I guess we should expect nothing less from the team that entered the 2008 offseason paralyzed under the salary cap after being unable to rework wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald's rookie contract. By the time Fitzgerald signed a four-year, $40 million extension, free agents the team could have targeted like guard Alan Faneca had signed elsewhere.

And yet the Cardinals are still one victory away from claiming the Lombardi Trophy.

Hey, maybe I'm wrong and the Cardinals have it right. Michael Bidwill said one of the reasons Arizona hired Whisenhunt and other Steelers assistant coaches was to create a model like in Pittsburgh, which does an outstanding job building its team through the draft. Whisenhunt already has Arizona in a Super Bowl against the Steelers in just his second season. That should help Whisenhunt gain more front-office juice while working closely with player personnel director Steve Keim, who stocked Arizona's roster with young talent even before Whisenhunt's arrival.

"If (the Steelers) lose a player in free agency, they bring someone else in and don't miss a step," Bidwill said. "That's what we've done here."

The Steelers, though, are adept at re-signing young talent and have a history of success. The Cardinals don't and probably won't in the future if team management doesn't change the way it does business.