"Kurt Warner is off dancing with the stars. After six hours of inaugural training, he was free of blisters but headed straight for the ice tub. Clearly, the quarterback dilemma in Arizona is somebody else's problem.

But he feels for his former teammate. And on his way to conquering Hollywood, the best quarterback in Cardinals history has one final lesson for Matt Leinart, the sullen protege:

"The one thing I hope Matt takes from my situation, if we talk through this, is that, hey, it happened to me, and it happened more than once," Warner said. "The only thing I knew how to do was to fight, prepare and work. And every time, I came out on top."

It's true. Warner lost his job in St. Louis, New York and Arizona. All three times, he was convinced he was the better quarterback, only to find his coaches felt otherwise.

"And they were good coaches," Warner said.

Thus, he understands the confusion and rage coursing through Leinart, who spent the past 2 1/2 seasons watching Warner from the sidelines, believing his time was coming, believing he would be rewarded for his patience.

"There are a lot of emotions going on," Warner said. "You feel alone. You feel like people don't know what to say around you. You're angry, but you don't know how to handle it or what steps to take. And it's tough for me because I'm close to both sides.

"I know Coach (Ken Whisenhunt), I love Coach, I believe in him, what he does, the decisions he makes and why he makes them. I'm also very good friends with Matt, and I wanted it to work out for him. But what I don't feel is a sense of responsibility that I didn't do my job as a mentor. I was an open book."

Like many others, Warner has seen subtle changes in Leinart over the past two years. The former Heisman Trophy winner has lost a big chunk of swagger, and maybe his reluctance to throw the ball down the field stemmed from a sudden fear of failure. This much is certain:

When Leinart came to Arizona, there was no real expectations, for the team or the quarterback position. Warner changed all of that. For 2 1/2 seasons, he played at a breathtaking level, spoiling his wide receivers and everyone else in attendance, capable of producing 51 points in a playoff game."