Brady Quinn, meet Matt Leinart. Matt Leinart, meet Brady Quinn.
Right? That's the way it goes, yes?
Or is it, Brady Quinn, meet Aaron Rodgers, Aaron Rodgers meet...Aaron?
Has anybody seen Aaron? Oh, sorry, missed you there in Favre's shadow.
As Quinn waits (shot of the draft so far, Quinn clearly saying, "Wow, that's
a surprise," when Ted Ginn was taken by the Dolphins) Cardinals fans immediately
remember last year, the left handed gift that keeps on giving. Of course
Quinn, when he's finally drafted, will say he's ready to prove teams wrong,
ready to perform, happy to be wherever he ends up, but the bottom line is this:
The NFL thinks something is wrong with Brady Quinn.
With Leinart in '06, and Quinn in '07, expect a lot of the next few days
discussion to focus on what is wrong with the draft. Is there too much
emphasis on the combine? How is it that you 'have' to take the top QB at
#1, but the guy who is just a hair below can fall out of the top 15? Do
pro-style offenses actually hurt a QB's chances in the draft.
Don't join the debate. Don't take the bait. Look at the loudmouth
across the bar and say, "Tom Brady in the sixth round."
Look over your cubicle and say, "Marques Colston 252nd overall."
Look at your buddy, the guy who claims to know it all, who makes every word
out of his mouth part of a declarative sentence and say, "It's a crapshoot."
And if you're Brady Quinn, hold up your jersey (whatever jersey it may be),
smile for the camera, kiss your incredibly hot girlfriend, and just go out and
play. Talk to Leinart, talk to Brady, hey, talk to Rodgers too.
Learn, play, perform, and don't worry too much. Commissioner Goodell was
right to keep the cameras out of Quinn's face.
There are many many lessons for Brady Quinn to learn in the NFL.
Humility is one of them, and he's just started the learning curve early.
When a team finally does take Brady Quinn, they can safely say he's already
started the maturation process.
Just like Matt Leinart did.