Someone Else’s Problem
You have to hand it to Derek Anderson – he (or his agent) sure know how to pick his teams.
Anderson has gone from competing in Cleveland with a former high-profile college QB (Brady Quinn) who may not have the goods to play in the NFL to competing in Arizona against a former high-profile college QB (Matt Leinart) who may not have the goods to play in the NFL.
And now the Cardinals are making the mistake of thinking Anderson is the answer at QB as they are reportedly going to start him Saturday night against Chicago in their third preseason game – generally the game that teams use as a final tune-up to get their starters ready for the regular season.
At least some Cardinal fans seem to know what they are getting themselves into. Cardinals Gab describes the QB situation by writing:
“you’ve destroyed Leinart’s barely there confidence to get a look at a quarterback that probably isn’t a better option anyway. Anderson’s still learning the Cards’ system and the INTs will mount, most likely at a rate that will outstrip his TDs. I think it’s tough to say that Anderson is per se a better quarterback than Leinart right now. As a result, a single successful performance won’t tell us much about whether Anderson should start over Leinart.
“I’ve always felt that Leinart doesn’t need to be a stud for the Cardinals to win. I would take a safe, albeit vanilla offense under Leinart over a high risk-high reward offense under Anderson. Derek’s style of play will most likely lead to an increased number of turnovers. This will put a tremendous strain on a defense that has new players everywhere on the field. I’ve yet to see a team consistently lose the turnover battle and win games.”
But just like in Cleveland some Cards fans are inexplicably defending Anerson, like Rabel16 who commented on an Arizona Republic article on the switch by saying:
“Have we forgotten that DA HAS proven himself in the league? He was a Pro Bowl QB a couple years back and remember he was playing in Cleveland for crying out loud, which is comparbale (sic) to playing in AZ in the 90’s. There is plenty of upside and it is very obvious that he has much more command of the offense. Leinart is lackadaisical and there is no spunk in his step, which carries over to the rest of the team. DA is a prototype whiz qb. Effectively run the ball and go up top to Fitz. Start DA, cut Leinart, end of story… ”
Sound familiar?
And media personality Mike Lombardi has weighed in, claiming the Cards may just cut ties with Leinart if they decide to go with Anderson. Of course, we all know first hand about Lombardi’s “analysis” in these parts.
I don’t wish Cards fans any ill will, but I’m sure glad Anderson is their problem now.
Red Right 88 