Quarterback Controversy Brews in Arizona

by Tom V.

It’s week three of the NFL season and we’re beginning to see signs of quarterback controversy all around. Some are expected: Chicago (has Rex blown his last opportunity?), Oakland (is Culpepper ready to return to a full-time starting position), and soon enough Cleveland will again feel the pressure from fans to put rookie Brady Quinn in the lineup.

But it’s in Arizona, where we thought Matt Leinart was safe in keeping his starting spot, where uncertainty is most drawing attention since Sunday’s game when Leinart was pulled.

Let’s make one thing clear right away: Kurt Warner is a better quarterback than Matt Leinart right now. There’s no doubt about it. If you needed evidence, you didn’t have to look further than Sunday’s game against the Ravens. Warner essentially played 1 1/2 quarters. He threw the same number of passes as Leinart. But the difference was night and day: Leinart was benched with 9 completions and 53 yards while Warner completed 15 passes for 258 yards and a pair of scores. Against the Ravens. On the road.

Whisenhunt should have doused this controversy in a hurry. All he had to say was that Warner gave the team its best opportunity to win (no doubt about it). Fans would have swallowed that. But his response instead was defending Leinart and his poor play.

“It wasn’t a situation where Matt didn’t play well,” Whisenhunt said Monday. “Matt has worked hard and done what we asked him to do. He’s improving as a quarterback, so he is our starter, like we said yesterday after the game.”

Let’s be honest. You don’t bench a quarterback unless he’s playing poorly. And Leinart has done it twice this season already. Week two he had a much better performance, but you have to wonder whether Whisenhunt wants to win now or in the future. The worst thing that can happen is a split locker room and that won’t be good for anything.

If Whisenhunt picks a quarterback, it’s up to him to stick with his decision. At least through a full game. Pulling Leinart damages his confidence. More than that, it causes fans to scratch their heads. Put Leinart in and keep him there. If he has a bad season through week 8, pull him. But taking him out in the middle of a game just isn’t a good idea.