Matt Leinart was recently signed by the Buffalo Bills as an emergency quarterback as the two-man race became a race to see who would return from injury first. Kevin Kolb suffered a concussion in a preseason game while rookie E.J. Manuel had an operation on his knee requiring him to miss the rest of the preseason game.
A member of the 2006 NFL Draft class, the once second-coming of the John Elway, Jim Kelly, and Dan Marino class of 1983 has fallen on hard times. Jay Cutler remains the lone starter from the group that rounds out with Vince Young, the once can’t miss superstar from the University of Texas.
Young’s career has gone similar to Leinart’s as he was forced out of Tennessee and has played musical teams including the Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, and Green Bay Packers. Young joined Green Bay this season to backup Aaron Rodgers but was cut over the weekend.
Courtesy: Zimbio
Leading the way was Leinart, the star quarterback out of Southern California that won a Heisman trophy and two National Championships. Young, fresh off a National Championship win and runner-up in the Heisman was the perfect blend of size and speed. Lastly, once an unknown quarterback out of Vanderbilt, Cutler was described as an Elway-like quarterback who could sling it all over the yard.
While all three of the 1983 class went on to stellar careers including busts in the Hall of Fame, this same can’t be said for the 2006 class.
Despite a tumultuous career, Cutler has remained a starter and sporadically displays the hype that once surrounded the 11th pick of the 2006 draft. The Vanderbilt product played sparingly in his rookie season but took the reins in 2007 after supplanting then-starter Jake Plummer. The Broncos finished 7-9 while the first year starter showed glimpses of a promising future. His coach at the time, Mike Shanahan, saw some of Elway in his young quarterback.
However, the glimpses managed to stay just that. It was in snippets that Cutler showed his ability while failing to put together a season’s worth of strong play. After the 2009 season, Shanahan was axed and in came Josh McDaniels. Rumors began swirling that the team was looking to trade Cutler but it never came to fruition…until the quarterback was fed up with the rumors and demanded a trade.
The Broncos shipped Cutler off to the Chicago Bears for Kyle Orton, along with two first round picks and a third round pick. While in Chicago, Cutler has continued to be consistently inconsistent. It’s been four seasons that Cutler has manned the QB position in Chicago. Despite a strong defense, the Bears have only advanced past the regular season once. Cutler is entering his fifth season with the Bears and will be working with new head coach Marc Trestman.
Cutler’s contract will be up at the end of the season and unless he is able to put the off field issues aside and be a leader; he will be job hunting next offseason.
Leinart’s career hasn’t been indicative of his college career nor the expectations that many had for him when he entered the NFL.
Recently, Leinart joined the Buffalo Bills who were in need of immediate quarterback help as the two-man race between Kevin Kolb and E.J. Manuel was terminated thanks to injuries. With one quarterback on the roster the Bills brought in Leinart to challenge third stringer Jeff Tuel.
The Soutern ‘Cal product had five days to get acclimated to the playbook before facing the Detroit Lions. The results weren’t pretty and could have finalized Leinart’s career as a backup. The southpaw finished 3-10 for 11 yards and two interceptions. Despite the glaring need of a quarterback, Leinart’s performance was enough for the Bills to issue their condolences and send him packing.
Arguably one of the best quarterbacks to ever play collegiate football, Leinart’s college career was all glitz-and-glam while his NFL career shared a similar response to the film Gigli.
Leinart was flirting with the idea of entering the NFL after his redshirt junior season that was capped off with the lefty leading the Trojans to a 55-19 shellacking over Adrian Peterson and the Oklahoma Sooners. Leinart finished 18-35 with five touchdowns and 332 yards earning the Orange Bowl MVP and National Championship honors.
History could have been dramatically changed if he did forego his senior season and enter the NFL draft in 2005. While Alex Smith was the first overall selection that season, many experts slated Leinart as the top prospect had he skipped his final season.
However, Leinart returned to Troy and didn’t disappoint. He finished third in Heisman voting and led USC to a National Championship berth against Young and the Longhorns. Leinart put ‘SC in a position to win but was overshadowed by Young who compiled 467 yards and three rushing touchdowns.
Leinart’s college career was second-to-none; he utilized his opportunities to the fullest. His collegiate record was 37-2 and there was not a better program in the country while no. 11 manned the quarterback spot. However, college success does not translate to a long career in the NFL.
Leinart’s arrival in Arizona was welcomed with cheers and expectations of a long and bright career. His rookie year was comparable to other rookies that were asked too much. He had a weak offensive line and a defense that was vulnerable to giving up a lot of points.
His receiving core was arguably one of the best in the NFL but a slow-moving quarterback with a below-average offensive line proved a terrible formula for a first-year quarterback. However, Leinart’s off-field reputation was that of a kid who wished he was still enrolled at ‘SC.
Leinart’s rookie campaign proved he needed improvement and so did the Cardinals roster. But, with his coach getting fired and a new regime at the helm, Leinart’s future was bleak. Ken Whisenhunt favored the backup quarterback, former Super Bowl winner Kurt Warner instead of his second year signal caller.
Early in his second season the lefty was ineffective and was pulled on multiple occasions while Warner was able to come in and ignite the offense. Leinart suffered a broken collarbone in Week 5 and was unable to ever get back to starting for the Cardinals.
The former Heisman winner became dispensable when Warner led the Cardinals to their first ever Super Bowl berth against Whisenhunt’s former club in 2008. Warner led the Cardinals to a 9-7 season earning the Wild Card spot. They defeated the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, and Philadelphia Eagles to get to the biggest game.
Warner had a special game but one costly interception spelled disaster for the Cardinals who lost 27-23. James Harrison intercepted Warner late in the first half and returned the pass 100-yards for a touchdown.
Leinart played out his contract in Arizona but remained as Warner’s backup and was not retained when his contract expired. Despite interest from many teams, none were interested for his services as a starter. He had a brief stint with the Houston Texans and was called into action when Matt Schaub was lost for the season with a foot injury.
The opportunity was squandered when Leinart was tackled and suffered a broken collarbone. His 2011 season ended and he remained out of football until this season when the Buffalo Bill had an immediate need for quarterback help.
The outing that Leinart had in his sole outing was dreadful. Given, he was working with the second string against the Detroit Lions first teamers. However, the poor outing was enough for the Bills to cut the former Heisman winner and look for other quarterbacks while only having two unproven quarterbacks on the roster.
The lefty may have played his last game in the NFL and significantly underachieved. This theme is common for the quarterbacks of the 2006 class.
Following the theme of disappointment, Young looked like a successful and long career in the NFL was imminent. However, his off-field antics derailed his chances and similar to Leinart, may have played his last game in the NFL.
His rookie season was tremendous, he led the Titans to three come-from-behind victories and an 8-5 record as a starter. He did throw 13 interceptions compared to 12 touchdowns but he did contribute 552 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. His unorthodox play at the quarterback position was criticized but he won games.
His sophomore season was another statistical blemish, throwing 17 interceptions to nine touchdowns. Despite the abundance of turnovers the Titans finished 10-6 and made the playoffs as a Wildcard. The Titans faced the San Diego Chargers and despite a dominant performance from the defense, the Young-led offense was held scoreless. Rod Bironas managed two field goals but the Titans were bounced 17-6.
Young was benched for an exhibition game during his sophomore season for violating team rules. And, with his play declining, the Titans were concerned that the play from Young was keeping their team from achieving more.
His third season was cut short following a knee injury in the first game of the season. Kerry Collins came to the rescue and led the Titans to a 13-3 record. With the emergence of rookie running back Chris Johnson, the Titans were clicking with Collins at the helm.
Earning the AFC’s top seed, the Titans were bounced by the Baltimore Ravens 13-10.
Young’s role with the Titans was decreasing as Collins retained the starting spot in the following season. But, an 0-6 start had Jeff Fisher calling for Young to relieve. The Houston native won eight of his 10 starts while earning some votes for NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Young’s play earned him his second Pro Bowl appearance.
In his fifth season and final season with the Titans Young regressed to his erratic play. With a 4-5 record, Young suffered a torn tendon in his right thumb during a contest with the Washington Redskins. Young wanted to reenter the game but was prevented by Fisher.
Fearing he could possibly be supplanted by Rusty Smith, Young became infuriated and his actions created his downfall.
Young threw his shoulder pads in the stands after the loss and had an altercation with Fisher in the locker room. Bud Adams, the Titans owner and supporter of Young, issued a statement after the game saying he would no longer have Young on the roster for the remaining of the season.
On July 28, Young was released by the Titans and finished his time with a 30-17 record.
Young was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles the next day as an insurance policy for Michael Vick. Due to injury, Young started three games including a 400 yard performance against the New England Patriots. However, in his following start, Young threw four interceptions and returned to the bench.
His biggest contribution to the team was his “Dream Team” label he gave the Eagles during training camp. This publicity was not welcomed by the Eagles front office and the team went 8-8 for the season. The backup quarterback should refrain from making such noise and creating such a fracas.
Young signed on with the Buffalo Bills the following season but was cut before the start of the season. He spent the 2012 season out of football and returned shortly this season vying for a backup gig.
Being cut by the Packers was the icing on the cake for a quarterback that had financial issues* and below average play.
These three quarterbacks have greatly disappointed thus far in their careers. While Cutler still has a chance to redeem himself, Leinart and Young will not. Two franchises are still reeling from the misses that came with drafting Young and Leinart.
The stacked lineups of Texas and USC maybe created an issue at the next level for the two. They were not prepared to lead a team and make their surrounding cast better. The abundance of weapons in college made them appear better than they actually were. This mirage caused two franchises to invest a lot of time and money.
As Adrian Peterson said in a nutshell, “I am glad Matt (Leinart) won the Heisman because of the way his NFL career has gone.” Leinart and Young were stellar college quarterbacks and some could argue were among the best that college had to offer, ever. However, the success from one level to the next does not necessarily equate to a bright future in the NFL.
Leinart and Young will be the poster boys for buyer beware.
*The Associated Press reported that Young had spent much of $34 million salary in earned in the NFL while defaulting on a $1.9 million loan. When asked to give an assessment of Young’s finances, his agent Trey Dolezal stated, “I would say that Vince needs a job.”
