STRONG POINTS

Leinart is a very smart quarterback who has consistently shown the ability to read defenses and make the right decision. He does not force passes into coverage and has consistently shown a willingness to throw the ball away to avoid the sack. He is a big, well-built quarterback with the strong arm to make all the throws. He has a quick, compact and efficient delivery to get rid of the ball fast -- he especially does a good job when pressured. He does a very good job of identifying the defense, reading the blitz and making the correct decision consistently. He does a good job of looking off the safety and coming back to make the good throw.

WEAKNESSES

Leinart is a limited athlete who lacks the foot quickness and playing speed to make big plays with his feet. While he moves around in the pocket well, he is not a guy who is going to buy a lot of second chances. He needs to become more consistent throwing deep passes with zip because he has such great receivers at USC that he gets into a bad habit of throwing touch passes too often. The biggest thing that Leinart will have to overcome is that he has never lost regularly and in his first few years in the NFL, he is going to lose a lot and how he handles this will determine if he makes it in the NFL.

POSITIONAL FACTORS

Grade Category Comments/Description 6.5 Technique He has a quick, compact delivery to get rid of the ball fast. He strides into throws well when he wants to get zip. 6.0 Arm Strength He has good arm strength to make all the throws with zip and accuracy. 7.0 Convert Pct. He consistently stepped up and converted on the most important downs -- 64.8 percent in graded games. 5.0 2nd Lives He moves decently in the pocket to buy extra time, but lacks the foot quickness to avoid sacks consistently. 6.5 Accuracy Short in Pocket He consistently throws the short passes accurately. He's accurate on touch throws and ones he puts zip on. 6.0 Accuracy Long in Pocket He throws the medium pass accurately with zip and the deep ball with touch, but does not zip deep throws often. 6.5 Accuracy on the Move He does a good job of getting his feet set and making accurate throws outside of the pocket. 6.5 Big Plays He has consistently made accurate deep throws with zip and makes key plays when they matter most. 7.0 Under Pressure He stays poised in the pocket vs. pressure and always makes good decisions; does not force passes. 7.0 Leadership/Poise Leinart is a charismatic leader who takes control of the team verbally and the team rallies behind his charge. 7.0 Read Defenses He does a good job of identifying the defense and making the right decisions to take advantage of what he sees. 7.5 Big Errors Leinart does not make the big error. He will not force passes and will throw the ball away rather than risk interceptions.

ATHLETIC ABILITY	Section Grade: 5.0
Leinart is a smooth, fluid quarterback, but a limited athlete. He has adequate foot quickness -- good enough to slide and move around decently in the pocket to buy a little extra time, but lacks the foot quickness to avoid sacks and get out of pocket to make plays with his feet. He does, however, stay under control and throws well on the move on designed roll-out type passes. He does not have the foot quickness or speed to pull the ball down and make the big play by scrambling for the first down. He does have quick hands and they show in his quick, compact and efficient delivery/release. He can make all the throws when he has to get rid of the ball fast. He has good flexibility, which helps him bend his knees and throw with good knee-bend in his front leg when he strides into throws.
Q.A.B. Quick Feet C.O.D. Flexibility Coordination 5.0 5.0 5.0 6.0 6.0

COMPETITIVENESS	Section Grade: 7.0
Leinart is an extremely tough football player who has consistently shown his toughness by staying in games after taking some really hard hits. In one game, he got crushed in the first half and it was reported that he suffered a concussion, but he returned in the second half to lead the team to victory. In the most important situations, Leinart has consistently shown the poise to step up and play his best -- just see the fourth-down pass in the fourth quarter vs. Notre Dame for an example of his poise under pressure. His overall production has been consistently very good. He's not always dominant, but he consistently made very good decisions and accurate throws. In addition to being very productive throwing the ball, he was extremely productive when it came to not forcing passes and making big mistakes. Leinart is definitely a team player who takes charge of the offense and consistently leads the unit vocally. He is a highly competitive player who never quits. While he is not a big-play scrambler, when he takes off running with the ball, he is willing to take the big hit instead of always sliding if that is what it takes to get the necessary yards.
Toughness Clutch Play Production Consistency Team Player Pride/Quit 7.0 7.0 6.5 6.5 7.0 7.0

MENTAL ALERTNESS	Section Grade: 6.5
Leinart is a very smart young man who clearly learns football easily. He consistently goes through progressions, knows how to look off the safety, has good throwing technique and rarely makes a mental mistake. He has very good football instincts for a quarterback. He does a good job of going through his progressions to find the open receiver and does a good job of identifying the blitz and throwing to the receiver in the area vacated by the blitzer. Leinart's ability to stay focused and maintain his concentration so well is what allows him to consistently make the right decision and to now throw into traffic even with pressure in his face.
Learn/Retain Instincts/Reactions Concentration 7.0 6.5 6.5

STRENGTH/EXPLOSION	Section Grade: 6.0
Leinart has outstanding size for a quarterback at just under 6-foot-5 and over 220 pounds. When you see him on the 'Hoof', he surprises you with how big he is compared to what he looks like on film. He has been tremendously durable at USC and has the size, strength and toughness to be a durable quarterback in the NFL. However, quarterbacks who are limited athletes yet are so competitive that they will sit in the pocket and get crushed to make the throw tend to get hurt because few people can take the constant pounding. He is not an explosive player. He lacks explosiveness running with the ball and, despite having a quick release and good-enough arm strength to make all the throws, the ball does not explode out of his hand. He has very good playing strength, which enables him to consistently make good throws with defenders grabbing and pulling at him. He does not go down easily.
Body Type Durability Explosion Play Strength 7.0 6.0 5.0 6.5