Kurt Warner Retires After 12 Seasons in the NFL

Charlie Klein

It was not too long ago that I would have arguments with my father about whether or not Kurt Warner deserved a spot in Canton, Ohio. This is perhaps more of a reflection upon the fact that Warner played for two rivals of my favourite NFL team (Seattle Seahawks) than anything that Kurt ever did on the playing field. By January 29, 2010 my opinion of Mr. Warner has done a complete 180.

Today Kurt Warner announced his retirement from the game of football. Honestly it is not that surprising considering the beating he took over the past season and he was, aside from Brett Favre, the oldest starting quaterback in the league in 2009.

Warner said today at his press conference that "I'm excited about what lies in front of me. I'm excited about spending more time with my family, and seeing what God's going to do next."

One of the classiest class acts in the NFL, Kurt Warner typified what it meant to be a professional. His story is an inspiration to anyone who has dreams of making something of their lives. Once a grocery store shelf stocker, Warner rose through the ranks in arena football and NFL Europe to make it with the St. Louis Rams as a back-up quarterback to then starter Trent Green. During the Rams first preseason game of 1999 Green tore his ACL. Enter Kurt Warner. In his first season he led one of the most prolific offensive teams in NFL history to the franchise's first Super Bowl win over the Tennessee Titans.

From then on Warner never looked back. He won the NFL MVP award in 1999 and in 2001 as the commander in chief of the greatest show on turf. In 2003 it appeared as though the fairytale of Warner's rise to prominence in the NFL was going to end in Shakespearean tragedy. Following an injury and inconsistent play he was released the next summer and signed with the Giants. Not every player is meant to shine in New York, and Warner was no exception to this rule. The Giants struggled out of the gate and Warner, while leading the G-Men to a 5-4 record, was replaced by highly touted rookie Eli Manning.

After a tumultuous two years for Warner, he found himself a home in Glendale, Arizona with the Cardinals in 2005. He, along with coach Ken Wisenhunt, helped change the culture of the Cardinals into one of winning. Warner led the Cardinals to their first division title and playoff berth two seasons ago and led the Cards to their first ever Super Bowl. He also owns the top three single game quarterback ratings in NFL postseason history.

Kurt Warner is a dead cert for a bust in Canton. As a fan of the NFL, I am sad to see him go. Even though he normally stuck it to my Seahawks, I will always respect the professional he was on and off the field. Thanks for proving dreams can come true Kurt. You are an inspiration to us all.

Brandon Marshall On His Way Out of The Mile High City?

Puneet Singh

With Brandon Marshall's suspension this morning from the Denver Bronco's it looks like this marriage is slowly but surely over.

Things hit rock bottom yesterday in practice when Marshall was clearly dogging it and blocking the ball as opposed to catching it as he is paid to do. On top of that, he went off and punted a ball some 20 yards away for no apparent reason.

Here's video footage of the incident and analysis from ESPN (fast forward to 0:55 to see his antics):

As you can see Marshall wasn't doing his proper duty to be a good citizen. Both him and management have been at odds for awhile now over a contract and his habits and with the trade of Jay Cutler this offseason, it should be a message that no one player is bullet proof in the Josh McDaniels era.

In addition to Marshall's on field antics, he hasn't been a good sumaritan off the field. I'd go into detail about his trouble with the law, but I'll leave it to this link (<---click there) to explain his exploits.

Time to look at what teams desperately needs a WR and what is the market value for the embattled WR:

Denver is asking for a 1st AND 4th rounder. Based on his numbers it's well deserved. The last two years Marshall has posted numbers of 102 catches for 1,325 yards and 7 TDs in 2007 and 104 catches for 1,265 and 6 TDs. Clearly All-Pro numbers given that he was 23 and 24 when he posted those numbers. Unfortunately given his habit for getting in trouble with the law and management, the Broncos should be fortunate to get a 1st and 5th or multiple 2nd/3rd/4th round choices.

Now onto who needs a WR: NY Giants, Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams, NY Jets, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Tenneessee Titans and The Jacksonville Jaguars.

You can cross off the Rams Bears, Browns, and Bucs off this list. The Ram's could use a new WR now that the "Greatest Show on Turf" has officially ended with Torry Holt being cut and signing with the Jags. Will they pay the price? They have too many other holes to fill on defense and the O-Line for the next coming years that it doesn't make sense to mortage it for a WR. So the Rams will be out of it. The Bears probably can't afford him given they just traded off a lot to get Cutler from the Broncos, and the Browns and Bucs both have young QB's in Brady Quinn and Josh Freeman and the last thing they'd want to do is rattle a young QB by bringing in a a loudmouthed headcase to the lockeroom.

The Giants JUST finished dealing with Plexico Burress. However, the need for WR is so apparent. Their WR group consists of Sinorice Moss, Mario Manningham, Steve Smith, Domick Hixon and David "One Catch Brought Me Fame" Tyree. Clearly there is no number one in that group, although Manningham has the potential to develop into one. Can the Giant's hustle the Broncos and afford him? Absolutely. Do Coughlin and Manning want to deal with another headache? Desperate times call for desperate measures. By week 3 we'll know.

There have been mumurs in Jet's camp about Marshall. He would be an instant number 1 there and further help Jerricho Cotchery and Mark Sanchez. Rex Ryan is knowing for handling brash personalities well (see: Ray Lewis) so handling an ego and attitude like Marshall shouldn't be too big of a task for the first year head coach.

The Ravens are a class organization. Ozzie Newsome only brings in players who are going to be upstanding people. Just by that Marshall doesn't fit. But the Ravens are so desperate for a WR anything is possible, whether it be a player and low level pick going to the Broncos or just moving draft picks to the Bronco's to give Flacco a target for the next 4 to 5 years.

Although the Titans are content at WR, the oppurtunity to land an unprecedented number one is hard to turn down. They have one major headcase of their own in Vince Young and because of that I don't see them making a move.

The Jacksonville Jaguars landed a jewel in Torry Holt this offseason. Pairing him and Marshall together would give them a 1-2 similar to Holt-Bruce from the glory days in St. Louie. Problem is, the Jags have had their share of terrible WRs with law problems over the last few years and with Jack Del Rio on the hotseat this year, I doubt he makes a move that will further put his job into jepordy.

Final Guess: Brandon Marshall will be a NY Giant no later than Week 2. The Giant's desperately need a WR and Denver is fully into shopping Marshall's services at this moment. This deal makes too much sense to not happen now.