Leinart challenged by losing

Wednesday, August 23, 2006 The former USC quarterback won all but two games he started in college. TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Matt Leinart is pleased with his smooth, quick transition to the NFL, but losing is unfamiliar and uncomfortable, even if it's early. "I know it's preseason," the rookie quarterback said. "But the feeling of losing, I haven't had that too many times in my career, even in high school." Leinart, 37-2 as USC's quarterback, knows that even the best teams lose more than that in the NFL. Still, he wants to help instill a winning attitude in a Cardinals franchise that has had one winning season in 21 years. "In college, it was expected to win, it was just how many points we were going to win by, it seemed," he said. "There were a few close ones here and there, but that was the mind-set that we had, and that's the mind-set we need to have here." Baptism by fire Leinart's NFL baptism was a challenging one, to say the least. He was inserted into the game at New England with just under two minutes to go in the half. He responded with a pair of scrambles for 29 yards to set up Neil Rackers' field goal, Arizona's lone score in a 30-3 loss Saturday. "I felt like I had some good composure in the pocket and made some plays on the move," he said. "There's a few throws that I should have made, but those will be there, just feeling more comfortable with the system and stuff. Next time I just want to be able to move the sticks and put some points up on the board." Leinart completed four of 11 passes for 45 yards but had two dropped. He was not intercepted. "He needed a little more help out there, but I thought he had solid play," coach Dennis Green said. "He's a talented player. He's got great poise, and that's the thing that really showed up." Before his NFL debut, Leinart participated in only two days of training camp after ending his contract holdout by signing a six-year deal that could be worth as much as $51 million, with $14 million guaranteed. "I'm happy with how quickly I got back into this stuff," he said. "A couple of days of training camp and I didn't really miss a beat." Bears are next Friday night against the Bears in Chicago, Leinart expects to enter the game early in the second half. "I know I'm becoming more confident out there with the team," he said, "understanding what the guys are, getting the connection and the timing and all that stuff down." Leinart said one difference from college that he discovered in a hurry was the speed of the NFL game. "Definitely the biggest thing is those guys up front are moving fast, they're moving a lot faster than they did in college," he said. "They're going harder, they'll bull rush you, they'll do everything. You've just got to have your feet in the pocket and maintain your composure." He was not surprised, though, that he was able to move into action so quickly. "At USC, I was tutored very well with audibles and understanding defenses, so when it came to this transition, it was a little easier," he said. Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.