AceRimRat
04-29-2006, 02:14 PM
Live from the Draft: Falling Cardinal
April 29, 2006
By Eric “Ace” Strauss, Raiderfans.net/Fanpass.net Staff Columnist
http://www.fanpass.net/2006_NFL_Draft/leinart.jpg
If Southern Cal quarterback Matt Leinart had come out for the draft after his Heisman Trophy-winning, national championship junior season, he might have been the top pick in the 2005 NFL Draft.
But he chose to stay in school, and suffered the consequences as he slid from a possible No. 1 pick to a possible Top 5 pick — as teammate Reggie Bush won the Heisman Trophy and the headlines. And then on draft day, he slid even further, all the way to No. 10 — where he was the second quarterback picked after Texas’ Vince Young, who beat him in this year’s national championship game.
The Cardinals aren’t complaining, though. With aging veteran Kurt Warner starting and top backup Josh McCown departing in free agency, there’s a spot for a “quarterback of the future” in the desert.
And the left-hander and his three 3,300-yard-plus college passing seasons fit right in.
Leinart was seen before the draft as the most clearly NFL-ready quarterback, but whether or not he’ll step in right away is still up in the dry Arizona air.
(Sources: ESPN television coverage and NFL Draft Guide 2006, Ourlads’ Scouting Services 2006 Guide to the NFL Draft and 2005 Review, Pro Football Weekly 2006 Draft Preview, Raiders media guides, NFL media information, The Sporting News Complete Pro Football Draft Encyclopedia)
April 29, 2006
By Eric “Ace” Strauss, Raiderfans.net/Fanpass.net Staff Columnist
http://www.fanpass.net/2006_NFL_Draft/leinart.jpg
If Southern Cal quarterback Matt Leinart had come out for the draft after his Heisman Trophy-winning, national championship junior season, he might have been the top pick in the 2005 NFL Draft.
But he chose to stay in school, and suffered the consequences as he slid from a possible No. 1 pick to a possible Top 5 pick — as teammate Reggie Bush won the Heisman Trophy and the headlines. And then on draft day, he slid even further, all the way to No. 10 — where he was the second quarterback picked after Texas’ Vince Young, who beat him in this year’s national championship game.
The Cardinals aren’t complaining, though. With aging veteran Kurt Warner starting and top backup Josh McCown departing in free agency, there’s a spot for a “quarterback of the future” in the desert.
And the left-hander and his three 3,300-yard-plus college passing seasons fit right in.
Leinart was seen before the draft as the most clearly NFL-ready quarterback, but whether or not he’ll step in right away is still up in the dry Arizona air.
(Sources: ESPN television coverage and NFL Draft Guide 2006, Ourlads’ Scouting Services 2006 Guide to the NFL Draft and 2005 Review, Pro Football Weekly 2006 Draft Preview, Raiders media guides, NFL media information, The Sporting News Complete Pro Football Draft Encyclopedia)