timschochet
Footballguy
From Rueben Frank, Oct. 10:
He's now 36 years old now, six years and two teams removed from his last full season as an NFL starting quarterback. It's been almost a decade since Kurt Warner emerged out of the ether as a league MVP and Super Bowl winner, and although he's no longer be the greatest quarterback in football, he just might be the greatest backup.
Warner can still play. Maybe not for an entire season, maybe not at the level we saw during his peerless Pro Bowl seasons. But protect him, give him time, give him a pocket to work in, and Warner still bears a striking resemblance to the all-pro who won 35 of 43 starts and split two Super Bowls from 1999 through 2001.
Don't look now, but the Cards are 3-2, tied with the Seahawks for first place in the NFC West and with a win over the Panthers on Sunday they'll have their first 4-2 start since 1989, their second year in Arizona. Nobody wanted to see the promising Matt Leinart get hurt. But the reality is the Cards have a better chance at their first 10-win season in 31 years, and their first playoff berth in nine years with the veteran Warner behind center than the second-year pro from USC.
Leinart is now on Injured Reserve with the broken collarbone he suffered Sunday in the Cards' win over Warner's former team, the Rams. The only other quarterback on the roster is Tim Rattay, signed Tuesday off the street in case of emergencies. So for the first time since his glory days he won't be looking over his shoulder every time he makes a mistake. This is his team now.
And that might not be such a bad thing.
Warner has actually played OK since leaving the Rams after the 2003 season, completing 64 percent of his passes with 27 TDs and 19 interceptions in on-and-off duty with the Giants and Cards.
Now project those numbers onto a real offense.
With Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, Warner has a reasonable facsimile of Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. In a rejuvenated Edgerrin James, he has a decent version of Marshall Faulk. And Bryant Johnson is Az Hakim. But maybe even more importantly, Warner finally has a capable offensive line in front of him. The Cards, with the underrated no-name line of Mike Gandy, Reggie Wells, Al Johnson, Deuce Lutui and Elton Brown, have allowed only five sacks in five games.
Warner -- maybe more than any NFL quarterback -- must have first-rate protection to his job. Take him out of his comfort zone in the pocket and he's useless. He can't run. He can't move. Even in his great years, he was a sitting duck when protection broke down. But give him time, and Warner is still dangerous. And this line can get him time.
For the first time since he left the Rams, Warner is actually quarterbacking ... dare we say it ... a pretty good team.
In relief of Leinart so far this year, Warner has been very sharp. His 102.0 passer rating is actually higher than his career mark of 94.0, third-highest in NFL history. He's thrown twice as many touchdown passes as Leinart in about half as many passes and a quarter as many interceptions.
The key figure, and the figure that should Cards fans hope: He's only been sacked once in 70 pass plays so far. This from somebody who's been sacked once every 13 ½ plays in his 10-year career and had no chance his one year with the Giants and his first two years in Arizona. Overall, the Cards are fourth-best in the NFL, allowing a sack every 37 pass plays.
Something else that should give Cards fans hope: Their schedule. The next few weeks look challenging, with the Panthers, Redskins and Buccaneers, three winning -- though not quite dominating -- teams. But look at the rest of the season. The Bengals. The 49ers. The Browns, Saints, Falcons and Rams again. Arizona's last eight games are against teams that are currently 12-26, so that 10-win season that's eluded the Cards sine Don Coryell was their coach, Jim Hart was their quarterback and Jim Otis was their halfback isn't that far-fetched.
The Cards will be living on the edge with Warner -- no pun intended. Ken Whisenhunt -- Arizona's sixth head coach in 15 years -- is considered a run-first coach, but he's actually throwing the ball 60 percent of the time. The Cards put tremendous pressure on defenses with Boldin and Fitzgerald, but that also means more plays at which Warner is at risk. So the Cards are one pass protection gaffe away from Warner limping off the field and Rattay jogging on.
But as long as he's ambulatory, Warner gives the Cards hope. Something they've had very little of the last half century or so.
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__________________________
Should we take this guy seriously? Is Warner going to put up top 10 numbers? And if so, for how long?
He's now 36 years old now, six years and two teams removed from his last full season as an NFL starting quarterback. It's been almost a decade since Kurt Warner emerged out of the ether as a league MVP and Super Bowl winner, and although he's no longer be the greatest quarterback in football, he just might be the greatest backup.
Warner can still play. Maybe not for an entire season, maybe not at the level we saw during his peerless Pro Bowl seasons. But protect him, give him time, give him a pocket to work in, and Warner still bears a striking resemblance to the all-pro who won 35 of 43 starts and split two Super Bowls from 1999 through 2001.
Don't look now, but the Cards are 3-2, tied with the Seahawks for first place in the NFC West and with a win over the Panthers on Sunday they'll have their first 4-2 start since 1989, their second year in Arizona. Nobody wanted to see the promising Matt Leinart get hurt. But the reality is the Cards have a better chance at their first 10-win season in 31 years, and their first playoff berth in nine years with the veteran Warner behind center than the second-year pro from USC.
Leinart is now on Injured Reserve with the broken collarbone he suffered Sunday in the Cards' win over Warner's former team, the Rams. The only other quarterback on the roster is Tim Rattay, signed Tuesday off the street in case of emergencies. So for the first time since his glory days he won't be looking over his shoulder every time he makes a mistake. This is his team now.
And that might not be such a bad thing.
Warner has actually played OK since leaving the Rams after the 2003 season, completing 64 percent of his passes with 27 TDs and 19 interceptions in on-and-off duty with the Giants and Cards.
Now project those numbers onto a real offense.
With Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, Warner has a reasonable facsimile of Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. In a rejuvenated Edgerrin James, he has a decent version of Marshall Faulk. And Bryant Johnson is Az Hakim. But maybe even more importantly, Warner finally has a capable offensive line in front of him. The Cards, with the underrated no-name line of Mike Gandy, Reggie Wells, Al Johnson, Deuce Lutui and Elton Brown, have allowed only five sacks in five games.
Warner -- maybe more than any NFL quarterback -- must have first-rate protection to his job. Take him out of his comfort zone in the pocket and he's useless. He can't run. He can't move. Even in his great years, he was a sitting duck when protection broke down. But give him time, and Warner is still dangerous. And this line can get him time.
For the first time since he left the Rams, Warner is actually quarterbacking ... dare we say it ... a pretty good team.
In relief of Leinart so far this year, Warner has been very sharp. His 102.0 passer rating is actually higher than his career mark of 94.0, third-highest in NFL history. He's thrown twice as many touchdown passes as Leinart in about half as many passes and a quarter as many interceptions.
The key figure, and the figure that should Cards fans hope: He's only been sacked once in 70 pass plays so far. This from somebody who's been sacked once every 13 ½ plays in his 10-year career and had no chance his one year with the Giants and his first two years in Arizona. Overall, the Cards are fourth-best in the NFL, allowing a sack every 37 pass plays.
Something else that should give Cards fans hope: Their schedule. The next few weeks look challenging, with the Panthers, Redskins and Buccaneers, three winning -- though not quite dominating -- teams. But look at the rest of the season. The Bengals. The 49ers. The Browns, Saints, Falcons and Rams again. Arizona's last eight games are against teams that are currently 12-26, so that 10-win season that's eluded the Cards sine Don Coryell was their coach, Jim Hart was their quarterback and Jim Otis was their halfback isn't that far-fetched.
The Cards will be living on the edge with Warner -- no pun intended. Ken Whisenhunt -- Arizona's sixth head coach in 15 years -- is considered a run-first coach, but he's actually throwing the ball 60 percent of the time. The Cards put tremendous pressure on defenses with Boldin and Fitzgerald, but that also means more plays at which Warner is at risk. So the Cards are one pass protection gaffe away from Warner limping off the field and Rattay jogging on.
But as long as he's ambulatory, Warner gives the Cards hope. Something they've had very little of the last half century or so.
________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________
Should we take this guy seriously? Is Warner going to put up top 10 numbers? And if so, for how long?
