COMMENTARY
QB Warner validates his greatness
You had thought, had you not, that he had gone to Arizona to play out the string. Finish his playing days in the warmer climes. Milk a few more years out of his career while toiling with a franchise renowned for its mediocrity, it’s inability to realize even the most modest expectations.
It was generally agreed that after his phenomenal run from 1999-2001 — three seasons distinguished by a Super Bowl title, a Super Bowl MVP and two NFL MVP awards — Kurt Warner was now a shell of his former self.
And with that regression it was natural to wonder if Warner’s greatness with the St. Louis Rams had been the product of ideal circumstances. He had thrived with a star-studded cast of fleet receivers that included Isaac Bruce, Tory Holt and Az-Zahir Hakim. He had an elite running back, Marshall Faulk, who could pile up yardage on the ground and enhance the passing game coming out of the backfield. And Warner’s talents were exploited to the max by a coach, Mike Martz, who was head-over-heels about throwing the football and bright enough, at least at the time, to confuse opposing defenses with a wide array of three-and four-wide formations.
But now, at the unlikely age of 37, Warner’s back knocking on the door of prominence. He has the Arizona Cardinals within a victory of the Super Bowl, with the luxury of a home game against the Philadelphia Eagles, an unimaginable situation given the Cards’ 2-4 conclusion to the regular season.
And if the Cardinals win next week, if they can make it three straight wins in the postseason, then Warner will have become the first quarterback in history to lead two franchises to Super Bowls. And if he does that, well then, is there any doubt that his Hall-of-Fame candidacy goes from probable to over the top?
Had the Cardinals finished the season on a stronger note, won 11 or 12 games, chances are Warner would have been this year’s NFL MVP. What he accomplished was nothing short of amazing given his advanced years. His 67.1 percent completion rate and 30 touchdown passes rank third on his list of career bests. The 4,583 yards he gained through the air are second only to the 4,830 yards of 2001. Not bad for a quarterback expected to be relegated to the role of backup soon after the Cards drafted Southern Cal star Matt Leinart in 2006.
The story’s no less compelling than it was the first time around, when Warner emerged from the fringes of Northern Iowa University, the Arena League and NFL Europe to dominate the NFL with a three-year run of excellence as impressive as most any other. This Sunday, the heretofore beleaguered Cardinals will play for the NFC championship, the last NFC team to reach the conference title game since the NFL-AFL merger.
“He has that playoff experience,” wideout Larry Fitzgerald said of Warner. “[He’s] been where we’re trying to go, and it’s invaluable to have a guy with that kind of experience.”
Yes, Warner is again blessed with top-notch receivers, although the best of them, Anquan Boldin, was out injured for Saturday’s 33-13 dismantling of the heavily favored Carolina Panthers.
That option removed, Warner found Fitzgerald for 166 yards, 151 of them in the first half.
The beneficiary of circumstance? The case gets more difficult to prove. Remember that Warner retained the starting job over Leinart, who possessed all the same luxuries in training camp.
Who knew that Warner still had it in him, given that he’d gone seven years without appearing in a playoff game? This season has been a validation of his abilities, erasing the lingering questions about where he resides among all-time NFL quarterbacks. It now seems safe to recognize he’s been one of the best.
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