The old and new at QB

The once-cloudy pictures regarding the quarterback position in a host of NFL cities became a whole lot clearer following last weekend's third series of preseason games. Some of the battle winners were expected (Chad Pennington), some a surprise (J.T. O'Sullivan), some more or less insignificant in the overall grand scheme of things (Kyle Orton beating out Rex Grossman).

To me, two of the most intriguing of the recent starting signal-caller decisions involve a pair of players at completely opposite stages of their careers. The Atlanta Falcons will waste no time ushering in the Matt Ryan era, as first-year head coach Mike Smith announced on Sunday that the rookie first-round pick will start the team's September 7 regular-season opener against Detroit. In Arizona, it's looking more and more as if 37-year-old Kurt Warner will begin the year as the Cardinals' top gunslinger and expected franchise face Matt Leinart will be starting off his third professional campaign on the bench.

Although Cards head coach Ken Whisenhunt has denied the rumors, which were fueled by a report from ESPN's Chris Mortensen on Sunday, but the writing is clearly on the wall for Leinart. The former Heisman Trophy winner may have sealed his fate with a pitiful 4-for-12, three-interception effort in Saturday's exhibition matchup against Oakland. Whisenhunt has yet to formally announce a starter for Week 1, but the fact that Leinart -- the clear-cut front-runner entering training camp -- has yet to sew up the job at this late stage speaks volumes about the coaching staff's waning confidence in the 25-year-old.

In my opinion, the Cardinals are making the right move here. Warner's got the stronger arm and an obvious better grasp of the offense, not to mention he outplayed Leinart last season. Sure, having the two-time league MVP under center prevents Leinart from progressing as a quarterback. However, Arizona is in a position to win now in a wide-open NFC West division that appears to lack a dominant team, and Warner presents the best chance of doing so in the present.

Atlanta, on the other hand, is in no such position. The talent-deficient Falcons aren't going to contend with the likes of Chris Redman and Joey Harrington at quarterback anyway, so why not get a jump-start on Ryan's development? The argument against throwing the untested rookie right into the fire is the potential long-term damage that losing and struggling can do to a young player's psyche, especially ones that never experienced failure during their college years (like Matt Leinart). With Ryan, I wouldn't worry. I was in Blacksburg, Virginia's Lane Stadium that memorable night last October, watching the then-Boston College quarterback engineer two late touchdown drives in the final 2 1/2 minutes to beat my beloved Hokies after enduring an endless array of bone-jarring hits over the course of the evening.

In other words, Ryan's no basket case like Harrington.