Arizona Tries a Two Quarterback System

For the second week in a row, the Arizona Cardinals used both Kurt Warner and Matt Leinart at quarterback, as the Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-14 after falling short in Week 3 to the Baltimore Ravens by only 3 points. In the depth chart released for Week 5, Leinart is listed as the starting quarterback for the Cardinals this week and Warner is listed once again as the backup quarterback going into a game against the St. Louis Rams, Warner's former team where he had much of his success.

The two quarterback system is something not often seen in football, especially professional football. It appears though, that this is the plan for now for Coach Ken Whisenhunt and the Arizona Cardinals. Leinart is only in his second year in the NFL after a very successful collegiate career, but he still needs some development before he is going to be a successful quarterback in the NFL. 10-year veteran Kurt Warner has been serving as not only a mentor to the young quarterback, but he has also stepped up and helped ensure that Arizona has a 2-2 record after week 4.

From watching the Cardinals game against the Steelers, it appears that the game plan in Arizona is to start Leinart and let him take some snaps and see some real NFL action. However, if the game starts to get out of control, or when Leinart starts showing signs of a dismal performance, they have the ability to pull him. This allows them to bring in Kurt Warner, who has the ability to run a no-huddle offense for the Cardinals to keep them competing in the game. Leinart showed promising signs this past week against a much-respected Steelers defense, going 7 of 14 for 93 yards. These are not the numbers any team expects from their starting quarterback, but for the second week in a row, Leinart had no interceptions and posted a quarterback rating of 71.4, his second highest rating of the year for him (ESPN.com). In addition, Leinart showed his ability to stand in the pocket and take a hit, one of which in the 4^th quarter sent him to the sidelines for a play.

Kurt Warner was reported in an AP article on ESPN to say "It is a little bit weird...but at the same time to be in a backup role, for somebody to basically say `Here's an opportunity for you to play weekly,' that excites me" (ESPN). It is clear from watching Warner on the field and on the sidelines with not only the coaches, but with Leinart as well, that he is not minding being listed as the backup quarterback and playing significant time in games recently.

With something as unusual as the two quarterback system, it has few precedents to look back upon for whether it works or not. In the case of the Cardinals, however, this will work for four main reasons.

First, it will work because the Arizona Cardinals are getting Leinart playing time without having to worry about leaving him a game that he might otherwise get embarrassed by the opposing defense. Rather, they can put Warner in if it appears Leinart is becoming discouraged.

Secondly, if the team can perform well, the team morale will stay high. If the team morale can stay high, the locker room atmosphere will stay light and happy. This way, rather than Leinart hearing about the plays he should have made the previous week, there's a better chance he will be in a friendlier environment and more excited for practices.

Third, look at how many more snaps Leinart has gotten to take this year in comparison to Cleveland's newest addition, Brady Quinn. While this is Leinart's second year and it is Quinn's rookie season, Leinart will come away from this season from having learned more and having developed more than Quinn has because Leinart has had the ability to run the Arizona offense in a NFL game, which is much different that running drills in practices.

Finally, with Kurt Warner's experience in the NFL and his willingness to be the backup quarterback and help Matt Leinart, it gives the Cardinals a personal quarterback coach, in a sense, to Leinart as he goes through the season.

Whether the Cardinals have a successful season this year or simply turn out to finish off as a mediocre year has yet to be seen. However, because of the two quarterback system that the team has been experimenting with, it should help develop Leinart into a better quarterback at a quicker pace, because of the on-field playing time he is getting and the mentor he has in the form of Kurt Warner.

Sources used:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=nfl&id=3034815
http://www.azcardinals.com/gameday/depth_chart.php
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=7759
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=4541