Bluegrassrivals

A good man steps away.

[ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4870096"]Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner retires after 12 NFL seasons - ESPN@@AMEPARAM@@http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4870417@@AMEPARAM@@4870417[/ame]

Kurt Warner thanked God, hugged his children and wife and said goodbye to an NFL career that seems the stuff of sports fiction.

The 38-year-old quarterback announced his retirement Friday after a dozen years in a league that at first rejected him, then revered him as he came from nowhere to lead the lowly St. Louis Rams to two Super Bowls.

Then, as if going from stocking groceries to winning NFL MVP awards wasn't improbable enough, Warner was written off as a has-been and rose again to lead the long-suffering Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl.

A man of deep faith who carried a Bible to each post-game news conference, Warner walked away with a year left on a two-year, $23 million contract, knowing he still had the skills to play at the highest level.


Hall of Fame worthy?
Is Kurt Warner worthy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Warner's postseason numbers are amongst the best ever but his regular-season career has had its peaks and valleys. A look at his career in three different eras, plus his regular and postseason totals:

Years W-L Comp % Yds. Rat.
'98-01 35-8 66.9 12,651 103.0
'02-06 8-23 63.9 7,940 82.1
'07-09 24-18 65.4 11,753 93.6
Total 67-49 65.5 32,344 93.7
Post 9-4 62.8 3,952 102.8
• Complete career statistics


"It's been an amazing ride," Warner said. "I don't think I could have dreamt it would have played out like it has, but I've been humbled every day that I woke up the last 12 years and amazed that God would choose to use me to do what he's given me the opportunity to do."

Warner had one of the greatest postseason performances ever in Arizona's 51-45 overtime wild card victory over Green Bay on Jan. 10, but sustained a brutal hit in the Cardinals' 45-14 divisional round loss at New Orleans six days later.

"He has had a dominant career," Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett said. "He's got to do what's best for his family. He played long enough. He took us to the Super Bowl last year.

Great quarterback! Possibly the best post-season quarterback ever. There was a poll on ESPN today, and I believe more than 80% of voters said he was going into the Hall of Fame.

Next time you see someone stocking groceries, remember that person might be an NFL Hall of Famer someday!:biggrin:

Im gonna miss Kurt Warner. From the Greatest show on turf, to the losing qb in the greatest superbowl ever played, Kurt Warner has been a class act in this league. I think he absolutely deserves to be in the HOF. Two time MVP, three superbowl games..yeah I think thats good enough, lol..

Deathstar 80 Wrote:Great quarterback! Possibly the best post-season quarterback ever. There was a poll on ESPN today, and I believe more than 80% of voters said he was going into the Hall of Fame.

Next time you see someone stocking groceries, remember that person might be an NFL Hall of Famer someday!:biggrin:

Great post. I think I'll put Joe Montana as the greatest, by a long ways, but Kurt certainly has the credentials to be in the top 10 in the playoffs.

Kurt Warner has been a great quarterback and an even better man in his time in the National Football League. In an era of professional sports that is filled with self centered cheaters and loud mouthed self promoters Kurt Warner and his selflessness on and off the field was a breath of fresh air. You didn't get a gimmick with Kurt Warner, just a fiery competitor who knew how blessed he was to be given all that he received and didn't mind telling everyone who was willing to listen just how much he believed it. Unfortunately, we may have just seen the end of a dieing breed, the true spirit of the game of football.

Brooks4Prez Wrote:Kurt Warner has been a great quarterback and an even better man in his time in the National Football League. In an era of professional sports that is filled with self centered cheaters and loud mouthed self promoters Kurt Warner and his selflessness on and off the field was a breath of fresh air. You didn't get a gimmick with Kurt Warner, just a fiery competitor who knew how blessed he was to be given all that he received and didn't mind telling everyone who was willing to listen just how much he believed it. Unfortunately, we may have just seen the end of a dieing breed, the true spirit of the game of football.

Awesome post :Thumbs: Captured the pure essence of a good man that I want my children to emulate. Did I say Awesome!

Great player, great career, great man, and he went out on top!!

Really hate to see Kurt Warner retire, he was a class act off the field and that is what really made him such a great individual. On the field, he was one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, to take the Rams to the Super Bowl twice and winning one, and then taking the Cardinals to the Super Bowl as well and coming up one TD short of winning it, and we all know how bad the Cardinals have been before he got there. Top 3 passing performances in the Super Bowl, Super Bowl MVP and Regular Season MVP, very hall of fame worthy. It was great to see him in his retirement press conference with so much confidence and knowing this was the right decision and didn't second guess himself at all, and not too mention his family up there with him which was a great scene. He is a very humble person and doesn't forget where he came from which makes Kurt Warner an awesome individual.

Stardust Wrote:Great post. I think I'll put Joe Montana as the greatest, by a long ways, but Kurt certainly has the credentials to be in the top 10 in the playoffs.

I agree. He was one of my all time favorites.

Westside Wrote:I agree. He was one of my all time favorites.

I seem to remember him in the Rams-Titans Superbowl. (I hope that I am not making this up, I had weird dreams about that Super-Bowl *don't ask*)

It seems like a Titans player, I think a corner, got injured. They went to commercial, when they came back the Titans and Rams players were circled around Kurt and the player while he was praying for him. Great moment, (at least in my mind)

Did that happen or was that a weird dream, :lmao: