Kurt Warner and the Curse of the Cardinals (Part 1)

Posted on October 24, 2008 by Sandlapper Spike

The next month is going to be a big one for the Arizona Cardinals.  At 4-2, and playing in the pathetic NFC West, the Cardinals will have an opportunity to all but lock up a playoff spot, with three of the games against its lackluster division opponents.  However, we’re talking about the NFL’s most historically inept franchise, so it would probably surprise no one if the Cards managed to lose at least three of those games.

The next month is also an important one for Kurt Warner, in my opinion, because I think he has a chance to greatly enhance his candidacy for the Pro Football Hall of Fame if he can lead the Cardinals to the playoffs (especially if the Cardinals were to win a game or two once they got there).   Here are some relevant numbers for Warner:

2 MVP awards

Super Bowl MVP award

3 Pro Bowls

52-39 record as a starting QB

164 TDs, 105 INTs

93.8 career passing rating

I’m not sure any quarterback has ever had a career like Warner’s.   He basically came out of nowhere at age 27 to put up three brilliant seasons in a row, winning 35 games and a Super Bowl as a starter in those three years.  However, other than that he’s really only had two other seasons as a starting quarterback in the NFL (21 combined starts in those two years), with one of those being last year, at age 36.  Generally Hall of Fame quarterbacks don’t start so late and don’t spend a significant part of their careers as backups.  52 wins as a starter doesn’t compare to most of the guys with busts in Canton, even those with delayed or interrupted careers; for example, Roger Staubach won 85 games as a starter, Steve Young 94, and Warren Moon 102.  Of the “modern era” QBs in the Hall, I think the one with the fewest starter wins is Joe Namath, with 63.

There are many fine non-Hall quarterbacks with lots of starter wins and a healthy winning percentage, like Phil Simms (95 wins), Ken Stabler (96), and Joe Theismann (77).

Among current quarterbacks with solid winning records, there are Hall of Fame locks like Brett Favre (163 career starter wins), Peyton Manning (108) and Tom Brady (86).  Donovan McNabb is plugging away with 76 career wins, and Brad Johnson (if you still count him as current, after that game against the Rams) has 71.  Matt Hasselbeck has 58.  Then there is Ben Roethlisberger, who already has 44 at age 26!  He’s younger than Warner was when Warner debuted in the league.

What I’m trying to say is that to this point Kurt Warner doesn’t have a lot to offer as part of a Hall of Fame resume other than that one three-year stretch – but that was one incredible stretch.  He’s kind of the Terrell Davis of quarterbacks.

As of right now, I don’t see him getting in the Hall.  However, a season of success with the Cardinals could change that.  Because, you see, it’s not like he would be making a run with a franchise that you might expect to win every now and then.  He would be making it with the Cardinals.

I want to delve a little deeper into Cardinals history (curses included), which I think is rather interesting, much like a train wreck can be interesting, but that would make for a very long post.   What I’m going to do is break this up into two parts, and the Cardinals history (along with some concluding thoughts about Warner) will be in Part 2.  I’ll post that either later tonight or sometime tomorrow.

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Umpire gives Gamecocks QB the shiver

Posted on October 19, 2008 by Sandlapper Spike

By now I would imagine there aren’t many sports fans in the country who haven’t seen the clip of SEC official Wilbur Hackett giving a forearm shiver to Gamecocks quarterback Stephen Garcia (video).  I think it was just an instinctive move by Hackett, but I have to say it could easily be interpreted as being intentional (and has been by a lot of message board posters).

I didn’t know the identity of the umpire, and so out of curiosity I looked him up.  It turns out that Hackett is a veteran SEC official, and he has an interesting personal history.  If you thought he looked like a linebacker on that play, well, maybe it’s because he was a linebacker — for Kentucky, in the 1960s.  Hackett was one of the first black football players in the SEC.

While researching this, I discovered an old article from the Los Angeles Times about the integration of the Kentucky football program.  It recounts a tragic death that I had never read about before, and includes comments from Hackett and longtime Atlanta Falcons center Jeff Van Note, as well as an anecdote illustrating the coolness of Archie Manning.  It’s worth a read:

Link

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efense

Posted on October 19, 2008 by Sandlapper Spike

That’s what The Citadel played Saturday.  There certainly was no discernible “D” to be seen, at least in blue and white…

The final stats don’t really tell the story, because the Bulldogs made them (and the score) respectable in the 4th quarter, when the game was over.  The bottom line was The Citadel couldn’t get Furman’s offense off the field, especially in the second quarter (the Paladins had the ball for over 10 minutes in that frame alone).  Bart Blanchard didn’t have a good day, the offensive line didn’t have a good day, three different running backs dropped passes…and yet the biggest problem (by far) was the defense’s inability to make a stop, any stop.  Furman ran delayed handoffs and intermediate pass plays for good yardage all day long, the Bulldogs got no pressure on the QB…it was just ugly.

Some notes, then a few pictures (and no, my photography skills aren’t the best):

— For the people behind me who kept yelling that Scott Flanagan was open on every play…no, no he wasn’t.

— During the game, the fellow in front of me handed his binoculars to a fan sitting beside him.  The other fan had some trouble initially figuring out how they worked (understandably, if you had seen them).  The first guy explained, “I got these from the Iraqi army.  They’re a Russian make.”

I bet not every school has fans using binoculars like that.

— I have finally come around to the idea that we have to do something about our cheerleaders.  I was in favor of just ignoring the situation, but yesterday I watched a tubby little 10-year-old girl in the stands mock our cheerleaders for the better part of 10 minutes, without any provocation whatsoever.

— Furman’s announced attendance of 9,644 apparently included at least 1,500 invisible fans.  I think the folks at Furman have to be disappointed with the attendance, but I suspect it’s probably just a sign of the economic times.

— Furman’s players run through one of those blow-up helmets (pictured below).  I’ve always liked those.

— The guy riding Furman’s horse took off his helmet/mask before the game started and rode around bareheaded the rest of the time.  Why?  It ruins the gimmick.  He should wear the helmet the entire time he is in public view.  Instead of a knight riding his trusty steed, we got to see a decidedly nondescript bald dude riding a horse.


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