Time for Leinart to show he can lead Cardinals

It’s his time. It’s his team. At least it had better be. As Matt Leinart, the former Heisman Trophy winner and “King of L.A”, enters his third season, there still are questions. Can he lead a team to the playoffs? Were the Cardinals really as lucky as people thought at the time when he unexpectedly fell to them at No. 10 in the 2006 draft?

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In other words, is he “the guy?”

A player’s third year in the NFL is generally considered critical.

This is especially true for Leinart, who got off to a solid start as a rookie then — after having trouble picking up new coach Ken Whisenhunt’s offense — struggled in Year Two.

But if this year is critical for Leinart, the same isn’t as true for the Cardinals as originally thought.

The conventional wisdom had been: “If Leinart turns out to be a mistake, the Cardinals — having made a six-year commitment to him — are doomed.”

But then the old pro Kurt Warner played well the last half of 2007 after Leinart went down with a collarbone injury.

So now, the Cardinals might be set either way.

The bottom line: The heat is more on Leinart to produce than on the Cardinals to get him to be “the guy.”

KEEP ’EM OFF BALANCE

Coach Ken Whisenhunt seems to believe that Leinart plays best when prodded.

So, after the quarterback saga settled down after Leinart played well in the team’s preseason opener, Whisenhunt stirred it up a little bit.

He started Warner in the second game, then coyly hinted that he might not even announce the identity of his opening-day quarterback, the better to keep the opponent — the San Francisco 49ers — guessing.

Whisenhunt thinks the strategy has paid off as both quarterbacks have played well.

“As far as competition … it’s really made both of those guys play at a high level,” he said. “As far all the positions, quarterback has been one of the best positions for us in this (training) camp.”

Leinart makes the case that he’s not been distracted, that he believes he’s the starter. Yet he talks in two directions on Whisenhunt’s ploy.

On the one hand, he said, “I keep going off what he’s told me in the past and what he continues to tell me. I can’t worry about all the other stuff, what he’s thinking, what you guys (reporters) are all saying.”

On the other hand, he said, “But it is motivating. I feel like it motivates me and drives me to be better. That’s just how I handle it.”

So is he looking over his shoulder?

“There is competition. I have to keep competing and keep working hard to be the guy,” he said. “That’s what I’ve been doing every day.”

Whisenhunt clearly doesn’t see this as a negative.

“Some of the best players I’ve been around were always looking over their shoulders, even guys who were Pro Bowlers,” he said.

LEARNING THE GAME

Leinart let his hair down recently about his struggles last season.

Speaking of Whisenhunt’s offense, he said, “I know at this point last year, I had no clue. A little bit, but really had no clue what was going on.

“This year, I feel like I do. I have a command of the offense. A lot is thrown at us. You have to keep studying and working.”

Whisenhunt noticed a change after the early October injury. In effect, he got an extra assistant coach as Leinart spent long hours breaking down game tape.

“He really sees the field a lot better. He’s comfortable with his reads,” Whisenhunt said. “He knows where he wants to go with the ball when he’s passing it.”

In addition, he’s better at improvising. All this, “because of the work he did, in-season, after he got hurt.”

The result: “It’s a different Matt because he is a lot more comfortable and there’s a lot more confidence in what he’s doing.”

PARTY-BOY IMAGE

When Leinart struggles, though, there’s a subtext in the public’s mind — that he’d rather be a “player” off the field than on it.

This is something he denies strongly, though he has suggested that the custody battle over his out-of-wedlock child hurt his concentration last year.

Leinart suggests rumors can start simply by a trip to a restaurant. So, he’s learning to keep a low public profile.

“That’s the way it’s kind of become. Which is fine,” he said. “Those are the sacrifices you have to make, I guess. That’s fine with me. …

“People can think whatever want. But the most important thing … is what my family sees and knows and my team and my coaches know.

“They know I work my butt off.”

The party-boy image started in Los Angeles, where Leinart led USC to the status of college football’s most dominant — and most glamorous — team.

“Being in L.A., what we went through, so to speak being kings of L.A. … It was kind of like that. We had a good time,” he said. “I think that was kind of the consequence coming in. That whole thing has kind of been with me since.”

Life was so good that Leinart — confounding conventional wisdom — returned to college for his fifth and final year even after winning the Heisman Trophy and leading the Trojans to the national title.

Then came the custody battle and settlement with the mother of his child.

In addition, he probably didn’t help himself by freely answering questions about his Hollywood friends.

Early this year, his agent Chuck Price vowed, “It’s all about football.”

Then, a few weeks later, a photo surfaced on the Internet in which Leinart is drinking beer and having a swell time with several young ladies.

“After the incident this spring, it was devastating to him,” Whisenhunt said. “He’d worked so hard … not to put himself in situations where those things come up.”

Of course, “He’s well aware if he plays well, that’s not going to be an issue. But I think he wants to be viewed as a hard-working professional that can win.”

Leinart said, “I’ve learned a lot in the last couple of years. You grow up. You become a father.”

Now, he enters Year Three wiser — one assumes — on and off the field.

Last year, when Whisenhunt shuttled Warner in to replace Leinart in certain situations, “It was a natural thing to look over and say, 'What’s going on?’ ” Leinart said. “This year, I have full confidence in what I’m doing.

“I find myself more motivated to get the job done and just compete.”