Whisenhunt: 'Nothing has changed'

Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt has lambasted ESPN.com's Chris Mortensen (and by proxy, everyone who reported the story) for the report yesterday citing 'an unamed source' that the team planned to make Kurt Warner the starting Quarterback over Matt Leinart.

“I haven’t read the paper today or seen the Internet... Do we have a quarterback?... It seems like Chris Mortensen is making the decision on our quarterback for our football team... But nothing has changed.”

- Cards coach Ken Whisenhunt, The Arizona Republic

Poor Mort. It's quite obvious, based on Whisenhunt's non-denial, that the Cardinals probably will switch to Warner, but that they simply aren't playing ball in case it looks like a knee-jerk reaction after Leinart's poor showing in the pre-season game against Oakland on Saturday, in which he was intercepted three times.

Whisenhunt went on to say that "...One thing I learned from (former Steelers coach) Bill Cowher is, you don’t want to make an emotional decision based on a half of football.". Again, rather than dispelling any rumours, that kind of statement is basically an admission that the team is actively considering making the chance. Besides which, as Whisenhunt himself mentions, they will base any decision on the overall pre-season performance - something that does little to enhance Leinart's prospects.

Now it looks like the team will hold off from making their choice for a few days, in an effort to make the move look slightly more considered.

Strahan 'open to return' - Source

According to various reports, in the wake of Osi Umenyiora's season ending injury, the New York Giants will have discussions with retired DE Michael Strahan about a possible return to action.

Does retirement mean nothing to ANYONE anymore?

Anyway, the most obvious question, apart from whether he wants to come back, is has Strahan kept in football shape? If the answer is negative, then with only two weeks until the season starts, he likely doesn't have the time to recover from a serious loss of conditioning.

If the answer is yes, there doesn't seem to be much stopping Strahan from coming back. Unlike Brett Favre, his return would be more than welcome in New York, and if the matter is purely financial, we don't think that the Giants will balk at offering around the $10m mark that would seal the deal.

No confirmation of Warner move yet

With 'Broadway Matt' Leinart allegedly demoted to backing up Kurt Warner last night, we had a good think about the situation last night and weighed up the pros and cons of the move. As yet, there has been no confirmation of the move, unlike in Atlanta, where Mike Smith held a press conference last night to confirm Matt Ryan as starter.

In Arizona, there is some debate as to whether Warner is enough of an upgrade over Leinart to justify effectively ending his chances of leading the team. It seems unlikely that Warner will retire after this season, and so it could end up being 2010 when Leinart reclaims the starting role, assuming that Warner maintains a decent level of play and is not injured.

Such a scenario would leave Leinart taking the reigns in his contract year, something that can affect a player's performance in very different ways. Some players respond to the challenge, while others crumble under the pressure of playing for their livelihoods. His confidence has not seemed as infallible at the NFL level as it did during his USC days, and the latest developments are sure to have him questioning whether he will ever get a 'fair shot' in Glendale.

Of course, it could be argued that he has already had a 'fair shot', and that his inability to beat out the 37yr old Warner is not a ringing endorsement of his talent. Leinart (in theory) should hold the better hand, having a high draft stock, being 12 years younger than Warner, and having a high profile outside the game that keeps the Cardinals in the nation's concious - somewhere they have staunchly avoided since their move to Arizona in 1988.

Another thing that counts in Leinart's favour is that Warner has generally regressed when named the unequivocal starter in Arizona. In 2005 he was patchy before he was injured, allowing Josh McCown to take over as starter, and in 2006, his poor play in the first four games of the season gave Leinart the chance to start in his rookie year. Warner has played more effectively either in relief of Leinart or when he is named temporary starter because of injuries.

However, it seems that Warner's impressive performances in 2007 have been enough to convince coach Ken Whisenhunt that he is the better option - at least short term - than Leinart. It should not be forgotten that Leinart was drafted by Dennis Green, not Whisenhunt, and that Whisenhunt does not have his own coaching legacy intertwined with the former USC Quarterback. There were rumours when Whisenhunt joined before the '07 season that he was not enamoured with Leinart's arm, mobility, and the fact that he is a left hander.

Right now, it looks like the Cards are prepared to move in another direction. The 2009 draft may be too soon to take another Quarterback early, but if Warner looks like he could retire after the 2009 season, it may force Arizona's hand if they don't believe Leinart can get it done.

*update*

Warner is only signed through the 2008 season, so another sticking block for the Cards could be whether to offer him a new deal (potentially multi-year), or whether to hope that Leinart has grown into the job during this season.

Oh, and we feel that this picture probably doesn't help Matt's case: