Leinart says he has ‘outplayed the competition’
Published: August 30th, 2010 | Tags: Arizona Cardinals, Derek Anderson, Frank Tadych, Ken Whisenhunt, Matt Leinart
Ken Whisenhunt said following practice on Monday that he hasn’t made a decision on the whole Matt Leinart versus Derek Anderson thing, meaning it isn’t going away anytime soon.
While Leinart competes for a job, he certainly isn’t keeping his thoughts to himself. Anderson most definitely is. The latest from Leinart came when he told reporters on Monday that he’s outplayed Anderson.
“I feel like I’ve outplayed the competition, training camp, preseason,” Leinart said, according to the Arizona Republic. “I think my plays speaks about that. For me, this goes beyond the football field.
“The philosophy is you want the best 11 guys to play. I feel like I’ve proved that with my performance. I don’t really know what else I could possibly do, so it probably goes beyond football. For me, I just really want an explanation and I haven’t been given one.”
After saying he wanted an explanation, Leinart also acknowledged he hasn’t asked Whisenhunt for one, per Kent Somers’ report.
Whisenhunt and the Cardinals are certainly watching as to how both Leinart and Anderson react to the competition. To that point, Leinart is probably exactly right — who wins the job could come down to things off the field. Namely, intangibles.
Whisenhunt has intimated the decision isn’t all about statistics. If the performances of Leinart and Anderson are near equal, who has command of the team, and the huddle? Who is the best leader? We criticize players for not talking to the media, as well as giving bland answers when they do. Still, Leinart isn’t doing himself any favors with his latest round of comments.
If Anderson does win the competition, few believe it would be a functional situation with Leinart as his backup. Last week, we took a look at what would happen if Leinart loses out.