By Nolan Nawrocki
Sept. 24, 2007

A year ago, the Cardinals ranked 30th in the league in rushing. Their offensive line had been in disarray for years with a revolving door at the OL coach position. There was little continuity week to week with who was filling which spot. Enter Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm and the first line of work became fixing the problems up front. The first signing in free agency was C Al Johnson. They drafted ORT Levi Brown with their first pick and signed free-agent OLT Mike Gandy to a sizeable contract to secure their bookends. They kicked Reggie Wells inside to left guard, where he is best, and kept Deuce Lutui at right guard.

What was once a incongruous position of weakness is now a solid position of strength, even after subbing undrafted rookie free-agent C Lyle Sendlein into the lineup for an injured Johnson. Entering Week Four, the Cardinals have only allowed two sacks. The running game has newfound life. The receiving corps is as talented as any in football. Their biggest offensive problem has been the inconsistency of QB Matt Leinart, and they may have found some answers after dropping Kurt Warner into the saddle. Down 23-6, Warner showed a veteran command of the offense as he commanded two TD drives in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter and was responsible for leading the offense on all 23 of the Cardinals’ points.

Quarterback controversies are not healthy for any team, but Warner was clearly the best quarterback on the field in his limited time of action. He was prepared, made quick decisions, threw the ball with great accuracy and seemed to get better as he got more comfortable. Not only did he show that mental acumen, football intelligence and game experience are king at the QB position, he showed how efficient the Cardinals’ offense could be with a focused quarterback.

Warner’s biggest problem has been his health, but he’s playing behind the best protection he has seen since leaving the Rams with a physical running game that could force opponents to stack the box and bring more single coverage that could open up the passing game. His chances of staying healthy could improve in the new environment.

For Whisenhunt, changing quarterbacks was a bold personnel decision. He showed he is not afraid to sit anyone, including his star quarterback, if they are not getting the job done. He found out what he has in Warner, and found a new source of motivation for Leinart to get his eyes out of the bright lights of Hollywood and into the playbook. There is no greater motivator for a competitive player than the fear of losing your job, and Leinart clearly has a job that’s in jeopardy.

Leinart’s strength entering the 2006 season was that he was the most experienced and most well-versed in a pro-style offense of any quarterback in the draft, but since he has entered the NFL, Vince Young and Jay Cutler have caught up fast in those areas, and Leinart seems to have regressed with his second coach in two years. Leinart is the future of the franchise, but if he does not come ready to play next week, Warner deserves to see action more quickly. Whisenhunt just as easily could have been 3-0 as 1-2, with two last-minute field goals responsible for losses to San Francisco and Baltimore. Had Warner been at the helm for the first three games, Whisenhunt might be undefeated. Although his record does not reflect it, Whisenhunt is beginning to awaken a sleeping giant. It would not be a surprise to see the Cardinals win their division and enter the playoffs in a Cinderella role, especially if Warner can stay healthy.

 Like Leinart, Tampa Bay WR Michael Clayton needs to get his mind right or he could be in jeopardy of losing his job. Clayton was wide open crossing the middle of the field when he bobbled and dropped a well-placed Jeff Garcia pass with the game tied at zero before the half. Two plays later, he caught a strike at the 30-yard-line within field-goal range and fumbled it (but TE Alex Smith was there to recover it), only to come off the field sportting a mohawk and earring with words for Jon Gruden. Given his lack of discipline since his breakout rookie season, it would not be a shocker if he becomes the next first-rounder to hit the waiver wire. This incident is only the tip of an iceberg, and Gruden's patience definitely appeared to be running thin on the sideline as he minced few words.

 The best hit of the day I saw was delivered by Cardinals S Adrian Wilson on Ravens TE Todd Heap. He timed it up perfectly and leveled Heap, who impressively held on to the ball.

 Brian Urlacher notched two sacks vs. the Cowboys, but he missed at least two tackles, including one on Terrell Owens that could have prevented a long gain. The Bears’ defense looked reminiscent of the way it did in the Super Bowl, getting controlled in the trenches, wearing down as the game progressed and showing it can be dissected by a good quarterback. Owens, like Randy Moss, looks like he has taken a drink from a fountain of youth, picking up a lot of positive yardage after the catch and running very crisp routes. He’s playing at an All-Pro level.

 Another missed tackle by Redskins CB Carlos Rogers, also drafted ninth overall five years after Urlacher, proved to be very costly to the Redskins with little more than five minutes to play. He was in position to tackle Plaxico Burress after a simple hitch but instead dropped his head and whiffed, letting Burress rumble another 25 yards for a 33-yard TD reception that proved to be the difference in the game.

 What does it say about the Redskins’ confidence in Clinton Portis that when it came to crunch time on the goal line, they twice gave the ball to Ladell Betts. Maybe he is still not all the way recovered, but Portis does not appear as quick or decisive running as he once was.

 Giants DE Justin Tuck made a terrific play on the goal line as the Redskins attempted to tie the game in the final seconds, getting underneath the pads of Redskins OG Pete Kendall, putting him on his back and collapsing the line to help suffocate Betts before he could cross the white line, which would have put the game into overtime.

 Don’t blame Larry Johnson or his contract holdout for his 24-carry, 42-yard performance vs. the Vikings. Not only did he have nowhere to run, often getting hit two yards behind the line of scrimmage, his longest run of the day, a 25-yarder, was negated by a needless hold by WR Jeff Webb. Until the Chiefs invest more in the offensive line, Johnson has his work cut out for him.

 The absence of Orlando Pace has had a crippling affect on the Rams’ offense. Marc Bulger hurt his ribs the first week vs. Carolina after losing his blind-side protector, and he was running for his life last week vs. San Francisco, when he was sacked six times and hit seemingly after every pass, taking some big licks. The inability to hold the pocket and handle the extra pressure Monte Kiffin consistently brought removed a vertical element from the Rams’ offense, and also forced TE Randy McMichael to stay in to max protect. Bulger also seemed more jittery in the pocket, which could have resulted in his three picks on Sunday.

 The Colts were able to squeeze out a 30-24 victory over the upstart Texans, but consider the fact that the Texans were without Pro Bowl WR Andre Johnson, lost RB Ahman Green early in the game and did not have backup Ron Dayne, either. The Texans are playing good defense and great special teams.

 The Chargers and Bears finished atop their respective divisions a year ago in the win department, but both sit at 1-2 after three weeks of play, in large part because they have struggled to establish their ground games.

 The Dolphins showed some creativity using Jason Taylor on offense, splitting him wide as a receiver and drawing a flag for pass interference. The Dolphins dropped to 0-3, but the talent on the roster is not as bad as their record suggests, having played three very good football teams in Washington, Dallas and the Jets. With the Raiders, Texans and Browns on the docket, they stand a chance of evening their record.

 Packers LB Nick Barnett continues to stand out and is flying around the field, dicing in the backfield and making plays in coverage, as he showed jumping an ill-advised Philip Rivers pass to LaDainian Tomlinson over the middle. Rivers got caught trying to slip a similar pass past Adalius Thomas last week and has gotten in trouble dumping the ball off in the middle of the field.

 They may not be showing up heavily in the stat box, but Packers DLs Cullen Jenkins and Johnny Jolly have been playing with a lot of force upfront. Jolly noticeably tossed aside Chargers OG Kris Dielman and disrupted the backfield on one of Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila’s two sacks.

 Raiders Josh McCown showed a lot of toughness trying to battle through injuries the last two weeks.

 Kansas City rookie WR Dwayne Bowe has quickly developed into a reliable playmaker for the Chiefs. Washington WR Antwan Randle El continues to stand out as a clutch performer. And Broncos WR Brandon Marshall also belongs in the category of improved receivers.

 Eli Manning appears to be gaining his confidence, as does Kyle Boller, leading the Ravens on a game-winning field-goal drive. While both still are capable of making bone-headed decisions, they appear to have cut down on the number. Ditto for Packers legend Brett Favre, who has been playing the best football of his life the last three weeks. Mike McCarthy appears to have done an excellent job keeping him motivated. Suddenly, all the clamoring in the offseason about Favre needing more help has been forgotten. And Favre is showing the real answer he so badly wanted could have been found in the mirror.

 As long as the Jaguars plug the inside and aggressively fill running lanes the way they did vs. Denver, they will compete with anyone.

 After beating an improving Raiders squad and squeaking past the Vikings, the Lions were exposed as the pretenders that they are vs. the Eagles.

 The competition committee will need to explore a couple issues next year. Among them, after Texans DT Cedric Killings was carted off the field on a stretcher after colliding with Colts WR Roy Hall as he tried busting the wedge, is a way to limit the violent collisions that occur on special teams. The second is the way coaches are allowed to force last-minute field-goal attempts to be re-kicked. After Lane Kiffin took a page out of Mike Shanahan's book, two long-distance field goals that have been converted in subsequent weeks have been overturned, changeing the outcome of games.