Anderson’s turn, for now

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Derek Anderson, it’s your turn. For how long remains to be determined.

The Arizona Cardinals’ quarterback situation is up in the air after coach Ken Whisenhunt decided to shake up a struggling offense and start Anderson at quarterback over Matt Leinart in the third preseason game, against the Chicago Bears tonight.

“I realize we’re not game planning,” Whisenhunt said. “We’re not doing a lot so you’re going to have some of those situations more so than we’d like to have, but still that would be something we’d look to improve on this week.”

It’s not clear if the move announced Thursday is permanent.

Leinart defended himself in an interview with the Arizona Republic on Friday.

“I’ve done everything to this point that they’ve asked me to and more,” he said. “I’ve worked hard and been a leader. I’m trying to be that guy in this new role. I have high expectations for myself.”

He said his performances on the field have been “efficient.”

“I’ve been accurate. I haven’t turned the ball over,” he told the newspaper. “I don’t know how we judge performance when you have 13 pass attempts to the other guy’s 40.”

Asked if there were some underlying issues between him and Whisenhunt, Leinart said, “I don’t know, I don’t really know.

“It seems like every preseason there is something I’m trying to get through,” Leinart said. “I don’t really know what’s going on and why decisions are being made.”

Penciled in as the starter after Kurt Warner retired, Leinart has yet to lead Arizona’s offense to a single score this preseason.