Leinart or Smith?

[capone0]

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How many of the NFL's top quarterbacks did not play 4 years of college?

How many of the NFL's top quarterbacks started less than 25 games in college?

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I have no clue and there is no good resource for this information on the fly. I'd imagine most top QBs played for 4 or 3 years in college, but it doesn't mean that if you played 4 years at starting QB you'll be a good pro. All I know is at 20, Alex Smith was a highly rated recruit out of college. Leinart probally would have been taken over Smith if he left a season earlier, but he didn't. I think both are pretty even skillwise, as I said earlier I like the receivers Leinart has over the 9er WRs. It's pretty clear cut there.

[capone0]

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at this point, both guys have so little experience that you have to go on their previous experiences. leinart clearly has a better track record so you have to take him. they are both the same kind of qb tho, accurate, finesse passers, it will be interesting to see which one proves superior in the next few years

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What exactly do you mean by this? Are you talking about college career? If so, I think thats a bad analysis. I could give tons of examples of QBs that succeeded with amazing talent around them(Gino Toretta, Charlie Ward, Troy Smith, etc.) that weren't considered great pro prospects at all. Conversely I can name a ton of smaller school QBs that didn't dominate because their surrounding talent wasn't great(Philip Rivers, Jay Cutler, Steve McNair, Donovan McNabb, etc.) but were considered great prospects.

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McNabb played with Marvin Harrison, atleast I'm pretty sure he did.

[Assani Fisher]

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LOL at anyone who votes for Alex Smith. Leinart is going to be a star.

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Leinart will probably be a star, but a lot of that is going to have to do with his great WR corps. If I had to choose one of these QBs for a generic team then I would take Smith. Theres a reason that Smith went #1 overall while Leinart dropped on draft day despite many teams(Raiders specifically) needing a QB yet still passing on him. Smith has shown nothing that would make me look back and question the 49ers picking him #1 overall.

Leinart has greater star power, so hes dominating this poll. Thats no surprise.

Alex Smith was a 22 year old starting QB last year for a very young team that didn't have a lot of surrounding talent. Do you realize that his WR corps was Arnaz Battle, Antonio Bryant, Bryan Gilmore, and Taylor Jacobs? Yet he still posted very respectable stats(near 3000 yards, 18 TDs, 16 INTs, 75 QB rating) and led them to a 7-9 record. He is being tremendously underrated in this discussion.

[Triumph36]

Yes, it's usually a good idea to rely on the scouting decisions of the Raiders to justify why Alex Smith is better than Matt Leinart.

Niners have a better offensive line which will help Smith. But Leinart will be the better pro.

Wait a minute - Assani, 'Smith has shown nothing that would make me doubt he was a #1 overall pick' - how about the worst statistical season by a QB in 10 years as a rookie?

[SL__72]

I agree that he has beening underrated in this discussion, but you can't bring up his receiving core but completely ignore the fact that AZ probably had the worst run game in the NFL.

Also, while their "traditional" numbers were similar last year, Leinart was apparently a lot more successful as his DPAR of 28 is a lot better then Smith's 1.5.

[Jack of Arcades]

It probably helps that Arizona was especially good on 3rd down passing situations.

[BowToYourSensei]

a head-on collision with each other will end both of their careers. aaron rodgers will emerge with the last laugh.

[TurdFerguson]

Leinart will be an average to above-average QB for 10 or so years, based primarily on his readiness for the NFL from playing in USC's system. However, his lack of deep-ball arm strength will to some degree limit his potential (have you ever seen his deep ball? It just floats & doesn't do anything.)

Smith improved a lot last year under Norv Turner and he's still young, but he might have slightly better physical tools than Leinart (better arm strength, ability to scramble, fewer illegitimate children). Whether Smith can fully realize the potential of those tools is unclear. I've seen flashes, but it might take awhile - likely heavily dependent on who's coaching him the next 2-3 years.

So do you want more of a sure thing in Leinart, or the greater upside in Smith? Meh, at this point I'll take the bastard-maker Leinart, even though his ability to stretch the field is questionable.

[thatpfunk]

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LOL at anyone who votes for Alex Smith. Leinart is going to be a star.

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Leinart will probably be a star, but a lot of that is going to have to do with his great WR corps. If I had to choose one of these QBs for a generic team then I would take Smith. Theres a reason that Smith went #1 overall while Leinart dropped on draft day despite many teams(Raiders specifically) needing a QB yet still passing on him. Smith has shown nothing that would make me look back and question the 49ers picking him #1 overall.

Leinart has greater star power, so hes dominating this poll. Thats no surprise.

Alex Smith was a 22 year old starting QB last year for a very young team that didn't have a lot of surrounding talent. Do you realize that his WR corps was Arnaz Battle, Antonio Bryant, Bryan Gilmore, and Taylor Jacobs? Yet he still posted very respectable stats(near 3000 yards, 18 TDs, 16 INTs, 75 QB rating) and led them to a 7-9 record. He is being tremendously underrated in this discussion.

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this is so dumb. leinart was projected over smith when they were thought to be in the same draft.

[capone0]

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Wait a minute - Assani, 'Smith has shown nothing that would make me doubt he was a #1 overall pick' - how about the worst statistical season by a QB in 10 years as a rookie?

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He was 20 years old thrown into a situation he was going to fail. Kevin Barlow was the #1 back. The o-line was horrible (no Larry Allen and no continuity). He had no WRs. There aren't many 24 year olds starting in the league at QB, much less 20 year olds. I'm pretty sure last year he was the youngest starting QB in the league and unless Jamarcus decides to start, he'll probally still be the youngest starting QB in the league, yet it'll be his 3rd year in the league. He's smart. I know I probally had the same number of AP credits but I wasn't a top flight QB recruit (I think he started as a junior at Utah). He's definitely more athletic than Leinart. Yes Leinart has the USC pedigree but other than Palmer, what is the real USC legacy at QB over the last 15 years. He did play in a pro style O which is an advantage over Smith, but Smith has 1 year advantage in the pros and 1 year advantage when it comes to age.