Dear Matt Leinart

Kurt: Coulda been you, bro... Matt: *emo sigh*

via ESPN:

The Arizona Cardinals have released Matt Leinart, parting ways with the former Heisman Trophy winner who was supposed to be the team's franchise quarterback but couldn't escape the backup role.
The team made the announcement on Saturday, shortly before the Cardinals had to reach their 53-man roster limit.

"In fairness to Matt, I think that it would be a tough position for him to be in a backup role," coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "Maybe a fresh start for him is what would be a good thing, for all of us."

I always find it funny when athletes go from the college game to the professional game and lose their mojos. Situations like that beg the simple question: What happened? From off-the-field trouble, to coaching and administrative changes, there's usually a veritable reason for why a player loses his stride after making a move to the pros. In the NFL, there are so many variables to a player's success, that sometimes drafting the best player is a simple game of chance. At the same time, there still exists the idea of a can't-miss prospect; a player who's on-field laurels translate perfectly from the college to pro game. You, Matt Leinart were one of those prospects, and now that you've officially been relegated to a future journeyman, it's high time to out you on the wackness that has pervaded your career.

I'm not going to lie. I despise USC as a football program. I don't even think I have a good reason (guess that makes me a hater), aside from the fact that most, if not all of their players, including yourself are what we sports pundits like to call 'system players'. Be real, Matt. Do you honestly think you would've put up the numbers you did at a different school. When one checks out your track record, a lot of your success was because of the players around you. The college game, to me, is much more team-oriented than the pro game. Schools that constantly recruit full classes of blue-chips are always going to be at the top, because their entire squad gets an injection of new blood on both sides of the ball. Matt, you had one doozy of a team around you. Reggie Bush, Lendale White, Sam Baker, Darnell Bing, Brian Cushing, Fred Davis, Rey Maualuga, to name a few, were all on the team with you. Those dudes all went pro and are playing at a high level now. That said, how can anyone debate that your success wasn't (in part) due to your surroundings. For God's sakes, your coach Pete Carrol practically made it impossible for you to not light up the scoreboard! When you got to the NFL, I knew you were doomed, but tried to give you the benefit of the doubt.

Kurt Warner is one of the best QB's of the past decade. The man is a consummate professional and is easily one of the most knowledgeable players in recent history. That the Cardinals would draft you to back him up was literally, the PERFECT situation for you. Denny Green, and (the next head coach) Ken Whisenhunt laid out a red carpet for you. You had two top-5 receivers lining up at your sides, a competent defense on the other side of the ball, and a dedicated coaching staff. As far as I'm concerned, there was no reason for you to not excel once Kurt decided to call it quits after the 2009 season. In fact, Matt, you should've been starting from 2008, but just kept handing the position back over to Warner. Enter this season, and the atmosphere around the Cardinals was tense. Add to the fact that you were complaining about your role, and the world knew you were on thin ice in regards to your standing with the Cardinals. Tack on a lousy preseason (when I say lousy, I mean I probably could have done better) and it was curtains for you. No wonder they released you. All you can really hope for now is a good seat on the bench in Houston. Matt Schaub is actually nice, and unless he loses an arm in a freak accident, you won't be seeing the field anytime soon. What's interesting about football is how much influence the quarterback has on the game at large. When one looks at you play (professionally) you get the the sense that you're not even in control of yourself, much less the game. I suppose this stop with the Texans might yield a second chance, but how many chances should a Heisman winner really get?