Jan

Goodbye Mr. Warner

Mark Kalriess Category

Arizona Cardinals, Eli Manning, Football, Hall of Fame, Kurt Warner, Marc Bulger, Matt Leinart, NFL, QB, Retires

On January 29th, Arizona Cardinals QB Kurt Warner, announced his retirement. As he retires he is still one of the elite QBs of the NFL. The last three seasons he has thrown for over 3000 yards, 25 TDs, and less than 18 INTs. He led the Cardinals to the Divisional Playoffs this year and to the Super Bowl last year. He capably led his team to a 2nd half comeback in the Wildcard game against the Packers on January 10th.

Image NFL.com

As a fan, I’m sad to see him go. His tale of becoming a Super Bowl QB through NFL Europe, Arena Football, and the practice squad is a great underdog story. He’s always put his family, his faith, and his charitable work first. He’s an all-around good guy, and it stinks to see another one of the good guys leave the NFL.

I feel he deserves the Hall of Fame, and I hope the fact that he had a few down years doesn’t hurt his chances. He wasn’t always given a fair shake throughout his career. He was pushed out of St. Louis for Marc Bulger and was basically keeping the seat warm for Eli Manning in New York. He would have been in the same predicament in Arizona, except that Matt Leinart performed so terribly. Looking back on the four careers from these players, which has had the best career? To me its obvious.

Let’s take a look at Warner’s Hall of Fame Qualifications:

-3 Super Bowl Appearances, 1 Win

-1 Super Bowl MVP

-2 MVP Seasons

-4 Pro Bowls

-2nd All-Time in Career Passing Yards/Gm

-2nd All-Time in Career Completion %

-6th All-Time in Career QB Rating

There are many more accolades and stats we could layer into this argument. But let me just say, Mr. Warner you will be missed. You will be missed not only as an exciting NFL QB, but as player to root for, and as one of the true good guys in the NFL.