Don Pierson

For starters, new coach Ken Whisenhunt will outfit his Cardinals with a new offensive line, new defensive line, new linebackers, a new secondary, a new fullback, and a new defensive system. Other than that, everything remains the same, except maybe a new tight end.

The Cardinals are a team in transition. Again. They are a franchise that seems to remain in perpetual training camp. They bounce from year to year, coach to coach, player to player, always falling short of promise, always promising improvement.

But for a change, the Cardinals do have a franchise quarterback at the helm, a luxury the team hopes it can exploit in the near future. Second-year man Matt Leinart also has major league receivers in Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald and Bryant Johnson. Unfortunately, there is little else for Cardinal fans to get immediately excited about.

The first thing Whisenhunt and his offensive line coach, Russ Grimm, did was juggle the least effective unit on the team. Coming out of mini-camps, the left tackle is Mike Gandy, who was a better guard than tackle in both Buffalo and Chicago. The left guard is Reggie Wells, last year's right tackle. The center is Al Johnson, former Dallas backup. The right guard is Deuce Lutui, who won the job last year as a rookie. The right tackle is Oliver Ross, an underachiever in Pittsburgh and five-game starter last year.

The first-round draft choice is Levi Brown, who could be the starting right tackle protecting Leinart's backside by the time training camp ends.

The new fullback is Terrelle Smith and the Cards plan to use more two-back sets, forcing Edgerrin James to adapt to a blocking back for the first time.

If last year's rookie tight end Leonard Pope doesn't improve, free agent Troy Bienemann will get a chance to show if he is as good as his pre-camp practices indicated.

The Cardinals kept defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast but are trying to change to a 3-4 alignment. They have two big candidates to man the nose tackle spot in second-year player Gabe Watson and rookie Alan Branch. Right defensive end Antonio Smith will stay at his position. But almost everybody else has some adjusting to do.

Tackle Darnell Dockett will move to left end and ends Chike Okeafor and Bertrand Berry will move to outside linebackers. Pass rusher Berry is coming off a torn pectoral muscle. Outside linebacker Karlos Dansby will make the move inside next to Gerald Hayes and the Cardinals are still hoping third-year man Darryl Blackstone can play.

Detroit safety Terrence Holt joins college teammate Adrian Wilson and Eric Green and ex-Eagle Rod Hood will battle it out at cornerback opposite Antrel Rolle.

Hot seat
It's unfair to expect more out of Leinart than he may be able to deliver. But he is never going to have the same advantage as San Diego's Philip Rivers or Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger, who got plugged into ready-made teams. The Cards are trying to build a team around Leinart and even though he shouldn't be expected to carry them, he must play well enough to give his teammates reason to hope. In Kurt Warner, the Cards have as good a veteran backup as there is in the league. But if the Cards have to think about playing him for any reason other than injury, it will not be a good sign.

Overheard
By shaking up the lineup so thoroughly, Whisenhunt is creating genuine competition that can only help in the long run. Backup offensive linemen Nick Leckey and Elton Brown know they will get a chance if they deserve it. Whisenhunt may play running back Marcel Shipp more than Edgerrin James might like. Whisenhunt also brought receiver Sean Morey with him from Pittsburgh to help show players the way things are done. Backup defensive linemen Chris Cooper, Jonathan Lewis and Ross Kolodziej, linebackers Calvin Pace, Monty Beisel and Brandon Johnson, and defensive backs Matt Ware, Aaron Francisco, Ralph Brown and Hanik Milligan also will get chances to play. Ware might move from cornerback to safety. Rookie receiver Steve Breaston should return kicks.

Outlook
Under Dennis Green, this team thought it could contend in the NFC West last year before flopping to 5-11. Many of the same players remain, still convinced they are good enough to contend. If every single experiment works, they could become this year's Saints. More likely, they will have to feel their way through Whisenhunt's first season and add more free agents and draft choices next year before they can be considered legitimate.

Prediction
Fourth.

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