Leinart deserves better...

[MacGuyV]

Conservative playcalling, poor runblocking, whatever...that stuff happens to winning teams all the time.
Bottom line is they had the ball and a 13pt lead with 5 minutes left; and the game was blown by a slow whistle and poor special teams.

[gusmahler]

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As a former offensive lineman I think it's fair to say that the missed block by the tackle may have been the worst play of a game with more than its fair share of goofs. There was no one lined up directly on tackle and only one guy in the same zip code to black. He completely ignored the DE and wandered around looking for someone to block--while the apparently invisible DE was already eating Leinart's lunch.

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Man, the O-lineman's first step was away. Its a 3-step drop so the entire line steps one way and protects left gap. Leinert didn't fix the call. The RB should have been lined up on that side to defend the end. The tackle in that situation is lookin for a blitzing linebacker/line stunt.

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Yeah, over on a Cards message board, people are saying that the DE was Edge's responsibility, which is why the RT never even looked at the DE.

[Force1]

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I'm aware the NFL doesn't refer to them that way but
I've always considerd the top 10 in the NFL the lottery teams.

only difference is you earn your spot by sucking

while in the NBA they let David Stern decide...though I'm not sure...do the lottery teams in the NBA go beyond the top 10?
I've always only considered the top ten lottery teams but I may be wrong.

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I looked it up and I was surprised to learn that the NBA has 14 teams in the lottery (all that don't make the playoffs). The 14th worst team has like a 1% chance of getting the #1 pick. When I think "lottery pick" I think top 8, you think top 10, but I suppose the 14th pick is technically a "lottery pick" (his agent no doubt claims so). I agree with you that "lottery pick" is a term of art of sorts which is used for high picks generally.

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The number of picks/teams is irrelavant. Its referred to as the lottery because the teams are all pulled out of a bingo type machine in lottery fashion to decide the order they pick in.

[LionelHutz00]

Don't you guys watch sportscenter? Matt Leinart is a TWO TIME national champion. It would have been a THREEPEAT if the better team had won. The guy just knows how to WIN, like BRETT FAVRE and JESUS. zomygod how dare you doubt MATT LEINART?

[anatta]

The number of picks/teams is irrelavant. Its referred to as the lottery because the teams are all pulled out of a bingo type machine in lottery fashion to decide the order they pick in.

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Yes, the lottery, early in the playoff season at halftime, the ping pong balls, and lucky charms, and Pat Williams smiling from ear to ear. My point was when I think that a prospect is going to be a "lottery pick", I am not thinking of the 13th or 14th pick. In my mind, and maybe its just me, but I tend to think around top 8. The other guy conceives of it as a top 10 pick. But literally, anyone picked by one of the 14 teams is a lottery pick.

[gusmahler]

The Cards just fired their offensive coordinator.

[fnurt]

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The number of picks/teams is irrelavant. Its referred to as the lottery because the teams are all pulled out of a bingo type machine in lottery fashion to decide the order they pick in.

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Yes, the lottery, early in the playoff season at halftime, the ping pong balls, and lucky charms, and Pat Williams smiling from ear to ear. My point was when I think that a prospect is going to be a "lottery pick", I am not thinking of the 13th or 14th pick. In my mind, and maybe its just me, but I tend to think around top 8. The other guy conceives of it as a top 10 pick. But literally, anyone picked by one of the 14 teams is a lottery pick.

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Yeah, let's remember, back when the lottery started, there were a lot fewer non-playoff teams. Every time the league expands, that's 1 or 2 new non-playoff teams, and thus 1 or 2 more "lottery picks." The terminology hasn't really adjusted to reflect that it's not that special to be the 14th pick.

[aeest400]

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As a former offensive lineman I think it's fair to say that the missed block by the tackle may have been the worst play of a game with more than its fair share of goofs. There was no one lined up directly on tackle and only one guy in the same zip code to black. He completely ignored the DE and wandered around looking for someone to block--while the apparently invisible DE was already eating Leinart's lunch.

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Man, the O-lineman's first step was away. Its a 3-step drop so the entire line steps one way and protects left gap. Leinert didn't fix the call. The RB should have been lined up on that side to defend the end. The tackle in that situation is lookin for a blitzing linebacker/line stunt.

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Here are Gregg Easterbook's comments from ESPN.com:

Sour Play of the Week: You've got to have some pretty sour plays to blow a 20-point lead at home on "Monday Night Football" with a quarter to play. The sourest for the Cardinals was the one that started their epic collapse. Leading 23-3, Arizona faced second-and-10 on its 15 on the final snap of the third quarter. Matt Leinart dropped back, and Chicago left defensive end Mark Anderson came through the Arizona offensive line untouched by human hands to blindside Leinart, who fumbled, Bears safety Mike Brown recovering for the touchdown. Watch the replay. Arizona right tackle Oliver Ross lines up directly across from Anderson. The right tackle blocks the left end in all offensive schemes known to man. When the quarterback is a lefty as is Leinart, the right tackle is The Man because he guards the quarterback's blindside. Yet on the play Ross makes no attempt to hit Anderson. Ross simply straightens up and watches as Anderson blows through untouched. No quarterback, even for the worst team, expects to be blindsided one second after the snap by a defensive lineman who's never been touched at all. A talk item on the ESPN pregame show for the Monday night game was how terrible the Arizona offensive line is. Yup.

Link

I played center (Sup Bro!), but it appears to me that this block should have been the right tackle's responsibility.

[Semtex]

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Oh my poor leinart gets to go 37-2 in college and is forced to be on a bad team in the NFL. On top of that he loses a regular season game...poor guy.

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I love people that make comments like this. So you're telling me that if you are, say, a hugely skilled poker player, you should be happy and everyone should quit whining when you take down the party 100+9, but lose repeatedly for reasons out of your control at the big one???

To write off that game as "just another regular season game" is absurd. He had a chance to lead one of the more awful teams in the NFL and beat a team that people were saying was going to be legendary in NFL history. He'd also do this in his 2nd start as a rookie, cementing his own legendary status. And he did everything he possibly could. So boohoo, and I hope you take bad beats for the next thousand years.

[lennytheduck]

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I've always considerd the top 10 in the NFL the lottery teams.

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Sure you have. Nice recovery *cough hack*