TAMPA, Fla. — Kurt Warner will tell you he's always made good decisions with the football in his hands. But his coaches don't necessarily agree with him.

Coach Ken Whisenhunt, offensive coordinator Todd Haley and the Arizona Cardinals became the beneficiaries of what they view as a new and improved Kurt Warner in 2008. He turned in his best season since winning NFL MVP honors in 2001 and is taking the Cardinals to their first Super Bowl.

Whisenhunt and Haley both told Warner last offseason he needed to be smarter with the football — take fewer sacks and commit fewer turnovers. The Cardinals were a borderline playoff contender and couldn't afford their quarterback making mistakes that would cost them games.

"Some things had to change — the turnovers and the situation decision-making," Haley said. "Kurt will say he's always done that. But when he was at the Giants, he was turning the ball over and things weren't great. He was getting sacked."

This season, Haley said, Warner has "done a great job of increasing our margin of error and not being a sitting duck. He's stepped up, moved, kept the play alive — things he hasn't always done."

In his last full season as starter for the Rams in 2001, Warner was sacked 38 times, threw 22 interceptions and fumbled 10 times. In 2004, his only season with the New York Giants, he suffered 39 sacks, 12 fumbles and four interceptions in just 10 games. In 2007, after taking over for injured Leinart, Warner endured 20 sacks, 17 interceptions and 12 fumbles in 11 starts.

So the Arizona coaches preached ball security to Warner during the off-season program and training camp.

"It's all about keeping two hands on the ball in the pocket, especially when you have to move," Whisenhunt said. "Kurt worked hard on that, and also his decisions — not holding onto the ball a long time. It was a process."

For the first time since 2001, Warner started all 16 games. He took only 26 sacks — 10th fewest in the league. He threw 147 more passes than he did in 2007 but three fewer interceptions (14). He did have 11 fumbles but lost only seven of them.

"The way I was playing, my command of the offense, the way I was seeing things, I thought it was arguably one of my best seasons," Warner said.