The terrible convergence in sports is ultimately fixated on appearance and sex apparel, rather than the game itself for the exposure of athletes who are mentioned for semblance and celebrity.
So now, we’re confronted by arguably another bust in football, and he’s not your ordinary bust, but a celebrity bust.
This is the age when sports figures are discovered in tabloids either with a significant other or sadly for extramarital affairs.
What he is, obviously, is a celebrity bust ever since departing from USC as a high-profile quarterback, a talented star who was supposed to blossom as a valuable product on the pro level.
But as it turns out, Matt Leinart isn’t the authentic sensation and hasn’t measured up to standards, disappointing many in the desert for underachieving.
The aura of Leinart makes me cringe, just as his presence on the field poses trouble for the Arizona Cardinals, who are without a reliable quarterback since veteran Kurt Warner announced his retirement at the end of last season. There are mortals swirling within the team, and frankly, everyone affiliated with the Cardinals are worried about the status of Leinart.
At least, they should be.
What we have long suspected is the truth when Leinart sorely disappointed in a downfall performance on Monday night in a 24-10 loss of the Tennessee Titans, and as much as the folks in the blistering hot desert believe in the subpar leader, he’s not nearly described as an NFL conductor.
Sadly enough, he’s not obsessed emerging as the greatest quarterback of all-time, but he’s willing to RSVP and notify the host of parties and attend a festive celebration where paparazzi normally pesters noble athletes and snap photo shots.
Across the past decades, a modern generation has literally lost the meaning of sports and has barely exceeded expectations for ill-advised priorities, caring more about earning the largest profit and becoming famous, ironically downsizing the beauty of sports.
Such is when Leinart, who is supposedly the next franchise quarterback, had too much fun during the offseason a few years ago. The drama, then, wasn’t a wise choice and created a minor ruckus for which he wasn’t spending ample time studying film, but caught on cameras in a hot tub with a beer and four chicks.
There comes a point in life when Leinart must realize that earning the most challenging and important position in the country’s most popular sport is fondly a rigorous task.
If he ever anticipates leading the Cardinals on a convincing run in a weakened NFC West division, then Leinart will have to carefully consider avoiding his Hollywood disposition. With much uncertainty, the young passer is forlorn and still inexperience, and isn’t adapted to the NFL level.
Now, as he’s hearing the negatives, he is bombarded regularly of faltering on the biggest stage.
In reality, this is a murky situation, when Leinart is suffering and struggling to deliver, badly illustrating awful signs of his symbolic style since advancing on the NFL level. For now, however, Leinart is enigma.
Still, in the meantime, he’s visibly struggling to discern the coach’s system with deficiencies in his problematic footwork and flaws in his throwing motion. It’s very common, though, when a quarterback is ineffective for making the transition from college to the pros.
But in this situation, Leinart isn't focused on football and instead is evolving into the next celebrity bust by exposing weaknesses and no strengths. For waiting in the wings, Leinart's wait was over when Warner retired on good terms in January.
As he enters as the next franchise quarterback, he’s expected to follow the footsteps of an all-time great, but hasn’t done so well in the early start of his redemption period, a time when the stakes are higher and when he inherits the evidential expectations.
He enters the preseason as a memorable Heisman Trophy winner from Southern California, but the blueprint to success would be to commemorate his accomplishments on the NFL level.
With all the glamour and popularity that entails, the pressure is challenging and alarming for an embattled maestro who really hasn’t proven to be a maestro and he’s nowhere near establishing as an impressive quarterback.
If he doesn’t duplicate or ripen as a prolific pass thrower, the fans in Arizona clearly becomes victims of inferiority and ambiguity, facing a state of unfamiliarity after Warner led the Cardinals to Super Bowl glory only to fall short against Pittsburgh.
It wasn’t exactly what coach Ken Whisenhunt had in mind, when the team selected Leinart, 27, who was drafted in 2006 under former coach Dennis Green and was listed as the next stud at the position even when a few skeptics doubted his abilities to transcend in the pros.
There are times when a franchise is inevitably hopeless once a decorated athlete retires and there is no steadfast replacement to alleviate the outrageousness and fear, harming the team’s self-motivation and confidence.
Here’s all you need to know about the inconsistent and unintimidating Leinart.
Of late, he isn’t meeting a convincing agenda in the National Football League, unable to replicate similar attributes that he once had in college. If he teeters improving his struggles, the Cardinals will always be in a flux. But perhaps, there are some executives upstairs, really confident that he can eventually vanquish his endless insufficiencies.
“Matt has had the chance to watch Kurt and see how he approaches the game and work with one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time. I like the fact that we have competition at every position, including quarterback,” said general manager Rod Graves. And I like the fact that Matt has the chance to prove all critics wrong."
Yeah, but he’s not anywhere near the word “great.” He’s near the word “bust,” a word heard often these days.
For now, I dare say, he is spelling doom and has the numbers to prove it. He was a miserable four-of-six for 28 passing yards with the longest completion of 11 yards and was out rivaled by Tennessee’s Vince Young, whose numbers weren’t identical, finishing nine-of-13 for 128 yards.
In his travails, he lapsed in five starts and was placed on injured reserve with a broken collarbone, as the starting job had been handed to Warner, who secured the position for poise and athleticism.
All of this after Leinart stumbled to replicate a flawless season in 11 consecutive starts, throwing for 2,547 yards and 11 touchdown passes with 12 interceptions. As a product of a renowned university, he certainly isn’t employing enough effort or thrilled about anchoring a football team, like during his college career when he led the Trojans to triumph.
And most of this is abnormal for a guy with excellent precision, mobility and an intellectual understanding for the game.
Yes, it’s only preseason.
But this is surprising to observe the unusual body language of a Leinart. So while he hasn’t matured or adopted the leadership role, he is recognized as celebrity bust and fittingly took on a profession that he lacks fondness in studying and mastering. The lack of enthusiasm is not normal for a quarterback, especially when they have been waiting willingly or competing for the starting job.
In his fifth season, he is still finding his way in the game, and closely scrutinized by Whisenhunt.
By the time Whisenhunt arrived from Pittsburgh as Green’s successor and filled the coaching vacancy, he was hired seemingly to develop and install a workable playbook and improve Leinart’s abysmal style of play.
But even if his image are traces of Warner’s legacy and the demands are heavy, the Cardinals are simply hopeful that he can take command, not be a resemblance of Warner, but an exemplary quarterback in the league.
In other words, he is the man conducting the offense, the man calling the snaps and the man of smart decision-making. Either way, though, Derek Anderson, the former quarterback of the Browns, seems more worthy of earning the starting job and singed as a backup plan after the Cleveland Browns had released the Pro Bowler.
But in the meantime, Whisenhunt said Leinart has earned the right.
Doing so, he will have to mature faster, leave behind the celebrity civilization and realize how dangerous cameras are, just as appearing in tabloids with four hotties can elicit a distraction and abate a promising performance on the turf.
At this time, when he’s bickering about facing third-and-long and weeping about the Titans blitzing so much, it’s simple to realize that Leinart is under a tremendous amount of pressure and isn’t physically or mentally prepared for the task.
To be straightforward, he never was ready to be an NFL quarterback. But at best, he is a celebrity. It’s good to know he can smile on candid camera, but not on the turf.
