Rumor: Rodgers-like draft slide for USC QB Leinart are already being discussed

[Alexander]

I totally see Leinart slipping...He has no arm strength to speak of...I could see him being taken around 15-18

If anyone takes Cutler ahead of Leinart, then they are completely ignorant and fall in love with measureables.

 

[dbair1967]

Rumors of an Aaron Rodgers-like draft slide for USC quarterback Matt Leinart are already being discussed.

The presence of Vince Young, Jay Cutler, and Brodie Croyle accompanied by the fact that Leinart didn't participate in Senior Bowl activities is given as the reasoning. Although it doesn't seem he's as likely as Rodgers may have been to fall, no one saw what happened last year coming, either. Leinart's agents Leigh Steinberg and Chuck Price have apparently been quarrelling, but at his point there's no way he gets past Miami at 16.

Jan. 29 - 2:50 pm et

I doubt he free falls like that

Leinart isnt Troy Aikman or even Carson Palmer, but he is a good QB who knows how to read defense, has extensive experience in a pro style offense and can throw with accuracy

Rodgers had alot of holes in his game

David

 

[Chuck 54]

Wayne, when did Leinhart show great velocity? I am going to go back and watch the game again looking for that, but I don't remember him throwing many passes with much velocity. I remember great touch, but not much velocity. It could be that he uses his velocity when he needs to and I do believe that he didn't need to as much in college as he will in the nfl. My tivo cut the game off in the 4th quarter, so hopefully what I need to see is before my footage ends. I'm not basing my opinion of him on the Rose Bowl alone, this game just confirmed what I have thought about him. This guy just scares me.

1. The td throw to Jarrett was a great throw
2. He zipped a deep in route for a first down on one play when the announcers made the comment that he really fired that ball, plenty of arm on that one, had to do it due to coverage on that play, good catch by the receiver to hold on....paraphrasing, but it was that type of discussion.

I think they also mentioned something to the effect that it showed how much he could get on the ball when he had room to step up and into the pass as opposed to throwing on the run out of the pocket.

The deep in was almost definitely in the 3rd quarter.

 

[munkee]

No one saw it coming with Rodgers? Everybody was saying last year that if he wasn't taken early that he would fall far. As for Leinart, just too much talent to make it out of the top ten. As others have stated, would you like to be the GM that has to explain why they passed on Leinart. Anywhere past the top two or three picks is going to be tough to justify. Finally, the whole skipping the senior bowl thing. Traditionally, all the top picks skip it. As I recall, I didn't see Bush or Young there either.

 

[Concord]

No way in Hell Leinart falls like Rodgers.

 

[joseephuss]

No one saw it coming with Rodgers? Everybody was saying last year that if he wasn't taken early that he would fall far. As for Leinart, just too much talent to make it out of the top ten. As others have stated, would you like to be the GM that has to explain why they passed on Leinart. Anywhere past the top two or three picks is going to be tough to justify. Finally, the whole skipping the senior bowl thing. Traditionally, all the top picks skip it. As I recall, I didn't see Bush or Young there either.

Bush and Young aren't seniors.

 

[Muhast]

Not putting young down, but if you look at the 2nd half stats...he wasn't. Leinart was better, had more yards, and put up more points.

Also recall that Leinart was passing to guys covered tightly by sometimes two guys, getting smothered as they caught the ball. Young's receivers were so wide open, no one was in the picture, yet many times they had to go down to their knees to catch his low throws....again, not putting down Young, but Leinart showed both touch and velocity when needed. In the first half, I think he purposely floated a couple because he does have a great touch...the pass intercepted right at the goalline was clearly one where he underestimated the DB's speed and quickness....you didn't see that same mistake in the 2nd half when he started rifling the ball more.

You must be forgetting the pass he threw right to Huff, that he dropped on about the USC 40.

 

[munkee]

ah crap, totally forgot about that. Thanks for the the reminder.

 

[dcboy]

I will look for those plays when I rewatch the game.
Thanks

 

[CowboysFan28]

If anyone takes Cutler ahead of Leinart, then they are completely ignorant and fall in love with measureables.

Hey I agree with you, but it happens every year. Some player either has a meteoric rise or fall, due to measurables...And from what I saw and have read...Leinart doesn't have a big league arm...That's why I think it's perfectly legit that he could fall to 15-18 area....

Doesn't mean he won't be a good/great qb.

 

[tyke1doe]

Who started that insane rumor?

Pulease, Leinart won't get past the third pick. Bush didn't do much for him two years ago, and I don't remember Bush being that big a factor a year ago when the Trojans won the National Championship.

The guy has played big-time ball against big-time programs. Any team that needs a QB who lets him drop is a fool.

 

[tyke1doe]

Bush and Young aren't seniors.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Not that funny, but that dang 10 character count.)

 

[Gryphon]

UPDATE: LEINART TO SLIDE ON DRAFT DAY?
POSTED 12:21 p.m. EST; LAST UPDATED 1:16 p.m. EST, January 29, 2006

The whispers are starting to be heard on the information superhighway that is the NFL rumor mill.

Will USC quarterback Matt Leinart be this year's Aaron Rodgers?

In 2005, Rodgers was the latest over-hyped product of Cal quarterback guru Jeff Tedford. In February, many had Rodgers pegged possibly to go as high as the No. 1 overall selection in the draft. But the 49ers ultimately opted for Utah's Alex Smith in the one hole, leaving Rodgers on the board.

After the Dolphins and Browns passed on Rodgers at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, the pecking order moved to a cluster of teams with no clear needs at the quarterback position.

Bears? Nope. Bucs? Ditto. Titans? No.

And so on, through the Vikings, Cardinals, Commanders, Lions, Cowboys, Chargers. Saints, Panthers, Chiefs, Texans, Bengals, Vikings, Rams.

Cowboys, Jaguars, Ravens, Raiders.

Then came the Packers at No. 24. Despite immediate needs at plenty of positions other than quarterback, new G.M. Ted Thompson opted for insurance against the looming retirement of Lord Favre, who had waffled about returning in 2005 but who now might be back for 2006.

This time around, the early talk is that Leinart could end up doing the round one slip 'n' slide. And league insiders are pointing to several pieces of evidence that could, in the end, cause the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner to get the 2006 booby prize after finding himself getting a contract worth far less than the $50 million or so that he would have seen if he'd left USC when his stock was at its zenith.

First, the fact that Leinart didn't take on the challenge of the NFL after winning the ultimate team and individual honors in college makes some folks wonder whether he's got the raw desire to face the challenge of football at its highest possible level. It's not as if he was only three years removed from high school after the 2004 season; he'd put in four full years of college and only took some bullpoopie ballroom dancing class last semester. But he wanted to stick around for another year where things were easy, familiar, comfortable.

Second, the burgeoning mess involving his agents, Leigh Steinberg and Chuck Price, and the various other hangers-on has some league insiders questioning Leinart's overall wisdom and judgment. This guy will be expected to lead men on an NFL gridiron; meanwhile, he's being led around by folks who already are at odds (as we reported on Saturday) as to the question of whether Leinart would make a cameo appearance at the Senior Bowl. The thinking is that Steinberg was added to the representation team because he brings a certain degree of credibility, but that Leinart and Price ultimately will nudge Steinberg into the background -- or out of the picture altogether. Leinart's decision to place so much of his career in Price's hands suggests that Matt simply doesn't get it.

Third, word is that Steinberg and Price plan to parade Leinart around at the Super Bowl this week. Good for Leigh (who's still trying to recover from that ugly split with David Dunn) and good for Price (a virtual unknown who's trying to parlay his relationship with Leinart into a career as a big-shot agent).

But bad for Leinart, who should be working out hard right now, not peacocking his way through Motown.

As one league insider told us on Saturday, Leinart's main weakness is the T-shirt and shorts stuff into which scouts put so much focus this time of year. With speed and arm strength as his liabilities, he should be doing everything his can to improve his numbers, not hobnobbing.

Fourth, Vanderbilt's Jay Cutler is rocketing up the board. And Cutler is regarded as having the ideal temperament and heart for pro football. Cutler made his mark on a college team without a collection of first-day draft picks on both sides of the ball. Cutler eschewed offers to play safety at other schools because he knew he could be a successful quarterback.

As a result, Cutler is catching the attention of the guys who are amassing notebooks and laptops full of data that will be used in late April to decide who gets picked and when. As ESPN's Chris Mortensen explained this week, Cutler might be the best quarterback prospect in the draft. And the thinking in league circles is that Mort isn't merely throwing a bone to Cutler and agent Bus Cook; on this one, Mort's got his fist around the league's carotid artery. Cutler is a brand new Ferrari on the fast track, and he very well could get picked before Leinart or Vince Young of Texas.

Fifth, Cutler's participation in the Senior Bowl has earned him bonus points. Although Leinart's decision to stay away can be attributed to the perception that he has nothing to prove, former No. 1 overall picks such as Carson Palmer and David Carr made the trip to Mobile.

Bottom line -- Leinart should have played in the game.

Sixth, there's a real concern that Leinart won't be happy in a city other than Los Angeles, where he's become one of the biggest fish in an already huge pond. So what'll he do in a smaller town where he's just getting started -- and where his team doesn't have the overall firepower to propel him to immediate local superstardom?

Seventh, no one knows whether Leinart has the ability to keep his focus on a team that isn't winning every week, since he's never had to continue to forge ahead after losing game upon game. He came off as a somewhat of a spoiled 11-year-old during his on-field comments after losing the Rose Bowl; what kind of sound bites will he produce when his pro team is 1-8?

The biggest unknown for any incoming NFL player is the size and content of his heart. And the issue isn't resolved until the guy is out there banging hats with established NFL competition. Leinart has risen to the occasion in the past while in college, but there's just enough evidence to make scouts wonder whether Leinart will be able to make the adjustment from one of the best college programs in football history to a struggling NFL franchise without the supporting cast and coaching staff to allow him perform above his talent level.

So if the Saints take Cutler at No. 2 and the Titans take Young at No. 3, where will Leinart land?

Much of it depends on what teams with needs at the position can do during the first several weeks of free agency. Assuming the Jets, Raiders, Lions, and Cardinals are comfortable with their situations at quarterback by late April, Leinart might slide to the Dolphins at No. 16. And if Miami passes on Leinart, the kid could end up being on the board even longer than Rodgers was.

The Lions could be the best bet for Leinart, given new coach Rod Marinelli's ties to USC and his ability to motivate. Plus, there's plenty of other talent on offense.

Even if he goes at No. 2, Leinart will lose plenty of money over what he would have earned a year ago. If he ends up at No. 4 or lower, the financial difference could end up being staggering.

It's all the more reason, in our view, for Leinart to wake up, make good decisions, and get his butt into the gym and onto the track from now through draft day.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Lord Favre

Almost spit my hot chocolate all over my monitor when I read that.

 

[dcboy]

I did rewatch all of the second half of the rose bowl that I could (tvo cut off early in 4th) to look for what Wayne commented about. I had to laugh because after a nice pass to Jerret, I thought that this pass had better zip than I usually see from Leinhart. Then the commentators remarked about it in almost the same wording as Wayne remembered. I thought that he had decent zip on short to intermediate passes in the second half and don't remember any deep outs. I think he did show better arm strength in the second half, wonder what that is about. I still don't think he has more than an average nfl arm, but then again, we can all name very good qbs that don't. He still scares me though.

 

[Chuck 54]

Seventh, no one knows whether Leinart has the ability to keep his focus on a team that isn't winning every week, since he's never had to continue to forge ahead after losing game upon game.

Wow...that ranks up there with the stupidest thing I've ever read...so I guess the NFL should only draft QB's who've suffered through long losing streaks??

 

[lspain1]

That article is a bunch of twaddle IMO.

I heard a rumor that Leinart has thing for college age girls...Oh wait, he's been in college too.....Never mind!: