Kurt Warner retires

an-also · Post by **an-also** » Fri Jan 29, 2010 5:23 pm

Warner brings end to stirring 12-year NFL career

By BOB BAUM, AP Sports Writer 33 minutes ago

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP)גKurt Warner(notes) has called an end to one of the great storybook careers in NFL history.

The 38-year-old quarterback announced his retirement from the game on 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, winning the first of them.

Written off as a has-been, he rose again to lead the long-suffering Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl a year ago.

גIגm excited about whatגs next,ג Warner said. גBefore I was always excited about next season.ג

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.

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

גHe has had a dominant career. Heגs a good person,ג Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett(notes) said. גHeגs got to do whatגs best for his family. He played long enough. He took us to the Super Bowl last year. We had a great season this year. Itגs a good thing. If youגre going to go out, go out on top.ג

Warner leaves the game with a legacy that could land him in the Hall of Fame even though he didnגt start his first game until he was 28.

In a comparison with the 14 quarterbacks to make the Hall of Fame in the last 25 years, Warner has a better career completion percentage, yards per pass attempt and yards per game. Only Dan Marino had more career 300-yard passing games.

In 124 regular-season games, Warner completed 65.5 percent of his passes for 32,344 yards and 208 touchdowns. He and Fran Tarkenton are the only NFL quarterbacks to throw for 100 touchdowns and 14,000 yards for two teams.

Warner, who grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and played collegiately at Northern Iowa, ranks among the career leaders in a variety of passing statistics.

He was also the fastest player in NFL history to 10,000 yards passing and tied Dan Marino as fastest to reach 30,000.

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

Warnerגs rise from obscurity seems the stuff of sports fiction.

He played three seasons in the Arena Football League and one in NFL Europe, mixed in with a sting stocking grocery shelves back in Iowa.

Warner made the Rams as a backup in 1998, then was thrust into the starting role in 1999 when Trent Green(notes) was injured.

What followed was a masterful and wholly unexpected season, when he led the Rams to a 13-3 regular-season record, then a Super Bowl triumph over Tennessee. He was named the league and Super Bowl MVP.

St. Louis was upset in the first round of the playoffs the following season, but Warner had them back in the big game in 2001, where גThe Greatest Show on Turfג lost a squeaker to New England. The season earned him a second NFL MVP award.

But after an injury-plagued 2002 season, he was sacked six times and suffered a concussion in a 2003 season-opening loss to the New York Giants. He never started for St. Louis again.

He signed a free agent contract with the Giants for 2004, but was replaced by rookie Eli Manning(notes) after nine games. Warner came to the Cardinals in 2005 and was an off-and-on starter before replacing the injured Matt Leinart(notes) part way through the 2007 season.

Warner had to beat out Leinart the following spring, then led the Cardinals to the NFC West crown and playoff victories over Atlanta, Carolina and Philadelphia before the narrow loss to Pittsburgh in last yearגs Super Bowl, where he threw for 377 yards.

Off the field, Warner has been just as impressive.

He and his wife operate the First Things First Christian charitable foundation. Last year, he was named the NFLגs Man of the Year for his off-field and onfield accomplishments.

גWe all learned great lessons from Kurtגs humility, dignity and grace. We will forever be thankful for the success he brought us and the unparalleled generosity he has shown the St. Louis community and beyond,ג Rams owner Chip Rosenbloom said in a statement.

Warnerגs departure leaves Leinart the presumed replacement. The former Heisman Trophy winner has started 17 games for Arizona but only one in the last two years.

capable_keL · Post by **capable_keL** » Fri Jan 29, 2010 5:27 pm

great career. went out on a high note shredding a team with 51 points. always thought the guy was a tremendous douche bag whose wife needed to get gang banged by 10 hatian gorillas

lock for the hof

matt lienert era = :fail:

that division is soft as hell

an-also · Post by **an-also** » Fri Jan 29, 2010 5:35 pm

keL wrote:went out on a high note shredding a team with 51 points.

I didnt realize losing to the NFC champs and getting knocked out of the game in his last game classified as going out on a 'high note'

capable_keL · Post by **capable_keL** » Fri Jan 29, 2010 6:04 pm

an-also wrote:
keL wrote:went out on a high note shredding a team with 51 points.
I didnt realize losing to the NFC champs and getting knocked out of the game in his last game classified as going out on a 'high note'

his season ended in tempe that night, you guys just didnt realize it.

an-also · Post by **an-also** » Fri Jan 29, 2010 6:12 pm

His wife made quite the transformation herself.

to

capable_keL · Post by **capable_keL** » Fri Jan 29, 2010 6:18 pm

an-also wrote:

no fucking way a super bowl winning quarterback should ever have to be reduced to fucking this

c'mon man!

an-also · Post by **an-also** » Fri Jan 29, 2010 6:20 pm

Its a pretty good catch for someone who was stocking shelves in a grocery store...

YouTube · Post by **Philaflava** » Fri Jan 29, 2010 6:36 pm

Matt Leinart wants to be on that Mark Sanchez shit.

Hayzoos · Post by **Hayzoos** » Fri Jan 29, 2010 7:53 pm

My favorite QB of all time

Sankofa · Post by **Sankofa** » Fri Jan 29, 2010 8:40 pm

He was just waiting for Tebow to take his place.

capable_keL · Post by **capable_keL** » Fri Jan 29, 2010 9:02 pm

Hayzoos wrote:My favorite QB of all time

what is jim miller?

YouTube · Post by **Philaflava** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 12:48 am

Sankofa wrote:He was just waiting for Tebow to take his place.

Warner was a QB though.

jamrage · Post by **jamrage** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 2:32 am

keL wrote:
lock for the hof

I don't think he's a lock for the hof, but he'll probably make it in.

Had a great career though, and dude was accurate as fuck.

eternalreflection · Post by **eternalreflection** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 4:39 am

he won 2MVP awards, has great postseason stats, he's >99% to make the HoF

Trademark · Post by **Trademark** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 9:35 am

eternalreflection wrote:he won 2MVP awards, has great postseason stats, he's >99% to make the HoF

cosign...he took two historically terrible franchises to the big dance, won it with the rams and got there with the cardinals....

jamrage · Post by **jamrage** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 9:58 am

Trademark wrote:
eternalreflection wrote:he won 2MVP awards, has great postseason stats, he's >99% to make the HoF

cosign...he took two historically terrible franchises to the big dance, won it with the rams and got there with the cardinals....

His career numbers are good not great, and he had some really awful fucking years mixed in too. Guys like Phil Simms and Dave Krieg have better career numbers.

I agree that he's a HOFer, I just don't think he's a no brainer.

Just my opinion.

Gregg Popabitch · Post by **Gregg Popabitch** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 12:00 pm

jamrage wrote:
Trademark wrote:
eternalreflection wrote:he won 2MVP awards, has great postseason stats, he's >99% to make the HoF

cosign...he took two historically terrible franchises to the big dance, won it with the rams and got there with the cardinals....
His career numbers are good not great, and he had some really awful fucking years mixed in too. Guys like Phil Simms and Dave Krieg have better career numbers.

I agree that he's a HOFer, I just don't think he's a no brainer.

Just my opinion.

IMO, football careers should be judged somewhat differently then the other sports because it is so violent.

Warner's career numbers don't match up but his #s in his prime does. In fact, he had 2 primes if that even makes sense. That should be enough to make him a lock imo. When was the last time a two time MVP didn't make the hall of fame?

an-also · Post by **an-also** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 12:47 pm

eternalreflection wrote:has great postseason stats

SMALL SAMPLE SIZEEE BROO

an-also · Post by **an-also** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 12:47 pm

Easily a HOF

capable_keL · Post by **capable_keL** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 2:46 pm

he started his first nfl game at 28

some of yall need to log off and work on ur passing

ThaJim2 · Post by **ThaJim2** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 4:54 pm

You guys are crazy thinking he should be in the hall of fame. Don't you know he played most of his games in a dome, a DOME. He also played in a system, a SYSTEM. That means every single thing he did was directly the result of dominess and systeminess. I mean shit look how good the Rams where both before him and after him. The cards where awesome before he came into town. And do I even have to mention YAC. Yicity YAC that is what Warner is.

an-also · Post by **an-also** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 5:06 pm

YACITTY YAC YAC

capable_keL · Post by **capable_keL** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 5:21 pm

ThaJim2 wrote:You guys are crazy thinking he should be in the hall of fame. Don't you know he played most of his games in a dome, a DOME. He also played in a system, a SYSTEM. That means every single thing he did was directly the result of dominess and systeminess. I mean shit look how good the Rams where both before him and after him. The cards where awesome before he came into town. And do I even have to mention YAC. Yicity YAC that is what Warner is.

one of the worst arguments i have ever read

jamrage · Post by **jamrage** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 10:01 pm

keL wrote:
ThaJim2 wrote:You guys are crazy thinking he should be in the hall of fame. Don't you know he played most of his games in a dome, a DOME. He also played in a system, a SYSTEM. That means every single thing he did was directly the result of dominess and systeminess. I mean shit look how good the Rams where both before him and after him. The cards where awesome before he came into town. And do I even have to mention YAC. Yicity YAC that is what Warner is.

one of the worst arguments i have ever read

You don't think he was being serious do you?

capable_keL · Post by **capable_keL** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 10:28 pm

i cant really tell who is serious in the YAC era

eternalreflection · Post by **eternalreflection** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 11:41 pm

an-also wrote:
eternalreflection wrote:has great postseason stats
SMALL SAMPLE SIZEEE BROO

yeah of course

he's a fringe HoFer, just saying he's a lock to make it

ric · Post by **ric** » Sun Jan 31, 2010 5:20 am

not my favorite player. everyone loves him though. will make HOF. im not mad about it. he was great. not elite though.

capable_keL · Post by **capable_keL** » Sun Jan 31, 2010 1:14 pm

2 super bowls
2 mvps
leader in postseason passing categories

if warner isnt elite, who is?

Positive A · Post by **Positive A** » Sun Jan 31, 2010 2:56 pm

keL wrote:2 super bowls
2 mvps
leader in postseason passing categories

if warner isnt elite, who is?

Otto Graham

still illiterate · Post by **still illiterate** » Sun Jan 31, 2010 6:26 pm

Positive A wrote:
keL wrote:2 super bowls
2 mvps
leader in postseason passing categories

if warner isnt elite, who is?
Otto Graham