Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
It's been quite a last 14 months for Kurt Warner. What a ride! Let's rewind the clock to remind ourselves of what has transpired for Kurt Warner after the past 14 months:
1) 14 months ago, Kurt Warner was scheduled to be the Cardinals' #2 QB behind Matt Leinart, the Cardinals #1 pick (#10) in the 2006 Draft. Leinart had been tabbed the team's starting QB at the beginning of the 2008 off-season by Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt, despite the fact that Warner led the Cardinals to a 5-3 record at a recently unprecedented 28 ppg clip the second half of the 2007 season. Whisenhunt justified his decision by saying that Leinart didn't deserve to lose the starting job because of the injury he incurred in the Rams' game early in the season.
Realistically, with Leinart signed for several more years and Warner on the last year of his contract, the hope was that the younger player would be the best option for the present and future. There may also have been an incentive of the Cardinals' front office's part to squelch any sentiment on Warner's part to pay him more money for the 2008 season than the $5M he was scheduled to make in the final year of his contract. $5M is a handsome sum for a backup, but is chicken feed for a starter who could put up the numbers Warner did while essentially playing with one arm the second half of the 2007 season.
To Warner's credit he persevered...and one could not help but recognize that Warner may often be at his very best when he's chewing on humble pie...for perhaps Warner's greatest attribute is his humbleness, which is tied into his more than modest roots, his remarkable rise to stardom in the NFL from those modest roots, and Warner's extraordinary piety.
2) Warner wrests the starting QB job from Leinart on the last week of the pre-season (a decision that wasn't made public by Whisenhunt until the eve of the first week of the season, almost seemingly as a retaliation for what in Whisenhunt's asessement was a premature and irresponsible report on ESPN following the Raider pre-season game that Warner would be named the starter---even though all indications were clearly in ESPN's favor that Warner was the no-brainer choice as the passer for a team that boasts arguably the best WR tandem in the NFL).
3). Early in the season, at the end of a 56-35 loss to the Jets, Warner contemplates retiring immediately after feeling devestated by WR Anquan Boldin's traumatic head injury suffered in the last meaningless seconds of the game after Warner threw the ball high to Boldin in the end zone.
4) Warner leads the Cardinals to its first NFC West title, going 6-0 in the NFC West, and its very first home play off game in Arizona. Warner is the highest rated QB in the NFC at 96.9 points. He completes 67.1 % of his passes for 4583 yards, 30 TDs and 14 ints. Three of his WRs turn in 1,000 yard seasons (Larry Fitzgerald- 96 catches for 1,431 yds and 12 TDs, tops in the NFC, Anquan Boldin-1038, 2nd in the NFC behind Fitz with 89 catches and 11 TDs, and Breaston-77 catches for 1,006 yards and 3 TDs).
5) Warner leads the Cardinals to three straight playoff wins versus Atlanta, Carolina and Philadelphia, thus giving the Cardinals their first ever NFC Championship and appearance in the Super Bowl...and with 2:37 left in the Super Bowl, Warner provided the Cardinals with a lead on a scintillating 67 yard TD to Larry Fitzgerald who snagged the ball on a skinny post and raced throught the Steelers' secondary like a motorboat zooming past a couple of sailboats.
In 4 playoff games Warner completed 68% of his passes for nearly 1200 yards and 11 TDs.
6) At the Super Bowl, Warner is named the 2008 Walter Payton man of the Year for his outstanding philanthropy and his First Things First Foundation. Upon being presented with the award, Warner said to the national TV audience: "I am humbled the Lord has given me such an amazing life to impact others."
7) Warner is the NFC's starting QB in the Pro Bowl.
8) Following the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl Warner announces that he is unsure of his desire to play again. He is going to contemplate his future and ask for God's guidance. In one interview, Warner said he was concerned about being able to be a good father to his kids, both in the short and long run, and that the potential to be crippled by injury in pro football is always a concern.
9) Meanwhile just a day after the Pro Bowl, Warner's agent, Mark Bartelstein, is telling the national media that Warner is indeed going to seek a new contract for 2009 and that he would be looking for a two year contract at that.
10) A week later Warner confirmed Bartelstein's statement by saying that while on vacation with his family in Hawaii, he could not get football out of his mind---which was his sign that he wanted to keep playing. He also stated emphatically that he wanted to remain in Arizona because that's where he belonged.
11) Rumors started to fly about what Bartelstein's contract expectations were. At the end of the day, the numbers Bartelstein was talking were 2 years at $14.5M a year ($29M total). The Cardinals were offering 2/$20M.
12) Frustrated by a lack of movement in negotiations with the Cardinals, Warner elects to be flown out with his wife on a private jet to San Francisco where he is wined and dined by the 49ers' brass.
13). According to Warner, "My family didn't want to close a door if God wanted it open---I told my wife probably 45 minutes into the SF interview that I felt God say 'you're supposed to be in Arizona'." On the plane ride back to Arizona Warner called Bertelstein and said "no matter what get a deal done with Arizona."
14) On March 4, 2009 Kurt Warner resigns with the Cardinals for 2 years at $23M---with a signing bonus of $15M. He also said that he would give $1M of his signing bonus back to assist the Cardinals in re-signing Anquan Boldin. At his press conference Warner looked very uneasy when asked about the lucrative aspects of his contract, especially following comments he made about God's influence in his decision.
15) Shortly thereafter, Warner has hip surgery. He terms is as nothing significant, but a procedure that will enable his to play pain free.
16) During the off-season, Warner's and wife's book First Things First: The Rules of Being a Warner, hits the bookstands.
17) In the pre-season, Warner was basically ineffective...and at times was forcing the ball into double coverage...which is generally uncharacteristic of him.
18) In game one versus the 49ers, Warner is ineffective again, and the Cardinals lose their home opener. He attributes his ineffectiveness to poor timing on the offense's part. He was also pressured well all afternoon by Parys Haralson and Justin Smith. In addition, Warner looked very slow and deliberate in this game in getting the ball sanpped and even incurred a dealy of game penalty following a 49er timeout, at a critical juncture in the game.
19) In game two, just when pundits like Jimmy Johnson were completely writing Warner and the Cardinals off, Warner sets the NFL single game completion record by completing 24 of 26 passes. The Cardinals win big on the road versus an East Coast team.
20) There are reports that Warner didn't play the later portions of the Jacksonville game because of a sore throwing shoulder.
21) In game three, Warner and the Cardinal offense appear to be off to a very good start versus the Colts on SNF, but a Tim Hightower fumble on the Colts' 7 yard line which likely costs the Cardinals a potential 10-0 lead, which was the momentum changing play of the game and, when the Cardinals fell behind, the Colts' pass rush was on Warner so fast he didn't have a chance. On the sidelines during the second half Warner looks physically and mentally drained.
Thus, here Warner and the Cardinals are at the bye week at 1-2, 0-2 at home and searching for answers.
Fighting Time:
Warner has been beating Father Time thus far. His concerns about maintaining his health playing in such a violent sport at such a physcially punishing position are every player's concern, but must be especially daunting for someone who is 38 years old and has been playing for as long as Warner has.
What must be even more of a concern for Warner at this point is how he is going to last 13 more games (and hopefully more) playing behind a shaky offensive line and in a system that does not place immediate priority on offering the QB optimum protection.
Every opponent the Cardinals play knows one sure thing: if they don't get to Warner, as Jacksonville didn't, he still has what it takes to put up 28-31 points per game. The 49ers and Colts made it their priority to rush Warner like crazy and play jump coverage to take away Warner's first option, which would then allow for the rush to converge on him while he checks for his second and third options.
Kurt Warner is a marked man. He is not mobile and if he continues to take the pounding he did versus Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Indianapolis (the Cardinals are 1-3 in those games), time is not in his favor.
Fighting Himself:
First of all, Warner looks very lonely and less self-assured this year without Todd Haley by his side. Warner thrives when he has a close confidant to consult with. Warner's re-ascension to stardom occured when Haley took over the playcalling during the second half of 2007. The OC Haley/QB Warner combination was 17-11 overall, 3-1 in the playoffs.
Secondly, Warner has found himself this year in a very strange position. He does not have to battle, scape and claw for starting games or for getting playing time. What he has to battle, therefore, within himself is the temptation to grow a little complacent, even to the point where he becomes a little careless at times. Now...Warner will always be the "fierce competitor" he has asked to be remembered for...and there are few QBs in NFL history who are more hungry to put up big numbers, points and wins. This is why at times, to his detriment in a way, Warner holds on to the ball as long as he does. He never wants to give up on a play. He is always thinking big.
Thirdly, Warner has to now feel the pressure of living up to the team's and the fans' expectations, seeing as he the highest paid player on the team. After what he accomplished for the team and the organization last year, he deserves to be the highest paid player on the team. But, that was then and this is now. There is added pressure for him to perform, and without Todd Haley, without acceptable protection schemes and with a bullseye on his jersey, Warner has to find a way to prevail nonetheless. And now that he's been battling first through the hip soreness and now the shoulder soreness, he is going to have to fight his way through pain in his efforts to meet his own and the team's expectations.
There's a good deal of weight on Warner this year---probably more than ever before. He's performed his way into his current position and he asked to be back and was given 23,000,000 reasons to...and this time around he's recently been able to feast on the juicy fruits of his labor rather than his customary portions of humble pie. Well, if Warner stays committed to his true humble self, he has a chance to do something very special once again, that is...if he keeps in favor with Father Time.
1) 14 months ago, Kurt Warner was scheduled to be the Cardinals' #2 QB behind Matt Leinart, the Cardinals #1 pick (#10) in the 2006 Draft. Leinart had been tabbed the team's starting QB at the beginning of the 2008 off-season by Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt, despite the fact that Warner led the Cardinals to a 5-3 record at a recently unprecedented 28 ppg clip the second half of the 2007 season. Whisenhunt justified his decision by saying that Leinart didn't deserve to lose the starting job because of the injury he incurred in the Rams' game early in the season.
Realistically, with Leinart signed for several more years and Warner on the last year of his contract, the hope was that the younger player would be the best option for the present and future. There may also have been an incentive of the Cardinals' front office's part to squelch any sentiment on Warner's part to pay him more money for the 2008 season than the $5M he was scheduled to make in the final year of his contract. $5M is a handsome sum for a backup, but is chicken feed for a starter who could put up the numbers Warner did while essentially playing with one arm the second half of the 2007 season.
To Warner's credit he persevered...and one could not help but recognize that Warner may often be at his very best when he's chewing on humble pie...for perhaps Warner's greatest attribute is his humbleness, which is tied into his more than modest roots, his remarkable rise to stardom in the NFL from those modest roots, and Warner's extraordinary piety.
2) Warner wrests the starting QB job from Leinart on the last week of the pre-season (a decision that wasn't made public by Whisenhunt until the eve of the first week of the season, almost seemingly as a retaliation for what in Whisenhunt's asessement was a premature and irresponsible report on ESPN following the Raider pre-season game that Warner would be named the starter---even though all indications were clearly in ESPN's favor that Warner was the no-brainer choice as the passer for a team that boasts arguably the best WR tandem in the NFL).
3). Early in the season, at the end of a 56-35 loss to the Jets, Warner contemplates retiring immediately after feeling devestated by WR Anquan Boldin's traumatic head injury suffered in the last meaningless seconds of the game after Warner threw the ball high to Boldin in the end zone.
4) Warner leads the Cardinals to its first NFC West title, going 6-0 in the NFC West, and its very first home play off game in Arizona. Warner is the highest rated QB in the NFC at 96.9 points. He completes 67.1 % of his passes for 4583 yards, 30 TDs and 14 ints. Three of his WRs turn in 1,000 yard seasons (Larry Fitzgerald- 96 catches for 1,431 yds and 12 TDs, tops in the NFC, Anquan Boldin-1038, 2nd in the NFC behind Fitz with 89 catches and 11 TDs, and Breaston-77 catches for 1,006 yards and 3 TDs).
5) Warner leads the Cardinals to three straight playoff wins versus Atlanta, Carolina and Philadelphia, thus giving the Cardinals their first ever NFC Championship and appearance in the Super Bowl...and with 2:37 left in the Super Bowl, Warner provided the Cardinals with a lead on a scintillating 67 yard TD to Larry Fitzgerald who snagged the ball on a skinny post and raced throught the Steelers' secondary like a motorboat zooming past a couple of sailboats.
In 4 playoff games Warner completed 68% of his passes for nearly 1200 yards and 11 TDs.
6) At the Super Bowl, Warner is named the 2008 Walter Payton man of the Year for his outstanding philanthropy and his First Things First Foundation. Upon being presented with the award, Warner said to the national TV audience: "I am humbled the Lord has given me such an amazing life to impact others."
7) Warner is the NFC's starting QB in the Pro Bowl.
8) Following the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl Warner announces that he is unsure of his desire to play again. He is going to contemplate his future and ask for God's guidance. In one interview, Warner said he was concerned about being able to be a good father to his kids, both in the short and long run, and that the potential to be crippled by injury in pro football is always a concern.
9) Meanwhile just a day after the Pro Bowl, Warner's agent, Mark Bartelstein, is telling the national media that Warner is indeed going to seek a new contract for 2009 and that he would be looking for a two year contract at that.
10) A week later Warner confirmed Bartelstein's statement by saying that while on vacation with his family in Hawaii, he could not get football out of his mind---which was his sign that he wanted to keep playing. He also stated emphatically that he wanted to remain in Arizona because that's where he belonged.
11) Rumors started to fly about what Bartelstein's contract expectations were. At the end of the day, the numbers Bartelstein was talking were 2 years at $14.5M a year ($29M total). The Cardinals were offering 2/$20M.
12) Frustrated by a lack of movement in negotiations with the Cardinals, Warner elects to be flown out with his wife on a private jet to San Francisco where he is wined and dined by the 49ers' brass.
13). According to Warner, "My family didn't want to close a door if God wanted it open---I told my wife probably 45 minutes into the SF interview that I felt God say 'you're supposed to be in Arizona'." On the plane ride back to Arizona Warner called Bertelstein and said "no matter what get a deal done with Arizona."
14) On March 4, 2009 Kurt Warner resigns with the Cardinals for 2 years at $23M---with a signing bonus of $15M. He also said that he would give $1M of his signing bonus back to assist the Cardinals in re-signing Anquan Boldin. At his press conference Warner looked very uneasy when asked about the lucrative aspects of his contract, especially following comments he made about God's influence in his decision.
15) Shortly thereafter, Warner has hip surgery. He terms is as nothing significant, but a procedure that will enable his to play pain free.
16) During the off-season, Warner's and wife's book First Things First: The Rules of Being a Warner, hits the bookstands.
17) In the pre-season, Warner was basically ineffective...and at times was forcing the ball into double coverage...which is generally uncharacteristic of him.
18) In game one versus the 49ers, Warner is ineffective again, and the Cardinals lose their home opener. He attributes his ineffectiveness to poor timing on the offense's part. He was also pressured well all afternoon by Parys Haralson and Justin Smith. In addition, Warner looked very slow and deliberate in this game in getting the ball sanpped and even incurred a dealy of game penalty following a 49er timeout, at a critical juncture in the game.
19) In game two, just when pundits like Jimmy Johnson were completely writing Warner and the Cardinals off, Warner sets the NFL single game completion record by completing 24 of 26 passes. The Cardinals win big on the road versus an East Coast team.
20) There are reports that Warner didn't play the later portions of the Jacksonville game because of a sore throwing shoulder.
21) In game three, Warner and the Cardinal offense appear to be off to a very good start versus the Colts on SNF, but a Tim Hightower fumble on the Colts' 7 yard line which likely costs the Cardinals a potential 10-0 lead, which was the momentum changing play of the game and, when the Cardinals fell behind, the Colts' pass rush was on Warner so fast he didn't have a chance. On the sidelines during the second half Warner looks physically and mentally drained.
Thus, here Warner and the Cardinals are at the bye week at 1-2, 0-2 at home and searching for answers.
Fighting Time:
Warner has been beating Father Time thus far. His concerns about maintaining his health playing in such a violent sport at such a physcially punishing position are every player's concern, but must be especially daunting for someone who is 38 years old and has been playing for as long as Warner has.
What must be even more of a concern for Warner at this point is how he is going to last 13 more games (and hopefully more) playing behind a shaky offensive line and in a system that does not place immediate priority on offering the QB optimum protection.
Every opponent the Cardinals play knows one sure thing: if they don't get to Warner, as Jacksonville didn't, he still has what it takes to put up 28-31 points per game. The 49ers and Colts made it their priority to rush Warner like crazy and play jump coverage to take away Warner's first option, which would then allow for the rush to converge on him while he checks for his second and third options.
Kurt Warner is a marked man. He is not mobile and if he continues to take the pounding he did versus Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Indianapolis (the Cardinals are 1-3 in those games), time is not in his favor.
Fighting Himself:
First of all, Warner looks very lonely and less self-assured this year without Todd Haley by his side. Warner thrives when he has a close confidant to consult with. Warner's re-ascension to stardom occured when Haley took over the playcalling during the second half of 2007. The OC Haley/QB Warner combination was 17-11 overall, 3-1 in the playoffs.
Secondly, Warner has found himself this year in a very strange position. He does not have to battle, scape and claw for starting games or for getting playing time. What he has to battle, therefore, within himself is the temptation to grow a little complacent, even to the point where he becomes a little careless at times. Now...Warner will always be the "fierce competitor" he has asked to be remembered for...and there are few QBs in NFL history who are more hungry to put up big numbers, points and wins. This is why at times, to his detriment in a way, Warner holds on to the ball as long as he does. He never wants to give up on a play. He is always thinking big.
Thirdly, Warner has to now feel the pressure of living up to the team's and the fans' expectations, seeing as he the highest paid player on the team. After what he accomplished for the team and the organization last year, he deserves to be the highest paid player on the team. But, that was then and this is now. There is added pressure for him to perform, and without Todd Haley, without acceptable protection schemes and with a bullseye on his jersey, Warner has to find a way to prevail nonetheless. And now that he's been battling first through the hip soreness and now the shoulder soreness, he is going to have to fight his way through pain in his efforts to meet his own and the team's expectations.
There's a good deal of weight on Warner this year---probably more than ever before. He's performed his way into his current position and he asked to be back and was given 23,000,000 reasons to...and this time around he's recently been able to feast on the juicy fruits of his labor rather than his customary portions of humble pie. Well, if Warner stays committed to his true humble self, he has a chance to do something very special once again, that is...if he keeps in favor with Father Time.
