The stage was set in Baltimore, MD. Week three of the NFL season: The Baltimore Ravens vs the Arizona Cardinals. After completing only 9 of 20 attempts for a disappointing 53 yards, Matt Leinart was removed from the game and replaced by veteran backup Kurt Warner. Leinart watched from the bench as the Cardinals, behind Warner in a no-huddle-offense, rallied from a 23-6 deficit to tie up the game. Despite Warner’s impressive fourth quarter comeback (15 of 20, for 258 yards and 2 TDs), the Ravens won the game with a last minute, 46-yard field goal.

With Warner’s impressive take-over and Leinart’s mediocre stats, the anti-Matt movement has moved into full swing. Although first year coach Ken Whisenhunt has said Leinart did not lose his starting job because of his poor performance against Baltimore, many have called Leinart’s ability to lead the Cardinals into question. There are those who claim he spends too much time on his Hollywood image; that there’s no Leinart left for football. Yes, the backlash from his record at USC is starting to spill back into his pro-career. And those who have long despised him, now have ample resources to knock him down.

But all is not lost for USC’s golden boy and there’s one person who can prove it. All Leinart needs to do is turn to Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning. It turns out that Leinart and Manning’s college and pro careers have a lot more in common than appears on the surface.

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Let’s travel back to 1998. Back when Backstreet Boys and Brittany Spears were spanking the charts. And a football prodigy out of Tennessee, Peyton Manning, was picked first over all by the Indianapolis Colts. Manning compiled ridiculous stats at Tennessee becoming their all-time leading passer with 11,201 yards, 863 completions and 89 touchdowns with just 33 interceptions. He compiled a 39-6 record as a starter. He was 3-1 in his four bowl appearances.

Flash forward to 2006. Leinart finished his college career with 10,693 yards, 807 completions and 99 touchdowns with just 23 interceptions. He is USC’s all-time leader in career touchdown passes and completion percentage. He was 37-2 as a starter and was 2-1 in three bowl appearances (all National/BCS Championships).

Manning started immediately for the Colts. And despite a dismal 3-13 win record, throwing 26 touchdowns, 28 interceptions and passing for a 56.7 completion record, Manning broke all sorts of Rookie records in 1998, including most passes attempted in a season, most passes completed in a season, most yards gained in a season (3,739) and most touchdown passes in a season.

Back to 2006: It took about 4 weeks of the season to decide Leinart was the Cardinals’ man. Then coach Dennis Green threw him in. Leinart finished with a 4-7 record, throwing 11 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and passing for a 56.8 completion record (only a .1 difference from Manning). Leinart passed for a total of 2,547 yards and set an NFL rookie record (first rookie with 400+ yards in a game) with 405 passing yards against Minnesota.

Year two is when Peyton Manning and the Colts turned it around. That’s after commencing the 1999 season with a mediocre 2-2 start. It’s now year two for Matt Leinart. Is it still possible for Leinart to turn this 1-2 season around? Of course. Leinart threw for nearly 300 yards in a win against the Seattle Seahawks the week before his loss at Baltimore. But will Leinart settle down and play out his potential? This weekend’s home game is against a tough Pittsburgh Steelers (3-0). Leinart will have to work extremely hard to prove himself anew. But then again, people doubted Peyton Manning would ever make it to the Super Bowl, let alone win one…for nearly eight years.

So don’t take it so hard, Matt. You’ve got time. Hey, look at Brett Favre. Longevity is in. 40 is the new 20 in the NFL. So kick back, learn the play-book, improve your game, and settle in for the long-haul. Who knows, you may hit your stride in a week or it may take a decade.

But until you reach that apex you’re striving for, Matt…just have fun. Remember while the rest of us sit in an office, getting paid very little to do something we really don’t want to do…you’re traveling the country, getting paid millions to play the great game of football.

God Bless America.

*Stats from http://www.pro-football-reference.com, http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players, http://www.azcardinals.com/gameday/index.php