Fox Sports NFL reporter Jay Glazer moonlights as a personal mixed martial arts trainer. And after whipping Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen into shape last year, Jay recruited Arizona Cardinals backup quarterback Matt Leinart into his program a couple months ago.
As it turns out, Matt is only the second NFL player to come back after one day of Jay’s training regimen—meaning the workout was so difficult, very few return to be punished beyond one day. Therefore, Matt is not only reaping the physical rewards, but also the mental benefits of sticking it out:
“I think the biggest thing is how …read more

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
The Arizona Cardinals finally came to their senses and took care of business with quarterback Kurt Warner today. Of course, my feeling is they never should’ve let Kurt leave town (he visited the San Francisco 49ers earlier this week), but what matters most, especially as far as AZ Cards fans are concerned, is that Kurt signed a two-year, $23 million deal to remain the starting quarterback. Typically, he kept things in proper perspective:
“It’s one of those things that can be bittersweet, especially at this point and time in the economy and where people are struggling. …read more

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
Matt Leinart’s journey to the role of backup quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals is almost as interesting as Kurt Warner’s ascension to the starting spot. At Super Bowl XLIII Media Day this morning, Matt didn’t have a podium (like Kurt) or a lot of interested ears. But he certainly had a story. Here’s a guy who was on top of the world as the quarterback for the USC Trojans and then drafted to be the franchise QB and face and future of the Arizona Cardinals. Yet three seasons later, he’s holding a clipboard. Granted, he’s …read more

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
In beating out franchise quarterback Matt Leinart for the job, Kurt Warner has been named the starting QB for the Arizona Cardinals to start their 2008 season. After what he termed a “fair evaluation” of the position, head coach Ken Whisenhunt said that Kurt gives the Cards their best chance to win right now. Kurt is more then ready to handle the responsibility, but understood the awkwardness of the process:
“It’s probably rare to see it play out this way than the other. (Teams) are always looking for the next guy to be able to run …read more

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
Reports surfaced today that the Arizona Cardinals were ready to name Kurt Warner their starting quarterback, but according to head coach Ken Whisenhunt, no such decision has been made:
“I haven’t read the paper today or seen the Internet … nothing has changed. Look, we’ve put in a lot of work and it’s based on a body of work. We don’t have to make that decision right now.”
They do have to make that decision pretty soon, though. After Matt’s 4-of-12 passing, three interception performance against the Raiders this past weekend, his chances of being the team’s …read more

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
Don’t be so sure that Matt Leinart will be the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals when they open the season on September 7 against San Francisco. Cards head coach Ken Whisenhunt said today he’s thinking about giving Kurt Warner the start in this Saturday night’s preseason game against Kansas City. In fact, I think you can count on it:
“The one thing I want to make sure we do is make sure Kurt gets some time with the ones, and I think the best way to control that (is to) … start him in the …read more

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
Finally, the other guys. After two weeks of going against teammates in training camp, all NFL clubs will be able to see a real, live opponent this weekend. It’s the first full weekend of NFL preseason football, bookended by nationally televised games tonight and Monday night.
Tonight – New Orleans at Arizona (ESPN, 8 p.m.) New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees, who has completed the most passes for the most yards in the NFL over the past two years, thinks there is always room for improvement — by himself and his team. He wants to get back …read more

Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL
In a follow-up to my previous post on Arizona Cardinals QB Matt Leinart’s broken left collarbone, he was forced to call it quits on his 2007 season today. Cards head coach Ken Whisenhunt said:
“We didn’t want to rush him back. To hold a roster spot for that long is difficult, with some of the areas we are banged, with the hope he can get back in time. I am more concerned about him trying to rush back and maybe jeopardize his future. Whenever you have a fracture there will be six weeks or …read more

Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL
I guess the quarterback shuffle in Arizona is over for a while. QB Matt Leinart suffered a broken collarbone today. And Kurt Warner went 14 of 28 for 190 yards with two TDs (one rushing) in beating his old team. Arizona hung on to defeat St. Louis 34-31. Matt will be out indefinitely so it’s Kurt’s job now. I’m not a fan of the two-QB system anyway and unless head coach Ken Whisenhunt plans on getting Lang Campbell from the Cards’ practice squad into the mix (AZ only had two QBs on the …read more

Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL
Matt Leinart is unhappy with the quarterback shuffle going on in Arizona these days. Despite the Cards’ 21-14 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday, Matt feels he should be at the offensive controls as long as he is healthy:
“I just want them to ride or die with me. If I’m the franchise quarterback, play me and let me stumble, because I’ll fight through it, and that will help me and our team in the long run. I know coaches want to win now, and I guess they have their reasons. But I don’t …read more