Kurt Warner is a winner. He may not be flashy like McNabb, or a Mac Truck like Big Ben, or a pretty boy celebrity like Romo, but he is a F'n GAMER! Warner, when healthy, is a monster with the pigskin, and his career numbers prove it. Even without a second ring, Warner's stats put him on par with some of the legends of the game. I randomly choose four HOF QB's to match Warner up with in order to prove my hypothesis. These four are people who names are whispered with reverence and glee by fans all over. I'm not trying to tarnish any of their names; I just want to illustrate how absolutely bad ass Kurt Warner is.
First lets put Warner up against someone who was in the league the same amount of years, Jim Kelly. Kelly retired after 11 seasons, the same number Warner has now completed. In those 11 seasons, Warner has played 50 less games than Kelly did, 160 to 110. Warner has a better yards per game average than Kelly (221.7 to 259.9), and a better completion percentage (60.1 to 65.4). Warner's QB rating blows Kelly's out of the water (84.4 to 93.8), and both went to four Pro Bowls. The glaring difference is the amount of rings. Kelly went to four Super Bowls and won none of them, while Warner is going to his third, and has a ring in his back pocket. Once again, not trying to diss Jim Kelly; I think making it to a Super Bowl is a feat in itself, and making it to FOUR IN A ROW is a Herculean effort, but he didn't come away with any, so that is a factor.
Let's match Warner with my boy Troy next. Aikman only played one more year than Warner, so we won't extend Kurt's stats to even out the years played. Even with that extra year, Troy's stats don't blast Warner's out of the water. Aikman played 55 more games than Warner, but only leads him by about 4400 in career yardage. With an average of 259.9 yards per game, it would take Warner 17 more games to edge out Troy. While I don't think Kurt can play all 16 games in a season, he will surely sign a new two year deal in Arizona and have the chance to play 17 games in the next 32. The QB rating's are vastly different, which you would think would be in Aikman's favor because of Emmitt, but Warner kills him (81.6 to 93.8).
I'm not going to continue to break the stats down, because I hate when someone belabors the point. You can see what I've posted and see for yourself. Just realize that for many years, Warner was a backup for other people, and that it is also the Pro Football Hall of Fame, not just the NFL Hall of Fame. Any pro numbers in Warner's favor should count. But I think his NFL numbers get him in when you match him against some of the greats. Anything else is just icing on a fantastic career. And all this gushing from a man who, as a Cowboys fan, hates the Cardinals. Just saying, is all.
Troy Aikman career stats:
Yards per game: 199.6
Passing Yards: 32942
Completions/Attemps: 2898/4715
Completion %: 61.5
TD/INT: 165/141
TD %: 3.5
INT%: 3.0
QB rating: 81.6
Games played: 165
Years in NFL: 12
Overall record: 94-71-0
Pro Bowls: 6
Super Bowl record: 3-0
John Elway Career stats:
Yards per game: 220.0
Passing yards: 51475
Completions/Attemps: 4123/7250
Completion %: 56.9
TD/INT: 300/226
TD %: 4.1
INT%: 3.1
QB rating: 79.9
Games played: 234
Years in NFL: 16
Overall record: 148-82-1
Pro Bowls: 9
Super Bowl record: 2-3
Kurt Warner career stats:
Yards per game: 259.9
Passing yards: 28591
Completions/Attemps: 2327/3557
Completion %: 65.4
TD/INT: 182/114
TD %: 5.1
INT%: 3.2
QB rating: 93.8
Games played: 110
Years in NFL: 11
Overall record: 48-37-0
Pro Bowls: 4
Super Bowl record: 1-1
Steve Young career stats:
Yards per game: 196.0
Passing yards: 33124
Completions/Attemps: 2667/4149
Completion %: 64.3
TD/INT: 232/107
TD %: 5.6
INT%: 2.6
QB rating: 98.8
Games played: 169
Years in NFL: 15
Overall record: 94-49-0
Pro Bowls: 7
Super Bowl record: 1-0
Jim Kelly career stats:
Yards per game: 221.7
Passing yards: 35467
Completions/Attemps: 2874/4779
Completion %: 60.1
TD/INT: 237/175
TD %: 5.0
INT%: 3.7
QB rating: 84.4
Games played: 160
Years in NFL: 11
Overall record: 101-59-0
Pro Bowls: 4
Super Bowl record: 0-4
