Kurt Warner

[Doug]

DID YOU KNOW?

To give Kurt the confidence to trust his blockers and stand in the pocket,Regis High coach Jim Padlock invented a game called "Kill Kurt".Kurt had to take the snap, find his pass protection,then staying in the pocket--without passing--until a defensive player finally barreled in and creamed him.Looking back Kurt realizes how important this drill was."Its something now that is my strongest suit." Kurt says proudly."Guys can be in my face and it does'nt faze me".

I can see how many people have helped Kurt along the way to become the player he is today.He's had success at every stop he's been at.Even with the giants,he was 5-2 at one point after beating out Eli in pre-season to start and knowing his first error would lead to the career starting of the 50 million dollar kid.The giants were never expected to be that strong with such a weak offensive line and not the pass recievers that Warner had in Louie.

The fastest one he had was a rookie and he soon got hurt and Toomer and his other reciever were just too slow.His main reciever became Tiki Barber as Coach Coughlin prefered to run over the pass anyway.Yet Warner had success in winning in Dallas and in Greenbay over favre with the giants before he had a couple bad games and strahan went on IR along with the starting MLB and CB and safety as the defense crumbled and the offensive line around him did too.Warner was benched and Eli came in to finish the season with a 1-6 record with the exception of one game Coughlin sat the rookie down near the end of another horrible game and brought Warner in who in his first series cold off the bench led the team down the field to its first scoring touchdown of the game.

Things is New York did'nt go perfect but it was all part of the major plan that got Kurt Warner to ARIZONA in the time he was meant to be here.Coughlin made a film of every throw Kurt Warner had made that year and sent it to every head coach in the league and it impressed Denny Green enough as Green had been on the losing side of one of Warner's playoff wins that led to the winning SB in 99-00.So Green knew what Warner could do.

Things would be different forever for Kurt as Brenda loves the warm weather and hates the cold and she was'nt moving again.Kurt won or was given(I've heard both sides) the job over McCown.It upset many who loved Josh.That was pretty much the end of Josh's days with the CARDINALS and the rest is history as Green drafted Matt and Whiz took over the team and brought in Todd Haley to work with Kurt and open up the offense.They became inseperable texting each other constantly about new plays and expanding the offense.Todd had him rework his footwork and the gloves seemed to appear to help Kurt with holding onto the ball better after a hand hit a helmet on a throw.He's never taken them off since.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

I'm guessing that when Kurt goes into the HOF, either his oldest son or Dick Vermeil will do the introduction.

 

[Doug]

I'm guessing that when Kurt goes into the HOF, either his oldest son or Dick Vermeil will do the introduction.

Wow great choices and yet I see a very strong bond between Whiz and Warner that if they can win the Superbowl together it could also end up being Ken also.Its gonna be very hard to choose over Dick and Ken.Plus as you said his oldest adopted son possibly who is blind would be an excellent choice also.Good call.

 

[DemsMyBoys]

As I've written here before, I lived near the Rams' practice facility when they played in Anaheim. I saw the players every day as neighbors, in the supermarket, at church, whatever. As much as I love the game we had a rule, that if they weren't in uniform they were treated like everybody else. I figured they weren't public figures when they were out buying toys with their kids. Let them be normal. (A lot of this comes from having a couple of pretty well-known people in the family and knowing how much they value being left alone to do normal things.) Some of them knew I was a huge football fan but it just wasn't what our friendship was built around. Lawn care was our common ground.

Needless to say I would have loved to have talked Xs and Os with some of them, but if they were asking me my opinion on laundry detergent I wasn't going to stand in Ralphs and drill them on next week's game plan. (Though they would say things about it in front of me while they all sat around displacing incredible amounts of water in the community hot-tub.)

And I'm saying all of the above to note how totally out-of-character this would be for me:

If Kurt had been a Ram in those days I think I would have broken my rule. He's the one player I think I would have stopped in the grocery store to tell him how much I admire him and the way he conducts himself and what he stands for and represents. Plus he's such an incredible athlete. He is just, I think, something special. I'd stop him and ask to shake his hand. (Actually, I'd probably give him a big hug.)

And the day it's announced that he's being inducted in Canton even though I've got Dennison in my blood, I'm making my reservations for the Country Inn in Uhrichsville. (Ohio joke.)

 

[Doug]

Hopefully my family can sit next to yours on that great day.If I'm still alive.I got a great battle ahead and I just take it one day at a time and I'm happy with how many GOD gives me.This year has been the cherry on top after last year and now breaking the very long curse of the SB loser with another winning season,that I think is gonna be better than last season.If we can stay healthy I don't think any team has as much talent and depth as the CARDINALS do and the fact we are playing so well on the road this year.

This team when focused and Warner in the BIG GAMES makes us VERY dangerous if we can manage to keep everyone able to play in the playoffs and still have our rotations.Just wait till I start drinking the red Koolaid.Then you guys are gonna have to put me in a RED PADDED ROOM.I truly feel this is what Kurt has played for all his life.Plus it has to do with a lot of other players on this team like A-Dub and Dockett and Dansby and Boldin and Fitzgerald and Hayes ,McFadden who did'nt want to get pushed out of Pittsburgh and many,many more.The home town boy Duece.Gandy,Sendlein after all he went through last season.THT,Breaston and how fast he's come along as a 5th rounder.Ware and his improvement and Branch....

Every player has a reason for being here now and at this time.Its why we only lost two players after last season in Smith and Edge.Oh and Beisel and our fullback that I'd like to have back Terrelle Smith.Forgot JJ.Too.Its not been that many more though.This bunch has stuck together and is doing the same now.Its not about who starts but if we win together.Breaking all old records and curses.Making new traditions.Growing the team from inside out.

 

[Catfish]

John h, Dems my boys, Doug-----you all have tremendous insight into this man and this team. Thank you for these remarkable contributions. It has been great for us to see this group mature and come together as a 'team'. They have unselfishly covered each other's backs, and blended into a unit, as Whiz says, "with one heartbeat". Even guys like DRC, (who has dropped the grill and is listening to others, and Rolle, who found a new position AND HAS LEARNED IT), have come around. All this has happened under the leadership of Whiz, KW, and AW for the most part. THanks to Whiz for putting the right pieces together, and for KW and AW for their mentoring.

 

[john h]

I think last year's playoff run to the Super Bowl removed any doubt about his Hall of Fame credentials. Maybe he'll go in with Aeneas.

That's one ceremony I'll tune in for.

Watching Matt in the second half yesterday gives one an idea of just what our team would be like without Kurt. Even with the best receiving corps in foot ball we failed to score one point. We could have lost that game but our defense held and got lucky on a couple of missed catches in the end zone. Yes, Matt has had little playing time but it sure makes one pause as to his future. At time he looked a bit lost. Hopefully Kurt will make it through the season and with our three game lead in the division we should win it. After that any thing goes. Our RB's seem to have hit their stride and kurt is dead on. Our receiver remain the best in the NFL and their is no team we cannot beat if thing go right and we remain hot. Tennessee has a mediocre record but are now playing tough like everyone thought they would. It will be a tough test. I am sure the coach would have liked to put Kurt in at some point in the second half but like any good coach was not going to put Kurt at risk win or lose. Good call Whiz. Kurt would likely have gone in had he been asked being who he is.

 

[Spielman]

Regarding Warner's legacy and his time with the Rams vs. time with the Cardinals, there isn't any chance that either will overshadow the other. He will always be remembered as the guy who helped resuscitate two franchises. You can't do that without remembering both.

 

[Spielman]

Kurt has to win a superbowl before outside people will start thinking him of a Cardinal who started with the Rams. but I am SICK of people on the outside saying that he "may be" a future hall of famer. He is the definition of a hall of fame player. It's ridiculous to think otherwise.

It's hard to get into Canton. Really damn hard. Guys who people thought were slam-dunk cases during their career struggle terribly to crack that top 7. Warner's got a lot of things going for him, obviously, but you've gotta deal with the two major points that will get brought up against him... shortened NFL career (though that's getting to be less of a problem every week), and what the heck happened from 2002-2006. You can bet there are going to be people making the argument that Hall of Fame QBs don't disappear for five seasons in the middle of their careers.

Do I think he's a Hall of Famer? Well, this came up on this board early in the 2007 season. Then, I said there was no chance, and one of two things had to happen to give him a chance... he had to stick around as a starter long enough to get 30,000 yards and 200 TDs on his career, or he had to win another Super Bowl.

On the first, check and check. On the second, well, not yet, but coming as close as the Cards did last year certainly earns partial credit. Yeah, I think he's a Hall of Famer.