There has been a lot of talk lately during the Arizona Cardinal’s magical playoff run that veteran quarterback Kurt Warner is a supreme Hall of Fame candidate. This has developed into a common question in the sports world, and when looking at Warner’s resume, there are some premium pros and cons that will affect his Hall of Fame acceptance.    

            Kurt Warner came into the league out of nowhere. It’s well known that he came from bagging groceries to the Arena Football League to NFL Europe to the Super Bowl with the St Louis Rams. He clearly took the long road up the mountain, but all that matters is he has gotten to its peak.

            Warner is obviously a feel good story, and a guy who is easy to root for in every way. Warner is known for being a great guy, teammate, and competitor. It was no surprise that he was awarded with the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 2008. This is just another piece of hardware to add to Warner’s trophy case. He also has the rewards to represent his on field performances and credentials. He is a Four time Pro Bowler, Two time NFL MVP, and a Super Bowl MVP when winning Super Bowl 34 with the St Louis Rams.

            Warner’s postseason performances have been spectacular to say the least. He has been to three Super Bowls. Yes, he only came out victorious once out of the three times but this definitely can’t be blamed on him, as he holds the top three passing yardage totals in Super Bowl history (414,365, and 377). In 11 postseason starts, Warner has gone 8-3 averaging just over 306 pass yds a game, while throwing 26 touchdowns to 13 interceptions.

            But the negative on the resume has to be his regular season career, despite the fact he has won Two Regular Season MVPs. Warner has only totaled 57 total wins. This ranks tenth among active quarterbacks in the league behind guys like Jeff Garcia (58), Brad Johnson (72), Kerry Collins (78), and Marc Brunell (79). This statistic makes him look rather ordinary. Kurt has also only started more then 11 games in a season a mere 4 times in his career. When looking at Warner’s complete regular season career he really can only show five impressive years, but four of those five seasons boast some resounding numbers. The other five seasons in his playing career in the NFL were just average to horrendous years for a QB with a combined 8-23 record. More ammo for those opposing Warner is that he has always had an amazing collection of talent around him and an extremely pass happy offensive playbook in all his successful years. He had the “Greatest Show On Turf”, with Marshall Faulk, Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, and in Arizona the best duo of wide receivers in the league with Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. Recent talks of Warner maybe calling it a day before next season also puts another dent in his resume, as Kurt could really use a few more wins and another statistical year to tack on to his career numbers.

            So when taking everything into effect Kurt Warner’s consideration for the Hall of Fame is more then solid. His statistical outputs, award winning performances, and most of all his elite playoff performances will most likely get Warner a ticket to the promise land. It also doesn’t hurt that he is such a class act, but I do feel that he is getting the nod for Canton a little too easily. There should be some hesitation in this honorable decision, as he is in no way should be an automatic inductee. But in the end it will definitely be a great moment in NFL History, if or more likely when Kurt Warner is up on that podium paying homage to this great story of his football playing career.