Matt Leinart was finally able to play for Arizona Cardinals… because of the way New England offense dominated the Cardinals, Leinart did not get a chance to play till under 2 minutes were remaining in the first half.
He did very well in that situation, making quick decisions and scrambling twice to make the first downs. His first pass in the NFL was a completion for a first down!
Of course, I did not watch the rest of the game (after half time) because I do not have the NFL Network (STUPID COMCAST!) but I read about it later and it seemed like people were saying he disappointed.
Now, I have a couple of contradictory facts to state here and then let everyone decide how he did:
1. He played in a pressure situation with no points on the board and with the threat of getting shut out in the first half
2. He had less than 2 minutes to play in
3. He played against the Pats’ first-team defense before the half
Whereas:
4. He did so-so after the first half, where the Pats had their second-team defense
So, is it better that a QB leads a drive in the 2-minute offense and gets the team 3 points against one of the better defenses in the NFL, or try to score big against a second-team defense?
I think Leinart had a good debut, especially considering that he had only a few days of practice time with the team.
Hope he gets better and better … for now, getting set for Monday Night Football with Reggie and perhaps TO?
Romit's Stream 
I saw the highlights on SportsCenter, and I have to say that Matt didn’t look as comfortable or confident in the pocket as he did in his USC days. That’s to be expected of course. I hope he settles in soon! I’m definitely going to be following the Cardinals this season to see how Matt develops.
@RisingSunofNihon: Like I said, I did not see his plays from the second half, but what I saw of him in the first half (<2 min), he was good. And if he did ok or not-so-good in the second half, against second-team defense, what does it say? Not much to complain, except understand that Matt is new to the team and has had almost no time to develop chemistry with his teammates, his supporting cast. The fact that he did well against the first team defense does say one thing – he has the ability to make quick decisions on the field. And that is what Arizona drafted him for – his background in doing this every Saturday at USC. Yes, I will be watching him through the season. Its a good thing that if nothing else, AZ will play the local 49ers twice and so I will be able to see those 2 games at least ;-)Given Kurt Warner’s record with injuries in the past few seasons, I would not be surprised if later in the season, it is Matt’s team!