Friday, January 29, 2010

Kurt Warner to retire

Arizona Cardinals Quarterback Kurt Warner has decided to hang up his spikes after 12 years in the NFL.

He was passed over by the NFL after his college carrier and went on to play in the Arena League and Europe. He got a second chance at the NFL when the St. Louis Rams signed him as a backup in 1998. The Rams' starter, Trent Green, got injured early in the 1999 season and Warner stepped in to lead the team to a 13-3 record and a win in the Super Bowl. He was the league and Super Bowl MVP that year.

Two years later (after losing in the first round of the playoffs in 2000), the Rams were back in the Super Bowl. The lost to New England but Warner got a second NFL MVP award.

Then came the injuries and he was cut loose by the Rams after the 2003 season, signed by the Giants, replaced by a guy named Manning nine games into the 2004, and cut loose again. The Cardinals signed him as a backup for Matt Leinart.

Leinart got injured during the 2007 season and Warner took over. He beat out Leinart for the starters role in 2008 and lead the Cardinals into the playoffs and Super Bowl (a loss to Pittsburgh).

They were back in the playoffs this year. After a thrilling 51-45 overtime wild-card victory over Green Bay on Jan. 10, the Cards took a 45-14 thumping at the hands of the New Orleans Saints. Warner, who has had some problems with concussions (2003 with the Rams) got racked in the Saints game and appeared dazed on the sidelines.

No one in NFL history reached 10,000 yards passing faster than Kurt Warner. And only Dan Marino was as fast to reach 30,000.

The top three passing performances in Super Bowl history belong to Kurt Warner. His 1,156 yards passing in the 2008 playoffs broke the NFL record of 1,063 he set with St. Louis in 1999.

The man is a bona fide Hall of Fame candidate.


1 comment:

Rev. Paul said...

Kurt Warner is, in person, the same guy you see when he's interviewed. He and Brenda are truly great people, and I will always have fond memories of Kurt's days with the Rams (we lived in the St. Louis area then).