Matt Leinart lost only two games in three seasons as Southern California's starting quarterback, twice leading the Trojans to the national championship and winning the Heisman Trophy as a junior.
It took just two weeks as the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals for Leinart to match that loss total during his rookie NFL season a year ago. It took an additional month for Leinart to win his first game, against the Detroit Lions.
"In college, we went out every single Saturday expecting to win, knowing that we would win," Leinart said earlier this week. "Around here, people want to win. This team wants to win. ... We're not that far off."
Coming off a 23-20 victory at home over the Seattle Seahawks, Leinart might be facing his most formidable task as a pro when Arizona (1-1) plays the Ravens (1-1) on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium.
Ranked first in the NFL in overall defense a year ago, the Ravens are currently fourth, but only 13th against the pass. Their near collapse against the New York Jets in Sunday's 20-13 win might give the Cardinals and their second-year quarterback some hope.
"Obviously, it's a tough challenge for me," Leinart, 24, said during a teleconference with reporters in Owings Mills.
"I had some tough challenges last year. I played very badly in the opening game of the [2007] season against a tough defense [the San Francisco 49ers']. I've never seen a defense like Baltimore."
Since taking over from Kurt Warner, Leinart has shown the talent that made him one of the most successful college quarterbacks in history, as well as some of the limitations that caused NFL teams to be skeptical, dropping Leinart to 10th overall in the 2006 draft.
After an impressive early performance in which he threw four touchdowns and one interception in his first two starts, Leinart played as inconsistently as most rookies, finishing with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 56.8 percent of his passes for 2,547 yards.
"I just have to continue getting better as a quarterback," said Leinart, whose 405-yard game against the Minnesota Vikings broke former Cardinal Jake Plummer's NFL record for a rookie quarterback.
"Physically, I've just got to continue to get stronger. Mentally, I have to get better, and that's something I've been taking pride in, especially in the last week. I'm just trying to put in all the extra time I need as a quarterback to be successful in this league."
