Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart is, for the first time, speaking publicly about the infamous party photos that were widely circulated, leading coach Ken Whisenhunt to say he was “disappointed” and leading many fans and members of the media to question whether the photos serve as evidence that Leinart doesn’t take his job seriously enough.

While Leinart doesn’t agree with the judgments some have made about him from the photos, he does say, “it is time for me to step up, really time for me to go out there and play. I know the business of the game, and this game is competitive and we’ve got another great quarterback on this roster in Kurt Warner, who is pushing me every day to get better.”

Still, the mere fact that Warner is behind Leinart on the depth chart even though Warner’s passing stats were much better than Leinart’s last season raises the question of whether Leinart is being handed his position, rather than earning it.

For his part, Whisenhunt says he’s confident that Leinart is committed to earning that starting job.

“I’ve seen him up here [at the team facility] at times when he didn’t have to be,” Whisenhunt said, “going through tape, looking at last year, looking at technique, looking at opponents.”

Leinart, whose season was cut short last year by a broken collarbone, is throwing passes in minicamp and says he is close to 100 percent.