As I sat back and watched the Arizona Cardinals dismantle my St. Louis Rams in a regular season game late last season, I thought to myself, this franchise is just a couple of players away from being a legitimate playoff team.

It was hard for me to come to terms with this. I mean, after all, they are still the Arizona Cardinals. And people have said this before. It's like saying this is the year the Cubbies will win it all.

Right.

But after watching the Rams and Seahawks play hot potato with the NFC West title this past season, it wasn't so far-fetched to count the Cardinals out. They're a team packed with players on the verge of breaking out into stars.

They've built their defense around safety Adrian Wilson, signing him to a five-year contract on Thursday. They've also added cornerback Robert Griffith to an already solid defensive backfield. And defensive end Bertrand Berry had a career year with 14.5 sacks.

And their offense is pretty good too.

Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin should give defenses fits with their speed and agility. While Marcel Shipp and Troy Hambrick provide a young and steady backfield.

All they need is a quarterback with the leadership abilities to carry this team to a new level.

And now they do. His name is Kurt Warner.

Now I?m not going to build him up like he is still a superstar quarterback, because he?s not. But, he?s still a smart football player and he might just be what the Cardinals need.

Warner signed a one-year, $4 million dollar contract with the Cardinals on Tuesday. He had met with the Chicago Bears earlier in the week and was so impressed by the Cardinals that he canceled a trip to Detroit. Coach Dennis Green made it apparently clear to Warner that his best chance at starting in the NFL would be in the desert.

And, that?s all Warner wants to do is start. He doesn?t want to spend the last few years of his career on the sidelines with a pencil behind his ear and a clipboard in his hand. He wants to do what every great quarterback should do. Go out on top.

After he lost his starting job to Marc Bulger in St. Louis, Warner signed a one-year deal with the New York Giants, going 5-4 as a starter while throwing six touchdowns and four interceptions. He was driven to the sidelines by Eli Manning when Tom Coughlin was pressured to go with the rookie quarterback in the middle of the season.

The Giants went 1-6 down the stretch with Manning at the helm.

Many believe had Coughlin stuck with Warner, the Giants would have made the playoffs in a weak NFC. So, should that be a problem in Arizona where Green shuffled through quarterbacks before finally settling on Josh McNown?

Green and Warner don?t believe so.

One reason might be that the Sam Houston State quarterback, McNown, struggled when he was given a chance to start.

McNown threw for eleven touchdowns and 10 interceptions last season. While he showed glimpses of breaking out into the starting quarterback the Cardinals had hoped for, he still made too many mistakes with the football for Green and the coaching staff to take notice.

In steps Warner.

Warner can be a great teacher, as seen with Bulger and Manning (although it?s hard to see with his level of play last year). McNown can learn from Warner?s leadership, both on and off the field.

With Warner taking the snaps, Arizona has the ability to develop into one of the most potent offenses in the league. Warner even compares them to the offense he ran during his glory days in St. Louis.

However, the question is can Warner still play? The answer is yes and no.

Warner is still good enough to start in this league, but I wouldn't be planning any trips to Hawaii if I were him.

His best days are behind him. It is very doubtful that Warner can still play another five years like he says, but if he plays mistake-free football, he might just be the person the Cardinals need to mold themselves into contenders in the NFC West.