Warner stands tall in game for the ages
There are times in your life when, as a sports fan, you know you are witnessing something truly special.
I recall watching curl a shot into the top corner against in 1982.
I may have only been 10 years old but I could tell that Liverpool's number seven was the best player on the pitch during a 2-0 win. And I knew I had seen a great player - not a mere good one - in action.
I also knew I had witnessed something very historic and remarkable when I saw after coming from behind against .
That was the kind of game that defied belief and summed up the drama that only top-flight sport seems able to provide.
I felt the same way on Sunday evening as and I commentated on the in the first round of the NFL play-offs.
Kurt Warner celebrates victory over Green Bay on Sunday
I have followed the as a fan since 1983 and I have to say that was the most amazing game I have ever seen, either on television or in a stadium.
It was a game that had it all - 13 touchdowns, spectacular catches, a head-scratching missed field goal and a defensive runback that finally put paid to the offensive fireworks in sudden-death overtime.
After three hours and 31 minutes of drama that even Shakespeare would have been hard-pushed to match, the two teams had conspired to produce the highest-scoring play-off game in NFL history.
And there was a Liverpool connection in the Arizona desert as Packers quarterback is a big fan of Rafa Benitez's men. Rodgers was outstanding and has a bright future in Green Bay but even his four-touchdown display was overshadowed by the form of Arizona passer .
Warner looked like a machine against the Packers. He has always been capable of producing fantasy football-like numbers when in top form and his technique is flawless.
Time and again Warner fired perfect spirals downfield as he picked the Packers apart.
By the end of the thrilling game he had completed 29 of 33 attempts for 379 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions.
That is breathtaking. In the heat of a play-off battle, Warner's passes fell incomplete just four times.
In defeating the Packers, Warner cemented his status as one of the best big-game players in recent NFL history. It was one of the greatest displays of passing I have ever seen.
The problem with defending Warner is that there is no right way to slow him down when he is in top form.
If you blitz him, he is completely unruffled. His guts, determination and vision - coupled with a lightning-quick release - make him the best in the game at slicing apart a defence that is attacking him.
If you drop extra defenders into coverage, you make it harder for Warner, creating tighter windows in which to throw the ball. But he is one of the most accurate passers in the business and, given extra time to throw, he can still find the open spots in a crowded secondary.
As he heads to to take on the in what could be another wild shootout, Warner is brimming with confidence. But that has not always been the case for a man who took a while to blossom into the elite quarterback we know today.
As a young, unheralded passer who graduated from in 1994, Warner was in a spring mini-camp with the Packers. He was buried on the depth chart behind the likes of and and had very little self-belief.
Packers' quarterbacks coach instructed Warner to get on the field and run a few plays with the offense. Warner declined. He felt so low and so fragile in terms of confidence that he asked not to be thrown into team action, claiming he was not ready.
Warner helped St Louis to victory over Tennessee in Super Bowl XXXIV
Mariucci was left scratching his head. Head coach was incredulous.
He could hardly believe that a young player was not willing to take advantage of the opportunity to impress an NFL team. Days later, Warner was cut and ended up stocking shelves in a supermarket.
He played in the indoor and then resurfaced on a full size field in in 1998. He even graced Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, leading the Amsterdam Admirals to victory over the England Monarchs.
Upon returning to the NFL with the , Warner got the break that was needed to kick-start his career when incumbent starter injured his knee early in 1999.
In one of the stories of the year, Warner took full advantage by throwing for 4,353 yards and 41 touchdowns en route to leading the Rams to victory over the .
Warner was outstanding for the Rams through to the conclusion of the 2001 season. And then came a period in his career which I felt would damage his credentials as a potential player.
Injuries and some indifferent form meant that out of a possible 80 regular season games in five years with the Rams, and Cardinals from 2002-2006, Warner started just 31 times.
He won back a starting role with the Cardinals in 2007, but only because young signal-caller got hurt. But again, Warner took full advantage.
He was outstanding in leading Arizona to a Super Bowl appearance last season and has become just the second player in NFL history to throw at least 100 touchdown passes with two different teams - the other being of the and New York Giants.
Despite a gaping hole in the middle of his career, I think Warner has done enough to take up his rightful place in the Hall of Fame when he retires.
He has played in three Super Bowls, winning one, has won two league Most Valuable Player crowns and has thrown for more than 30,000 yards and 200 touchdowns.
That retirement could come much sooner than Cardinals fans would like. Warner is 38 and has had some health issues this season, most significant being a concussion he suffered in mid-season that caused him to miss one game.
That scared Warner because he has often said he would like to leave the game in perfect physical and mental health so . The end of the road is coming for one of the NFL's feel-good success stories.
And when Warner does hang up his boots, the Arizona Cardinals will experience a major drop-off at the position. Leinart is a promising young player but it's hard to replace one of the greatest pure passers of the ball the NFL has ever seen.
Hello, I'm Neil Reynolds. I commentate and write about the NFL. I've followed the NFL since 1983 and covered the league as a journalist and broadcaster since 1991. I also played for 10 years in the British American Football League.
Comment number 1.
At 12th Jan 2010, eddie-george wrote:As pointed out on the NFL official site, Warner threw more touch-downs than incompletions. His QB rating was something like 154.
So even if Green Bay had this coming - Rothlisberger with his swiss-cheese O-line threw for 500 yards, so Warner was never likely to let them off - not sure anyone could imagine such a thorough demolition job. Part of the credit should go to the play-calling, but most of it to Warner for his freakish accuracy.
Like you, I was riveted; and personally, Warner last year should have sealed his place in the Hall of Fame. But for any lingering doubters, you just need to show them the tape from last Sunday.
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Comment number 2.
At 12th Jan 2010, Simon wrote:I made the fatal mistake of switching off the game as it approached half-time. I simply could not see any way that the Packers were going to get back into it.... Imagine my astonishment on Monday morning to see that it went into O/T and the score was so high.
As good as Warner was, credit must be given to the Green Bay coaching staff for ensuring that their players didn't just give up when so far behind - unlike the Patriots!
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Comment number 3.
At 12th Jan 2010, i-should-be-in-charge-of-lfc wrote:What a game, I live in Cyprus and with our +2 time difference on the uk I was up till around 5 watching the game unfold. I like Simon almost turned it off and hit the sack but thought I'd watch the 3rd quarter just to make sure nothing happened, and boy did it ever. Got to agree, Warner is hall of fame material tbh, if he takes the cards much further I dont see how he can be overlooked.
Neil-whats your predictions for the next round then?? I'm a vikings fan, how do you rate our chances??
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Comment number 4.
At 12th Jan 2010, USUKwordman wrote:I agree, Neil - that's was one of the most amazing games I've ever watched. At first it looked like it might turn into a laugher, but then Green Bay led by future star Aaron Rodgers came storming back. As a Cards' fan, I was on the edge of my seat all during the game and when Rackers yanked that potential 34 yard kick wide left -- when he hadn't missed one 40 yards or under all season -- I about threw up, even though I told my dad he was going to miss it (that's just how the game had been going -- Arizona couldn't put them away). And when Green Bay won the coin toss in overtime, I figured we were done, seeing as the defense had not been able to stop Green Bay all second half. And when the goat of the game, Michael Adams, victimized for 3 interference calls and who also missed a critical sack, transformed into the hero by blitzing Rodgers and causing the fumble that Dansby recovered and ran into the end zone, I nearly damaged my vocal chords screaming in triumph.
Now if the Saints-Cardinals game can only be half as entertaining (Cards winning of course) the football audience will be well served.
Hope you enjoyed Arizona. The weather out here has been fairly nice this winter.
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Comment number 5.
At 13th Jan 2010, Inquitus wrote:It was a great spectacle, but a game with no Defence on show is definitely not one of the best games ever. Rodgers was facemasked for the Fumble and it was a horribly unfair way for the game to end, also robbed us of further entertainment.
I can't see a Defense as porous as that of the Cardinals to be good enough for a Superbowl, I'd expect to see them soundly beaten on the road to the Saints this weekend.
Any QB worth their salt would have filled their boots against that Packers D-Line, he had a choice of wide open receivers on every play...
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Comment number 6.
At 13th Jan 2010, Grizzly wrote:Neil
I bet you hate your job sometimes, imagine having to go all the way to Arizona just to suffer that !
I doubt there was a US reporter who managed to remember every big play in his report, and newspapers just don't come that big.
As for Warner, the guy is a model pro. Remembering everything that's gone on in his career and it's not always been great (NYG springs to mind) he just kept getting on with his job, no fuss no whining, just kept working hard. He'll be missed when he does retire (especially in the desert, is Leinhart the next franchise QB ?) and there's no better way to retire than with a ring on your finger, plus that will mean that Favre does not get a ring so we can look forward to another 7 months of will Favre, won't Favre retire ............... again !
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Comment number 7.
At 13th Jan 2010, elin richy wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 8.
At 13th Jan 2010, Neil Reynolds wrote:Inquitus... I too like some defensive play and enjoy a good, hard-hitting struggle. I love watching teams like the Baltimore Ravens. But I don't think the lack of big defensive plays takes away from the fact that was one of the most amazing games of all time.
And I would argue it was a game that had it all... lots of touchdowns through the air, some strong running at times from Ryan Grant and Beanie Wells (when both were given a chance), a dramatic missed field goal, some great coaching calls (the onside kick being one of them) and there were some good defensive plays -Charles Woodson's strip of Larry Fitzgerald that was recovered by Clay Matthews and the touchdown return by Dansby.
Dansby in particular can be proud of his defensive effort. He knocked the first pass into the air and it was picked off by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, he stripped the ball out of Donald Driver's hands for a fumble and then he scored the winning touchdown.
I'll grant you there was not much defense, but there was enough to convince me this was one of the better games I have witnessed, in person or on television.
Last year's Super Bowl would certainly come very close because it featured so much drama and had so many twists and turns. But this game too turned dramatically and featured an incredible finish.
Also, I think the Cardinals will fall short of a return to the Super Bowl this season. Which means this amazing contest will end up being a mere footnote in this NFL post-season story. Which is a bit of a shame really.
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