May 25, 2012
  • 1/26/09

    kurt warner

    By Max J. Dickstein

    Super Bowl quarterback Kurt Warner rose from his days as a Giants quarterback also-ran behind Eli Manning

    Photo credit: Game Face

    Kurt Warner in 2004 (Getty Images)

    By Kevin Garrity

    Special to amNewYork

    This is the way sports work,” Chad Pennington said, “the way the game of football works.”

    That was Dec. 28, after Pennington realized his dream scenario in the regular-season finale against the Jets, beating the team that released him and giving Pennington’s Dolphins an AFC East title.

    I was thinking that this Pennington quote could also fit with Kurt Warner, whose Arizona Cardinals will face the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII on Sunday.

    After all, Arizona wasn’t supposed to be in Tampa; Eli Manning and the Giants were the sure bet to be representing the NFC there. But that’s how the game of football works.

    It was just four years ago that the Giants brought Warner in as insurance for Manning, the No. 1 overall draft pick. General manager Ernie Accorsi and coach Tom Coughlin didn’t want to throw Manning into the fire, so Warner was named the starter toward the end of the preseason in 2004.

    Released by the Rams after the 2003 season, Warner was glad to get this chance to prove himself. Things started out well for Warner and the Giants. They were 5-2 and Warner, a two-time MVP with St. Louis, had thrown for more than 1,500 yards and four touchdowns.But just two weeks later, the Giants had fallen to 5-4 and Warner was showing his 33 years by getting sacked 13 times in two games. Coughlin made the move to the young Manning.

    I remember the first Wednesday after Manning was given the job. There we were, the hordes of Giants media trying to get our microphones and notepads as close to Manning as possible. And there was Warner, looking old, getting into his practice pads two lockers over. Not one reporter in sight.

    If ever there was a scene of an NFL quarterback at the end of the road, that was it.

    But you can’t count out a guy who paid his dues in arena football and NFL Europe. And you can’t count out a guy who was signed by St. Louis to back up Trent Green, then led “The Greatest Show on Turf” to two Super Bowls.

    In 2005, he signed with Arizona, where he was expected to keep the seat warm for Matt Leinart. Now, Warner has done it again. There will be plenty of reporters to deal with in Tampa, and Warner will love every minute of it.

    That’s the way sports work.

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