This Is Silly
Michael Silver has a
pretty good column on Kurt Warner and Matt Leinart, the starter and the heir apparent for the Arizona Cardinals. But check this part out:
Also, Warner believes, as do I, that what's about to go down in the Cardinals' new stadium will bear a much closer resemblance to Drew Brees-Philip Rivers than to Warner-Manning.
"It's similar to what I would call the Drew Brees situation," Warner says. "I'm the starter, and there are no questions about it -- it's not a competition here. I can go out there and play well and not have to look over my shoulder, and if I do that, it's all going to be great."Drew Brees and Kurt Warner have virtually nothing in common. Brees was 25 years old when his team drafted a #1 pick; Warner will be 35 when the Cardinals kick off their season. When you have a 25-year-old player who's showing signs of developing into a top-flight quarterback, you let him play, even if the team is losing and even if that means keeping a top draft pick on the bench. With Warner, if the team is not doing well, it seems more likely there will be pressure to let Leinart play.
On the other hand, if Warner plays well and the team wins, he's a two-time MVP and they'll probably just give Leinart some occasional mop-ups, which would effectively work out the same. At any rate, if I were Leinart, I would not be terribly happy with Philip Rivers' career to date.
