Ash: Time for Leinart to push back

Sometimes I think it must be fun to be Matt Leinart. The former college star of the USC Trojans, Heisman Trophy winner, ladies man, etc.

This kid has been in movies, was the toast of LA as a college student, which doesn't happen unless Lindsay Lohan actually went to college. He seemed to have it all and then was the 10th pick overall in the draft after foregoing what many believe was a chance to be the number one pick the year before. Instead he decided to try for another title, another Heisman and keep living the dream.

Now I know why some people take eight years to get that degree, it sometimes never gets any better than those college years.

I am not saying it hasn't been good for Leinart. Since leaving college, Leinart has become a man, a father and what I think is a very good guy. I feel Matt is unfairly judged for some of his past transgressions. The whole 19-year-old beer bong thing was a mistake, but an honest one in my opinion. If you pick up girls from a bar, you should automatically assume they are 21 and at the time he was what 24? Who cares? It however, was blown up and Matt's image took another hit. Those days are behind Matt. He has a girlfriend now and has for awhile, he is a good father, he is a man. Now it's time for him to be a man or better yet, the man on the field!

Cris Carter was a great WR, one of the best we have ever seen. He isn't the greatest commentator on football, but he is on the big stage and people listen to what he says. On Monday Night Football he took an opportunity to question Matt Leinart, who doesn't take that chance these days?

Here is what Carter said after Larry Fitzgerald (a close friend of Carter's) got injured in the Cards preseason game vs Houston: "In the back of his mind -- he didn't tell me this -- but do you begin to question the arm strength of Matt Leinart? You're coming from playing with Kurt Warner, who has the best timing maybe [of] anybody we've seen [in] the last 20 years. But when you start getting led into safeties, you begin to question that relationship between my quarterback, 'Is he gonna get me hurt?'"

Did Carter not really hear this from Fitz? I don't think he did, but here is the problem, everyone is going to assume he did. He is trying to cause problems when there aren't any. Leinart and Fitz are cool. Steve Breaston and Leinart are cool. Leinart is cool with everyone as far as I know, everyone except a lot of the so called experts around football. Wednesday it was former 49er and Seahawk QB Trent Dilfer's turn to take a swipe at the Cardinals and at Matt Leinart.

Here is the bottom line. Matt Leinart will continue to get questioned by everyone until he does something about it. It's like when Gambo was picked on as a kid. The kids kept pushing and pushing and pushing until one day Gambo punched back and did a pretty good job of it and then the kids left him alone (that's his version of the story by the way). Same goes for Matt! Push back buddy and make the bullies go away. Until that happens, the bullies like Carter and Dilfer will sit in their comfy chairs on TV sets and keep taking jabs at you and your play. Leinart told me on Tuesday says and that is good, but tell me it wouldn't be sweet to shut these fools up or at least get them to turn their attention somewhere else. That is the task at hand for Matt Leinart. This isn't Hollywood anymore, but there still could be a Hollywood ending!