Source: NFL.com Jay Cutler has his first NFL victory as a starter, and Matt Leinart has more than a few aches and pains thanks to the Denver defense.
Cutler threw two touchdown passes and the Broncos (8-6) beat the Arizona Cardinals 30-20 to snap a four-game losing streak and keep their playoff hopes alive.
In a matchup of rookie quarterbacks expected to have big NFL futures, Cutler got the best of it, throwing a 54-yard touchdown pass to Javon Walker on the Broncos' third play from scrimmage. He later added a 10-yard scoring pass to Rod Smith.
In his third start, Cutler completed 21 of 31 passes for 261 yards and was intercepted once. Leinart was 20-for-35 for 214 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions for the Cardinals (4-10). He was sacked three times and hit as he threw on several other occasions.
Another rookie, Mike Bell, had a pair of 1-yard TD runs and Jason Elam kicked three field goals in Denver's highest-scoring performance of the season.
The Cardinals (4-10) had won two straight and three of their last four, but they were in trouble from the start in their final home game of the season.
The Broncos outgained Arizona 240 yards to 60 in the first half with a 14-3 first-down advantage, but led only 16-10 at the break.
The Cardinals had a chance to take the lead when Robert Griffith intercepted Cutler's pass on the third play of the second half. Griffith returned it 23 yards to the Denver 28, but Arizona couldn't move the ball.
A holding penalty against Fred Wakefield negated Neil Rackers' 40-yard field goal, and Neil Rackers then missed from 50.
Denver took over at its 40 and went 60 yards in six plays, Cutler throwing to Smith for the score to put the Broncos up 23-10.
Bryant Johnson dropped what would have been a touchdown pass on Arizona's next possession, leaving Rackers to kick a 38-yard field goal to make it 23-13.
Quincy Morgan returned the subsequent kickoff 64 yards to the Cardinals' 21. Six plays later - on the third play of the fourth quarter - Bell scored from the 1 and Denver led 30-13.
Leinart's bad day got off to a rotten start. On Arizona's first play from scrimmage, he was intercepted by Champ Bailey. That led to Elam's 30-yard field goal to put Denver ahead 10-0 with 8:51 left in the first quarter.
The Broncos used up 16 minutes on two long first-half drives but only came away with a pair of field goals.
Denver took nine minutes off the clock on a 17-play, 78-yard drive that stalled on the Arizona 4, and Elam's 22-yarder boosted the lead to 13-0.
Rackers' 49-yard field goal made it 13-3.
The Cardinals' first-half touchdown came after coach Dennis Green challenged a 36-yard pass from Cutler to Smith, who fumbled out of bounds. After the review, officials said Smith never had control of the ball and called the pass incomplete.
On the next play, Tatum Bell was stripped of the ball by Chike Okeafor and Antonio Smith returned it 4 yards for the score to cut the lead to 13-10 with 7:53 left in the half.
The Broncos then went on a 13-play, 66-yard drive lasting nearly 7 minutes. Mike Bell was stopped for a 2-yard loss on third-and-one at the 10, and Elam's 30-yard field goal put Denver up 16-10 less than a minute before the break.
| | | Cardinals use takeaways to beat Seahawks - 12/10/2006
Source: NFL.com The Seattle Seahawks gave away a chance to clinch their third straight NFC West title.
Arizona scored 14 points off Seattle fumbles and a Seahawk comeback came up a half-yard shy at the finish in the Cardinals' 27-21 victory over the reigning NFC champs.
"We were just too careless with the ball," Seattle coach Mike Holmgren said. "That's pretty much the game in my opinion."
Edgerrin James topped 100 yards rushing for the second game in a row and Matt Leinart threw touchdown passes of 56 and 5 yards to lead the Cardinals (4-9) to their third victory in four games.
The last of Seattle's three lost fumbles led to Leinart's 5-yard scoring pass to Larry Fitzgerald for the go-ahead score on the first play of the fourth quarter.
After Neil Rackers' 40-yard field goal with 3½ minutes to go to put Arizona up by six points, Seattle (8-5) drove from its 17 to the Cardinals 15.
But on third-and-12 from the 17, ex-Seahawk Chike Okeafor sacked Matt Hasselbeck for an 8-yard loss.
On fourth down, Hasselbeck threw to Deion Branch, but the receiver was tackled by Adrian Wilson at the Arizona 6, less than a yard shy of the first down.
It was the last of several big plays by the Arizona safety.
"Big tackle -- Adrian, fumble recovery -- Adrian, break up on the pass -- Adrian," Cardinals coach Dennis Green said. "That's the kind of game he had and the kind of game he has every week."
Green called Okeafor's play "the pass rush of the year for us."
"He went up against maybe the best lineman in the game -- Seattle tackle Walter Jones -- and made a great move," Green said.
Seattle had won four of five and, with San Francisco's loss to Green Bay, could have wrapped up the division crown. Instead, the Cardinals have won two in a row for the first time this season.
The Seahawks may well have lost a fourth fumble had Hasselbeck not made a head-first dive to recover it.
"We had some opportunities and it came down to the last play of the game basically," Hasselbeck said. "It's hard to overcome a few and it's very hard to overcome a bunch of fumbles. That's just kind of where it was today."
| | | Vikings run defense forces teams to the air - 11/27/2006
Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin couldn't be blamed if he questioned the value that goes with intense film study of opponents.
Arizona is the latest team to plant this seed of doubt. After Cardinals coach Dennis Green said last week that he would not abandon the run against the NFL's leading rushing defense, he "changed his mind" and did exactly that Sunday at the Metrodome.
The Cardinals, who had run the ball no fewer than 20 times in each of their 10 games this season, attempted six running plays in their 31-26 loss. Quarterback Matt Leinart, meanwhile, threw 51 times for 405 yards against a defense that was ranked 26th against the pass.
This came a week after Miami gained 4 yards on 13 rushes.
"It seems like every week I'm seeing something new," Tomlin said. "That's the beauty of this. I can't wait to see what happens next week."
The Cardinals gained 17 yards on six rushes, which tied an NFL record for fewest attempts in a game. The mark was established by the 1933 Chicago Cardinals against Boston and, according to Elias Sports Bureau, it was equaled by the New England Patriots in a 34-20 loss to Pittsburgh on Oct. 31, 2004. The previous low for rushes against the Vikings had been nine by Tampa Bay on Nov. 15, 1987.
The Cardinals really had five attempts Sunday because one came on a scramble by Leinart. Pro Bowl running back Edgerrin James was handed the ball four times. "It's their game plan," James said. "I'm just here, man."
Playing against a Vikings defense that spent most of the game in the nickel package to compensate for Arizona's use of multiple-receiver sets, Leinart completed 31 of his throws. The attempts, completions and yards were season highs against the Vikings, but the defense did not give up a touchdown until Anquan Boldin caught a 9-yard pass with 39 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
| | | Cards deck Lions to snap eight-game slide - 11/20/2006
Source: NFL.com Matt Leinart was admittedly awkward taking a victory knee in the waning seconds against the Detroit Lions.
"I haven't taken one in a while," he explained.
It was the long-awaited first NFL win for the Heisman Trophy quarterback.
The rookie from USC threw for 233 yards and a touchdown and ran 9 yards for another score in his first NFL victory, helping the Cardinals snap an eight-game losing streak with a 17-10 victory over the Detroit Lions.
"It's kind of a big relief," he said.
In his first victory in six NFL starts, Leinart completed 19 of 29 passes with no interceptions. In the second and third quarters, Leinart was 14-of-15 for 202 yards.
"This is the first time we've been excited after a game," he said, "guys giving each other fives -- offense, defense. Really on the sidelines we were there for each other. That's something we've kind of lacked for whatever reason."
Edgerrin James gained 96 yards in 22 carries, his best day since coming to the Cardinals this season.
"It's cool, you know," James said, "but you always want to go over 100."
The Lions (2-8), who lost running back Kevin Jones to a sprained ankle late in the first quarter, made a comeback from a 17-0 deficit.
Jon Kitna directed a 14-play, 97-yard touchdown drive, with backup running back Arlen Harris scoring from 1 yard to cut the lead to seven points with 4:35 to play.
A 15-yard facemask penalty on Chris Cooper 's sack of Kitna helped the drive. On the next play, Kitna threw 23 yards to Dan Campbell to the Cardinals 3.
| | | Cowboys roll past struggling Cards, 27-10 - 11/12/2006
Source: NFL.com Tony Romo didn't need Terry Glenn to have a big day -- not against the crumbling Arizona Cardinals.
Romo threw for 308 yards -- the most of his young career as a starter -- and two touchdowns, including a 51-yarder to Terrell Owens, and the Dallas Cowboys dominated Arizona 27-10.
The Cowboys (5-4) showed no signs of a hangover from their heartbreaking loss to Washington the previous week and turned two interceptions by Matt Leinart into second-half touchdowns, sending the Cardinals (1-8) to their eighth straight loss.
"We weren't perfect," Dallas coach Bill Parcells said, "but I thought it was a pretty good performance considering the disappointment we had last week."
Romo was 20 of 29 with no interceptions and wasn't sacked in Dallas' third consecutive road game. All three of his starts have come on the road. Next up is his home debut against Peyton Manning and the unbeaten Indianapolis Colts.
"I'm never looking forward to a shootout," Romo said. "I'd rather have us hold them to about three points, but it will be fun this week. This is why you play the game."
Glenn didn't make the trip after aggravating a knee injury in practice Nov. 10, but Dallas got strong games from Patrick Crayton and Sam Hurd.
Crayton caught five passes for a career-best 104 yards, including a 34-yarder for the Cowboys' first score. He came away unimpressed with Arizona's pass defense. | | | Rookie QB Can Hurt Run Game - 11/09/2006
Source: Tampa Tribune Cadillac Williams pondered the question for a moment. But even after careful consideration, he still could not put his finger on what it is that has gone wrong with the Bucs' running game.
As it turns out, the problem has been right in front of him all along. And we're not talking about the offensive line, either.
The problem, at least in part, is the quarterback.
Now, rookie quarterback Bruce Gradkowski is not the problem per se. But it is a simple fact of life in the NFL that rookie quarterbacks tend to have a negative effect on their team's running games.
Look at the Arizona Cardinals. They have Edgerrin James in their backfield, but with rookie Matt Leinart running the offense, they are ranked last in the league in rushing.
The Cleveland Browns are another good example. Though quarterback Charlie Frye is in his second pro season, he has just 15 NFL starts. Not surprisingly, his team's running attack is ranked 31st.
The only team bucking the trend is the Tennessee Titans. Despite having rookie Vince Young at quarterback, the Titans rank 12th in the league in rushing.
But Bucs coach Jon Gruden will tell you they're an anomaly.
"Opposing defenses are no stooges these days," Gruden said. "When you have a young quarterback, they'll make it really hard for you or me or whoever the hell else it is that calls plays to turn around and hand the ball off.
"They're going to say, 'You better do something else because we're not going to let you run the ball. And if we do let you run it you're going to have a hard time making many yards.'"
Don't the Bucs know it? In the last two games, they have gained a total of 108 yards rushing. As a result they are ranked 30th in rushing with an 82.3 yards-per-game average that is on pace to be their worst in 13 years.
| | | Leinart, Boldin welcome Fitzgerald back to lineup - 11/09/2006
Source: National Football League News Wire Pro Bowl receiver Larry Fitzgerald will be
back this weekend, and he will get a warm welcome from Matt
Leinart, Anquan Boldin and the rest of the Arizona Cardinals.
"He just always makes a couple of incredible catches every
single day on the practice field and has been able to do the same
thing in the games," coach Dennis Green said. "That's that one
player that I think Matt needs, that other player to go to, and I
think our offense needs that, too."
Fitzgerald, sidelined since injuring his right hamstring early
in the Kansas City game on Oct. 8, went through a pain-free workout
with the team Wednesday and pronounced himself ready to go against
Dallas at home on Sunday.
"I feel good," he said. "I feel a lot better than I did on
Monday. I'm ready to go full speed come Sunday."
Fitzgerald said he was sore after his first practice back with
the team on Monday, following the Cardinals' weekend off.
"It was more like a tendinitis feel, kind of a stretching," he
said, "but I got an MRI on Monday, so I knew there wasn't any
structural damage anymore, so I could push it today, and I felt
good when I did it."
Leinart has barely played with Fitzgerald. The rookie
quarterback took over for Kurt Warner to start the Kansas City
game, and connected with Fitzgerald on a 5-yard touchdown pass in
the first quarter. A short time later, Fitzgerald left with the
injury, and watched from the sidelines as his team lost to Chicago,
Oakland and Green Bay. The Cardinals (1-7) carry a seven-game
losing streak into Sunday's contest.
| | | Defense grabbing plenty of sacks - 10/31/2006
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The Green Bay Packers might rank dead last in the National Football League in passing defense, but it's not because they don't sack the quarterback.
The Packers have 22 sacks and are on pace to finish with 50, which would tie for the second most in club history, two behind the all-time mark set by the 2001 team. Only two teams have more sacks than the Packers this season - San Diego and Philadelphia (26 each) - and one, the Eagles, has played eight games.
Defensive end Aaron Kampman has led the charge, ranking tied for first in the NFL with Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman with 8 1/2 sacks. Six Packers starters have at least one sack this season and of the five who don't, three play in the secondary and don't get many blitz opportunities.
In a 31-14 victory over the Arizona Cardinals Sunday at Lambeau Field, the Packers had four sacks, including two by Kampman and one by linebacker Nick Barnett. The other sack was shared by nose tackle Colin Cole and end KabeerGbaja-Biamila.
The fact Gbaja-Biamila only has three sacks thus far hasn't hurt the defense because Kampman is making up for it. Teams continue to pay more attention to "KGB" than they do to Kampman.
"Nobody's really changed what they've been doing," said defensive tackles coach Robert Nunn. "They may have to because Aaron is putting the numbers up. That's fine, too. It's a little deceiving because of the numbers, but we don't have any problems how Kabeer is rushing the passer. He's doing a fine job."
| | | Green, Packers deck Cards 31-14 - 10/29/2006
Source: NFL.com Green Bay had two 100-yard rushers and Brett Favre did his first "Lambeau Leap" on Sunday. Both were signs that things are perhaps starting to turn around for the Packers.
Or maybe the Arizona Cardinals are just that bad.
Ahman Green and backup running back Vernand Morency combined for 207 yards rushing and Green added two first-half touchdowns as the Packers (3-4) won 31-14 for their first home victory under first-year coach Mike McCarthy. The Packers have won two straight after losing four of their first five, including three at Lambeau.
"It's just two wins," Favre said. "It's our first win at home. But in our situation right now, we'll take them any way we can get them."
At this point, so would Arizona.
The Cardinals (1-7) came into this year with playoff expectations, but have lost seven straight since opening the season at their new stadium with a victory over San Francisco -- a losing streak that's likely to stoke speculation that Dennis Green will be fired before the end of the year. | | | Bears safety Brown on IR after foot surgery - 10/19/2006
Source: ESPN One day after surgery to repair his injured right foot, the Chicago Bears conceded the obvious, and on Thursday afternoon placed starting safety Mike Brown on injured reserve for the rest of the season.
The Bears made the move move reluctantly after the surgery revealed that Brown had a Lisfranc injury in the foot during Monday night's comeback victory at Arizona. Even on Wednesday, when Bears officials announced that Brown would be sidelined indefinitely, team officials privately conceded that the injury likely would land the veteran safety on injured reserve. The somber tone of their private comments foretold the possibility of injured reserve.
"It's disappointing, obviously," Brown said in the Bears' locker room, wearing a huge cast on his foot. "I know I can come back [next season] and play at a high level."
The Lisfranc joint refers to the space between the bones of the forefoot and midfoot. The Lisfranc injury is an injury to the ligaments that connects these joints. Injuries to this area of the foot often require up to a year of rehabilitation.
One of the several defensive heroes in Monday's improbable comeback victory, Brown sustained the injury on a running play in the fourth quarter and was taken off the field on a cart for what was originally termed a sprained foot. The injury, which occurred when Brown was bent awkwardly backwards in a pile, came after he helped jump-start the Chicago rally with a three-yard touchdown return of a Matt Leinart fumble.
The injury not only ends Brown's season, but could possibly end his seven-year tenure in Chicago, as well.
| | | Cardinals change offensive coordinators - 10/17/2006
Source: ESPN The Monday Night Meltdown claimed its first victim on Tuesday, when Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green announced he had fired offensive coordinator Keith Rowen and promoted quarterbacks coach Mike Kruczek to the position.
The move came hours after the Cardinals blew a 20-point lead and lost to the Chicago Bears 24-23 on Monday night.
"I've known Keith for a long time. I have the utmost respect for him," Green said. "We are not scoring enough points."
Green announced the change at his press confernece on Tuesday, hours after exploding in front of the media following the Cardinals' stunning loss on Monday Night Football.
The Cardinals offense bogged down in the second half, allowing the Chicago Bears to erase a 20-point halftime deficit for a 24-23 comeback victory. The failure of the Cardinals' running game and blocking breakdowns that led to a fumble recovery for a touchdown helped fuel the Bears' comeback.
"At certain times you feel like you have to do something different," Green said. "[Kruczek] is old-school all the way and that's what I think we need right now."
Kruczek becomes Green's third offensive coordinator in the coach's 2½ seasons in Arizona.
Green said he was talking with Rowen about what other position he might take on the staff.
Kruczek has been quarterbacks coach since Green arrived.
"I think his close working relationship with Matt Leinart will give us a better chance," Green said.
Rowen was the second offensive coordinator to be relieved of his duties on Tuesday. Earlier, Baltimore Ravens coach Brian Billick fired Jim Fassel as coordinator and announced he would take over offensive play-calling duties during games.
| | | Score one for keeping your cool - 10/17/2006
Source: Chicago Sun-Times The moment of the night, and maybe the season, is going to be Devin Hester returning that punt for a touchdown with 2:58 left, and the Bears going crazy on the sideline, jumping and hollering and throwing things. Or maybe it's going to be Mark Anderson hitting Arizona quarterback Matt Leinart from behind, and Mike Brown picking up the fumble and scoring. Or maybe Brian Urlacher stripping the ball free.
Whatever you're going to take from the havoc of the Bears' comeback, from their 24-23 victory over Arizona in front of the nation on ''Monday Night Football,'' I think I might have been most amazed by the least chaotic moments. Did you notice:
In the first quarter, when they announced that the replay had shown that the Bears had not, in fact, intercepted a pass, and the ball was still Arizona's, it took four seconds for Lovie Smith to prove that he wasn't a mannequin. He did it by blinking. Once.
When the officials told Smith that the Bears had punted into the end zone and that the play could not be reviewed, he grinned. When the Bears fumbled a few minutes later, Smith did his best mannequin impersonation again.
''Lovie, all the time, he never changes,'' Urlacher said. ''That's what we love about him, why we respect him. We take on his personality. Never panic.''
| | | Curb your enthusiasm: Lucky Bears far cry from '85 - 10/17/2006
Source: Chicago Sun-Times They won a game they should have lost a thousand times, a game America stopped watching out of boredom and disgust. Their quarterback won a game he tried to give away six times, via four bad interceptions and two fumbles, revealing glimpses of Cade McNown, Jonathan Quinn and Henry Burris. In the craziest thing I may tell you all year, the Bears remain perfect after performing so wretchedly that prairie dogs were heard howling in the nearby desert fields.
And what does it mean? Well, if they can play that poorly and still return from a 20-point hole to beat the choking Arizona Cardinals, perhaps this really is their year. Or, closer to the truth, maybe Monday night provided a much-needed slap in the chops, a cautionary tale of what can happen in a fickle league when teams aren't ready to play all four quarters and need a series of wild circumstances to survive.
Incredibly, the Bears are 6-0 after they melded a miracle with a classic Denny Green choke job, punctuated by a postgame tirade from a coach not long for his job.
''The Bears are who we thought they were,'' Green said. ''That's why we took the damn field. If you want to crown them, just crown their ass. We let them off the hook.''
| | | Bears stage unlikely comeback win, 24-23 - 10/17/2006
Source: NFL.com Six turnovers, 3 points on offense, and somehow the Chicago Bears are still unbeaten.
Somehow, some way, the Bears rallied from 20 points down at halftime and escaped with a 24-23 victory in Arizona, leaving the shellshocked Cardinals to ponder yet another excruciating late-game collapse.
"Sometimes, when you're a team of destiny, things like that happen," Chicago coach Lovie Smith said.
The Bears are off to their best start in 20 years at 6-0. For that, they can thank their defense, punt returner Devin Hester and Arizona kicker Neil Rackers.
Rex Grossman gets no credit for this one.
"I've never played so bad and won a game like that," said the Bears quarterback, who threw four interceptions and lost two fumbles. "It was unbelievable."
Down 20-0 at halftime, Chicago returned two fumbles for touchdowns in the second half. Then Hester returned a punt 83 yards for a score with 2:58 remaining to take the lead.
Matt Leinart, who threw two first-quarter touchdowns and finished 24 for 42 for 232 yards, coolly directed Arizona downfield at the finish for a chance to claim a victory that appeared to be the Cardinals' all night. | | | Bears do-it-all defense keys epic comeback vs. Cards - 10/16/2006
Source: ESPN Even on a very bad night, the Chicago Bears found a way to stay unbeaten.
They can thank their defense, punt returner Devin Hester and Arizona kicker Neil Rackers for that.
Chicago, down 20-0 at the half, returned two fumbles for touchdowns, then Devin Hester returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown with 2:58 remaining and the Bears (6-0) overcame six turnovers by Rex Grossman to beat the Cardinals 24-23 Monday night.
Rackers, who connected from 41, 28 and 29 yards, missed a 41-yarder to the left with 53 seconds left for what would have been the game winner for Arizona (1-5).
After Grossman threw his fourth interception, the Cardinals were trying to use up time. But Brian Urlacher stripped the ball from Edgerrin James and Charles Tillman scooped it up for a 40-yard return to cut Arizona's lead to 23-17 with five minutes left.
On their next possession, the Cardinals were forced to punt. Hester caught the ball, broke a few arm tackles and sprinted upfield, scoring his second punt return for a touchdown this season and giving Chicago the lead for the first time all night.
It was the third time Arizona had blown a late lead at home this season. Similar collapses occurred against St. Louis and Kansas City.
Rookie quarterback Matt Leinart, making his second NFL start, threw for two first-quarter touchdowns while the Cardinals shook up Grossman. The Bears' QB lost two fumbles, was intercepted four times and struggled to hit receivers when he did manage to get the ball cleanly away, going 14-for-37 for 148 yards.
| | | Monsters Inc. II - 10/16/2006
Source: Los Angeles Times With an unblemished record, a helmet-splitting defense, a quarterback who puts the ball in the right places, and a schedule any NFL team would love, the 5-0 Chicago Bears are humming along.
But their fans aren't.
Instead of humming along to the tune of the team's fight song, loyal followers seem to be learning the words to "Bear Down, Chicago Bears" — an indication of how frequently their team is scoring. After every Bears touchdown at Soldier Field, the lyrics scroll across the stadium's banner boards.
"I don't think fans for a long time really knew the words," said Gary Fencik, a star safety on the great Bears teams of the mid-1980s who is now a season-ticket holder. "They'd sing, 'Bear Down, Chicago Bears' and then start humming the rest. But when you score 35, 40 points a game, you're hearing it a lot more than you have in the last 10 years."
The Bears are back, after only two winning seasons in the last decade. They have clobbered opponents by a combined 156-36 — the NFL's widest winning differential by 53 points, going into Week 6 games. And only four of their next 11 opponents currently have winning records: New England, Minnesota, St. Louis and the New York Giants.
Super Bowl fever has already taken hold in the Windy City, where, the Chicago Tribune reports, the going rate for a package of eight tickets to the Dec. 31 regular-season finale against Green Bay is $10,000. Someone else is selling a parking pass for the next home game, Oct. 29, for $109, a bargain at four times the face value.
The Bears play at Arizona tonight, where the Cardinals will be making their first "Monday Night Football" appearance since 1999. They haven't won a Monday game since 1985, when they were the St. Louis Cardinals. Chicago has lost 14 of 18 Monday night games, including each of the last four. But this is a very different Bears team, one that has been compared to the 1985 powerhouse that was 15-1 and stomped New England in Super Bowl XX.
| | | R-E-S-P-E-C-T - 10/13/2006
Source: Chicago Sun-Times Tommie Harris is looking for respect -- and at 5-0 with the highest-scoring offense and stingiest defense in the league, he doesn't think the Bears are getting it. Not from the Arizona Cardinals, anyway.
''I feel like those guys are saying things that are very disrespectful,'' Harris said. ''We need to go down there and get respect from everybody.''
The only thing that could be construed as disrespectful was a comment Wednesday by wide receiver Anquan Boldin.
''We see some things on film we can take advantage of,'' Boldin said. ''I like the way we moved the ball on them in the preseason. Anybody can have the ball moved on them. Nobody is just that dominant.''
Boldin will be one of the keys to Arizona's attack with Larry Fitzgerald (hamstring) out. Matt Leinart threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to Boldin last week in his debut.
''We have to go out every week and prove ourselves over and over again,'' Harris said. ''I don't think anybody's ever going to just come out and say, 'The Bears are a great defense,' so we have to do it again on Monday.''
| | | Facing Matt Leinart has no Bears concerned - 10/10/2006
Source: ChicagoSports.com If attitude counts for anything, the Arizona Cardinals are already in trouble.
Before they played the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Cardinals players gathered around TV sets and watched the first part of the Bears' annihilation of the Buffalo Bills. After their loss to the Chiefs, some Cardinals already had Bears on the brain.
"We know what kind of beast we're going to face next Monday," safety Adrian Wilson told the Arizona Republic.
Rookie quarterback Matt Leinart will be making his second start. He looked good (15-for-21, 144 yards, one TD) in the Cardinals' exhibition win in August at Soldier Field. He was good again Sunday (22-for-35, 253 yards, two TDs), but the Bears are not exactly quaking at the prospect of having to face him again.
"Matt Leinart is a good football player, but this is the first time we will have played him, as I see it," coach Lovie Smith said. "Preseason games are glorified practices to me. We're anxious to see them again. They were able to have some success against us back then, but it's a totally different mind-set."
It will be just that for quarterback Rex Grossman, who has an unpleasant memory of the Arizona game. Grossman completed 13 of 21 passes, was intercepted once, posted a 57 passer rating and left the field to boos and fans clamoring for Brian Griese. | | | New Quarterbacks Buoy Hopes of Two Struggling Teams - 10/10/2006
Source: New York Times As Daunte Culpepper and Chris Simms nursed injuries Sunday and watched their teams play without them, they must have shared a discomfiting realization: Their understudies were outperforming them, casting their futures as starting quarterbacks into question.
The Miami Dolphins’ endless search for the heir to Dan Marino took an unexpected detour, with Joey Harrington stepping in for Culpepper for the foreseeable future. That was the same Harrington who in the off-season was ushered out of Detroit on a tide of criticism from fans and teammates alike.
Dolphins Coach Nick Saban said yesterday that Culpepper would begin a training program to improve the condition of his right knee, which he injured last season. There is no timetable for his return.
For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bruce Gradkowski “played his brains out,” in Coach Jon Gruden’s estimation. Gradkowski, a rookie out of Toledo, began his bid to be the Buccaneers’ starting quarterback for good, even if Simms is able to return this season from surgery that removed his ruptured spleen.
Miami’s decision to start Harrington against the New England Patriots represented a significant quarterback switch in a season when a number of young quarterbacks — Matt Leinart in Arizona and Vince Young in Tennessee, for instance — have begun to emerge. | | | Cardinals' Larry Fitzgerald out at least two weeks with hammy - 10/10/2006
Source: ESPN The struggling Arizona Cardinals have lost Pro Bowl receiver Larry Fitzgerald with a hamstring injury that could keep him sidelined for a month or more.
"I'd say it will be at least two weeks, two to five maybe, two to four, it's hard to say," coach Dennis Green said at his Monday news conference. "It's a real strong pull, maybe even a slight tear in there also."
Two other starters -- guard Milford Brown and nose tackle Kendrick Clancy -- injured ankles in Sunday's 23-20 home loss to Kansas City and might not play when the Cardinals, losers of four in a row, host the unbeaten Chicago Bears next Monday night.
Fitzgerald was hurt late in the first quarter Sunday, shortly after catching a five-yard touchdown pass from Matt Leinart.
"I was trying to crack back on a guy, and he just kind of moved out of the way at the last minute," Fitzgerald told reporters after the game. "When I was lunging, he wasn't there. I felt it pop on me."
Fitzgerald has 25 catches for 336 yards and two touchdowns this season. Last season, his second in the NFL, he caught 103 passes, tied with Steve Smith for most in the NFL. He and Anquan Boldin combined for 205 catches, most for any teammates in league history.
The injury also means more playing time for Troy Walters, the seven-year NFL veteran who was the team's No. 4 receiver behind Boldin, Fitzgerald and Bryant Johnson.
"Walters' 26-yard pass from Leinart set up Neil Rackers' 51-yard field goal attempt with two seconds to go. The kick was wide right. Fantasy Impact: Look for Leinart to continue to look to Bryant Johnson with the absence of Larry Fitzgerald on the field. | | | BREAKING NEWS: ARI WR Larry Fitzgerald out two to five weeks with hamstring injury - 10/09/2006
Source: KOLD.com Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green says the team will be without star wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald for two to five weeks because of a hamstring injury.
Green says Fitzgerald either has severe right hamstring pull or a slight tear.
The Pro Bowl receiver was injured late in the first quarter of yesterday's 23-to-20 loss to Kansas City. Green says the team will call up wide receiver Carlyle Holiday from the practice squad.
Two other starters _ offensive guard Milford Brown and nose tackle Kendrick Clancy _ injured ankles in yesterday's game and might not play when the one-and-four Cardinals host the unbeaten Chicago Bears next Monday night. Fantasy Impact: Look to pick up Cardinal's wide receiver Bryant Johnson ASAP. Johnson was quarterback Matt Lienart's favorite receiver on Sunday. Johnson was targeted with 10 passes, catching 6 of them for 82 yards. | | | Chiefs win wild one over Cardinals, 23-20 - 10/08/2006
Source: NFL.com Matt Leinart's great start wasn't good enough, and Larry Johnson's bad day had a big but painful finish.
Johnson, who rushed for just 36 yards, rumbled 78 yards with a screen pass to set up Lawrence Tynes' 19-yard field goal with 1:36 remaining. The Chiefs rallied from 10 down in the fourth quarter to beat the Arizona Cardinals 23-20.
Leinart, in his first NFL start, completed his first six passes, two for touchdowns, against a Kansas City defense that had not allowed a scoring pass in 12 quarters to start the season.
On his second pass play, Leinart called an audible from the line of scrimmage, then lofted a 49-yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin.
And with the clock winding down, Leinart drove the Cardinals into field-goal range. But Neil Rackers missed a 51-yard kick that would have tied it with 2 seconds to play.
"It was fun," Leinart said. "I had a good time out there, just playing football. ... I think we can take it as a positive. I think we moved up a little bit as an offense. That was my first start. Now we can just go from there."
Johnson's big play had an ugly ending when Arizona's Antrel Rolle grabbed the star running back's facemask and twisted his head as he fell out of bounds. Johnson lay motionless for a moment before getting up and leaving on his own.
Larry Fitzgerald caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Leinart, then left the game late in the first quarter with a hamstring injury that Green said "looked fairly serious." Fitzgerald said he would get an MRI on Oct. 9.
Notes: The Cardinals have lost four in a row and play a Monday night game at home against unbeaten Chicago in their next contest. ... Johnson's rushing total was his lowest since he gained 34 yards in just seven carries against Philadelphia on Oct. 2, 2006. ... Edgerrin James, who gained 71 yards on 24 carries, said the Cardinals are "making a lot of progress, but we still do stupid things. We're doing some of the stupidest things you can imagine." | | | Leinart says he's ready after first practice as starter - 10/04/2006
Source: ESPN The starting call has come earlier than expected for Matt Leinart, who went through his first practice as an NFL first-string quarterback on Wednesday.
Leinart capped the session with a little extra work on the field with Edgerrin James, then pronounced himself confident for his first start for Arizona on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, although he acknowledged, "They're probably licking their chops with a rookie quarterback coming in."
With costly mistakes plaguing Kurt Warner and the sputtering offense, coach Dennis Green decided to switch to Leinart, who was supposed to spend the entire season learning as a backup.
"This was not our intention. It's not what we wanted," Green said, "but we're 1-3 and just so many turnovers have brought it on."
Leinart has impressed coaches and teammates since he came to the Cardinals after a surprising drop to the No. 10 pick in the draft.
"I think you've got to understand who Matt Leinart is," Green said. "As far as college football is concerned, I don't know if there's a quarterback in the history of the game who has had as much success on that level." | | | Green looks to Leinart to revive 'ludicrous' offense - 10/03/2006
Source: ESPN Arizona coach Dennis Green calls the Cardinals' most recent offensive performance "ludicrous."
Green wasn't chuckling on Monday as he talked about replacing mistake-prone Kurt Warner with rookie Matt Leinart, a decision he announced Sunday after a 32-10 loss to the Falcons in Atlanta.
"He's a guy that had an incredible career in college," Green said. "I think he's worked hard to try to learn and understand the pro game, and I think he's ready to play." Fantasy Impact: Critics will say that this is giving up on the season, but this is just giving the season hope. The Cardinals weren't going to win many games with Warner turning the ball over 2+ times every game. If he can't get the ball to WRs Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, somebody in this organization should be able to. | | | 'D' the key as Falcons beat Cards 32-10 - 10/01/2006
Source: NFL.com Just imagine how good the Atlanta Falcons will be on defense when John Abraham returns.
For the third time in four games, the Atlanta defense didn't allow a touchdown. In fact, cornerback DeAngelo Hall scored one of his own with a 36-yard interception return and the Falcons cruised past the Arizona Cardinals 32-10.
The Michael Vick-led offense is having trouble getting into the end zone once it gets close -- not that it matters the way the defenders are playing. They have allowed only one touchdown all season, even though Abraham went down in Week 1 with a groin injury and hasn't played since.
"Part of being in the NFL is playing without guys throughout the season," said Patrick Kerney, who tied a career high with three sacks. "We've got so many veterans at all three levels -- along the line, linebacker and defensive back. Everyone is stepping up. Maybe we don't have many guys who are explosive as John, but we're not giving up any big plays."
Arizona did. Jerious Norwood scored on a 78-yard run, the longest in Falcons' history, while 46-year-old Morten Andersen equaled a career high with five field goals.
| | | Cards change mind, to stick with Warner as QB - 09/26/2006
Source: ESPN Matt Leinart's time as a starting quarterback in the NFL will have to wait -- the Cardinals are sticking with Kurt Warner as their starter.
"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," coach Dennis Green said. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."
Sources told ESPN's Chris Mortensen that the Cardinals were planning to go with Leinart as their starting quarterback this week, but a team source said the Cardinals reconsidered overnight and decided that starting Leinart at this point in the season would put too much pressure on the rookie quarterback. The Cardinals will continue to monitor the quarterback situation and still could make a change later in the season.
Fantasy Impact: For those who picked up Leinart in response to the news, it is time to drop him. If Warner is available in your league, he may be worthy of a back-up job on your team. | | | Leinart to Start Sunday - 09/26/2006
Source: ESPN ESPN's Chris Mortenson is reporting that Matt Leinart will start week 4 as the quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals. Fantasy Impact: Leinart was impressive in the preseason, outside of his first action. Even still, it was a small sample size and against 2nd teamers, so it's a long shot that he'll be a huge step up over Warner. | | | Report: Leinart agrees with Cardinals on six-year deal - 08/15/2006
Source: ESPN, Yahoo! The 2004 Heisman Trophy winner, Matt Leinart, ends his holdout and joins Cardinals camp. He was the last remaining rookie to hold out, and arrives with only 3 days of camp left. Fantasy Impact: Leinart will have to walk into camp to win the backup job, so if you've been handcuffing Navarre to Leinart, grab Leinart. | | | Leinart last unsigned first-round draft pick - 08/08/2006
Source: espn.com Another day went by without Matt Leinart at the Arizona Cardinals training camp on Tuesday, a contract standoff that has coach Dennis Green shaking his head in disbelief. Fantasy Impact: The longer Leinart is out of camp, the longer QB John Navarre will hold the backup job into the season. | | | Easterbrook: High-low - 07/31/2006
Source: ESPN Gregg Easterbrook kicks off a new season with his annual list of offseason highlights and lowlights -- and takes several teams to task for not drafting Matt Leinart. | | | Cardinals open training camp without Leinart - 07/31/2006
Source: yahoo.com, yahoo.com Quarterback Matt Leinart missed the Arizona Cardinals' first day of workouts Monday as contract negotiations between the team and their first-round draft pick dragged on. Fantasy Impact: This is even more disconcerting given that the two sides allegedly aren't even talking. | | | Leinart's Path Similar to That of Manning - 07/19/2006
Source: Newsday/AM New York If anyone is familiar with the road Matt Leinart faces as he prepares for his first NFL training camp, it is Eli Manning. | | | Q&A with Davis, Leinart and Moss (Yahoo! Sports) - 07/18/2006
Source: Yahoo! NEW YORK – Yahoo! Sports chatted with three of the NFL's top rookies: Vernon Davis, Matt Leinart and Sinorice Moss. Fantasy Impact: Moss may not have a major fantasy impact himself, but his presence should help the team as a whole. |
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| | |
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| 2004 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2005 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
| | |
|
|
|
|
| 1 | SFO |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2 | @SEA |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 3 | STL |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 4 | @ATL |
40.1 |
8 |
5 |
0 |
49 |
0 |
6.1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
-7 |
-7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| 5 | KAN |
91.7 |
35 |
22 |
0 |
253 |
0 |
7.2 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
31 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 6 | CHI |
88.6 |
42 |
24 |
0 |
232 |
0 |
5.5 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| 7 | @OAK |
36.3 |
32 |
13 |
0 |
203 |
0 |
6.3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
29 |
3 |
5 |
1.7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| 8 | @GNB |
51.7 |
35 |
14 |
0 |
157 |
0 |
4.5 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
25 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 9 | Bye |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 10 | DAL |
47.7 |
38 |
20 |
0 |
216 |
0 |
5.7 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
7 |
4 |
18 |
4.5 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| 11 | DET |
101.7 |
29 |
19 |
0 |
233 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
2 |
0.3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| 12 | @MIN |
76 |
51 |
31 |
0 |
405 |
0 |
7.9 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
10 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| 13 | @STL |
100.3 |
24 |
15 |
0 |
186 |
0 |
7.8 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 14 | SEA |
89.3 |
34 |
21 |
0 |
232 |
0 |
6.8 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
-3 |
-1.5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 15 | DEN |
51.4 |
35 |
20 |
0 |
214 |
0 |
6.1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
19 |
3 |
23 |
7.7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
| 16 | @SFO |
137.3 |
13 |
9 |
0 |
162 |
0 |
12.5 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 17 | @SDG |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2006 | To Date |
74 |
377 |
214 |
56.8 |
2547 |
212.3 |
6.8 |
12 |
11 |
1 |
21 |
158 |
22 |
49 |
2.2 |
4.1 |
2 |
0 |
8 |
2 |
|
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| | | |
