USC QB Matt Leinart (Arizona Cardinals draft pick)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

yahoo.com

8/30/06

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=yspsctnhdln>Leinart pleased with smooth transition to NFL</TD></TR><TR><TD height=7><SPACER type="block" width="1" height="1"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>By BOB BAUM, AP Sports Writer
August 22, 2006
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -- Matt Leinart is pleased with his smooth, quick transition to the NFL, but losing is unfamiliar and uncomfortable, even if it's early. "I know it's preseason," the rookie quarterback said. "But the feeling of losing, I haven't had that too many times in my career, even in high school."
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Leinart, 37-2 as USC's quarterback, knows that even the best teams lose more than that in the NFL. Still, he wants to help instill a winning attitude in a Cardinals franchise that has had one winning season in 21 years.

"In college, it was expected to win, it was just how many points we were going to win by, it seemed," he said. "There were a few close ones here and there, but that was the mind-set that we had, and that's the mind-set we need to have here."
Leinart's NFL baptism was a challenging one, to say the least. He was inserted into the game at New England with just under two minutes to go in the half. He responded with a pair of scrambles for 29 yards to set up Neil Rackers' field goal, Arizona's lone score in a 30-3 loss on Saturday.
"I felt like I had some good composure in the pocket and made some plays on the move," he said. "There's a few throws that I should have made, but those will be there, just feeling more comfortable with the system and stuff. Next time I just want to be able to move the sticks and put some points up on the board."
Leinart completed four of 11 passes for 45 yards but had two dropped. He was not intercepted.
"He needed a little more help out there, but I thought he had solid play," coach Dennis Green said. "He's a talented player. He's got great poise, and that's the thing that really showed up."
Before his NFL debut, Leinart participated in only two days of training camp after ending his contract holdout by signing a six-year deal that could be worth as much as $51 million, with $14 million guaranteed.
"I'm happy with how quickly I got back into this stuff," he said. "A couple of days of training camp and I didn't really miss a beat."
Friday night against the Bears in Chicago, Leinart expects to enter the game early in the second half.
"I know I'm becoming more confident out there with the team," he said, "understanding what the guys are, getting the connection and the timing and all that stuff down."
Green wasn't ready to officially name Leinart the backup quarterback behind starter Kurt Warner, even though the choice seems an obvious one. John Navarre has completed 12-of-23 passes for 70 yards with three interceptions.
"I'm just competing," Leinart said. "Obviously right now I'm getting all the second-team reps and all that, but nothing is given to you. I'm just going to keep doing it, keep getting better."
Leinart said one difference from college that he discovered in a hurry was the speed of the NFL game.
"Definitely the biggest thing is those guys up front are moving fast, they're moving a lot faster than they did in college," he said. "They're going harder, they'll bull rush you, they'll do everything. You've just got to have your feet in the pocket and maintain your composure."
He was not surprised, though, that he was able to move into action so quickly.
"I was here in the summer and knew a bunch of stuff," Leinart said. "At USC, I was tutored very well with audibles and understanding defenses, so when it came to this transition, it was a little easier. Obviously it's more complex in the NFL but the basic stuff I know pretty well and I'm just going to keep getting better. "They keep throwing more stuff at me and, kind of like a sponge, I just absorb it and move on to the next thing."

[osugrad21]

Link

Posted on Thu, Aug. 31, 2006
email this
print this


Leinart the dad, says pregnant USC hoopster's father

Daily News Wire Services

<!-- begin body-content --> Southern California basketball player Brynn Cameron will miss the upcoming season because she is expecting a baby with Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart, according to her father.
Cameron is due to deliver a boy in November, Stan Cameron told the Ventura County Star.
Cameron, a 20-year-old junior guard, and Leinart dated while he attended USC. He graduated in December and was drafted by the Cardinals in April.
Asked yesterday about Cameron, Leinart said, "I'm not going to comment."
Cameron and Leinart reportedly broke up last year but still talk frequently, Stan Cameron said.
"Brynn does not want to get married," he said. "She wants to finish school and let Matt do his thing and then figure it out."
Cameron said his daughter doesn't want to comment until after the baby is born.
"It might not be the best timing in the world, but we are obviously very happy to have a new baby in the family," Stan Cameron said. "Brynn just found out about a month ago and told the team on Monday."
USC announced Tuesday that Cameron would sit out this season for undisclosed personal reasons. She averaged 9.8 points as a freshman starter for USC but appeared in only 13 games last season after undergoing a second surgery on her hip.
"Once the baby is born, she wants to get back to playing basketball again and finish school," Stan Cameron said. "I know Brynn will make a great mom. Things will be fine. It will be fun."

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

Cards' rookie QB leaves game with injury

Associated Press

<!-- begin body-content -->GLENDALE, Ariz. - Arizona rookie quarterback Matt Leinart left Thursday night's preseason game against Denver with a sprained right shoulder.
An MRI is planned for Friday, but Leinart said the injury was no big deal. He said the shoulder popped out of its socket when he was hit, then back into place as he jogged off the field.
"It was kind of a fluke thing. It just got out of socket a little bit and I was running off it was kind of hanging there, but I popped it back in and it was fine," he said. "I could have gone back in and played if I had to."
The injury occurred when Leinart was sacked by Patrick Chukwurah late in the third quarter. He stayed in the game for one more play, completing a pass, before going to the sidelines.
Earlier in the game, Leinart directed an 87-yard touchdown drive, throwing 17 yards to Troy Walters for the score.
<!-- end body-content -->

[Steve19]

Originally Posted by osugrad21

Leinart the dad, says pregnant USC hoopster's father

Daily News Wire Services

<!-- begin body-content -->Southern California basketball player Brynn Cameron will miss the upcoming season because she is expecting a baby with Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart, according to her father...Brynn will make a great mom. Things will be fine. It will be fun."

http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/usc/sports/w-baskbl/auto_action/95834.jpeg

Reminds me of this Vodafone advertisement, oops! (follow this link and play the Vodafone advertisement of the girl in the blue bathrobe: http://www.dandad.org/awards06/entry.asp?entry_id=12373). You need to have Apple Quicktime loaded to view the file.

A couple of these ads are a real scream.

[stxbuck]

That sucking sound Leinart is hearing is half of his signing bonus going to his baby mama.....now he knows how Santonio Holmes and Co. feel...........

[bighawk]

Living in Southern California it seems that all the news about Matt Leinart is negative...or should I say, in this part of the country where right is wrong and wrong is right, quite positive. At least he knows his equipment works...and he appears to be doin' his thing with no obligations. Yet what about the kid. I sure feel badly for him as he may never know what "normal" means in a family unit. So much for living life with little or no consequences...other than child support of course.