Kurt Warner Retires. How will it affect your fantasy team?
With the retirement of Kurt Warner, there has been a void created in the fantasy football universe. Kurt Warner was a legit fantasy stud and one that could be counted on to consistently slip into the third round of the fantasy draft. As long he was surrounded by quality weapons and secured with good pocket protection, Warner continued to surprise fantasy owners and pundits year after year, game after game, with a level of play the helped many owners over the last few seasons ride deep into the playoffs. The true surprise and absolute travesty is that even with his elite ability and elevated stats, every team he played for tried to give his job to someone else. So the initial impact your fantasy team will take is that you will no longer be able to wait until the 10th quarterback selected in your draft to secure a top 3 guy, but the tremors do not stop there.
The Cardinals have tried on a couple of occasions to give Warner’s position to the heir apparent Matt Leinart and they would have done just that if Leinart’s interceptions and bad decisions had not proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was not ready for the job. Regardless of Leinart’s on field ineptness the Cardinal brass was still bent on him being the guy and it was not until Ken Wisenhunt took over the helm and stated without reservation that Kurt would lead this team, that the Cardinals started to produce for their fantasy owners. However, because of the insistence on Leinart we did, as a fantasy industry, get a good look at the future and it spells a diminishment in the production of the red bird supporting cast.
I am not going to say that the Matt Leinart is going to a worthless fantasy quarterback. It is my guess that his extended time with a clipboard and opportunity to learn from a veteran who is notorious for being generous with his knowledge and wisdom has allowed Matt to improve on the things that led to his removal, reading defenses, decision making and patience. I am going to say that even an improved Matt Leinart, is not Kurt Warner.
This will have a trickle down effect across the entire team. The value of Larry Fitzgerald will slip slightly, although Fitzy was Leinart’s favorite target when on the field so Larry should still be a top 8 wide out. The impact of Anquan Boldin will be greatly reduced. Boldin has been almost invisible in the majority of Leinart starts. The greatest impact however will be in the running game. Beanie Wells showed some flashes of greatness as his rookie year wore on. The loss of Warner will have an immediate impact on the win/loss column for the Cardinals because Kurt was the unquestioned leader of this team, Leinart is not. If the Cardinals trail in more games than not, the running game will be completely ineffective, leaving Beanie wells where Edgrerrin James was, 65 yards a game, no touchdowns.
Although I am not saying dismiss Leinart or the Cardinals in your fantasy draft next year, I am saying tread lightly. As the second installment of the Matt Leinart era in Arizona begins again, the hopes of Cardinal fantasy owners everywhere is dependant on Matt Leinart’s maturation, an assumption of which there is no evidence whatsoever.
