Revenge of the Birds
Have you guessed it by now?
That’s right, Kurt Warner.
For those of you who watched the Cardinals one and only Super Bowl run, Kurt Warner was QB1/OC.
Not only did he take command of the weekly game plans, in practices leading up to the games, Kurt worked through every route and progression step-by-step with every one of the WRs. I mean, how many QBs have had three 1,000-yard WRs in one 16-game regular season?
2008 Arizona Cardinals WR Stats
Kurt’s philosophy was to exploit the opponents’ most difficult matchup in man coverage. Against zone coverage, Fitz and Q were unstoppable. How Kurt got a 1,000-yard season from Steve Breaston was a miracle. The dude came in as a blazing fast rookie for Michigan but had dinner plates for hands. Whenever little-known Jerheme Urban had a shaky CB4 on him, all Kurt needed to do was give him a wink at the line of scrimmage and they would run lever/oppos all day (if the CB is shading inside, run the out-route —- if the CB is shading outside, run the in-route —- “I’ll hit you, right where you want the ball, off your break.”
Look at Warner’s completion percentages:
Not only did Kurt Warner synchronize every step with every WR —- he asked every one of them where they wanted the pass on every different route —-that’s how precise he was with each of them. And he was adamant to never throw a pass that would lead his WR into a big hit.
Will you ever forget the last game of the 2009 season at home versus Aaron Rodgers and the Packers? Coming into the game, the Cardinals had already clinched the NFC West title and know they would be hosting a wild card team the very next week.
Warner played briefly but Rodgers (21/26, 235, 1 TD) and the Packers were up 26-0 at halftime. From the moment Kurt was replaced by Matt Leinart, Kurt was standing on the sidelines writing copious notes about the strengths and weaknesses of the Packers’ defense, which looked unbeatable that day in their 33-6 rout of the Cardinals.
Wouldn’t you know? The wild card turned out to be a rematch with the Packers.
During the prep week, after seeing how easily the Packers handled the Cardinals, not one Arizona journalist or radio host picked the Cardinals to win, except for one —- Dan Bickley.
That Wild Card game at Glendale was an unbelievably breathtaking, see-saw football drama.
Aaron Rodgers was on fire once again, so much so that it felt like the Cardinals would have to score on every possession in order to win their game —-...
