Warner punches TWO tickets: Tampa and Canton

With four touchdown passes today, including the game-winning flip to Tim Hightower with less than 3 minutes to go in the NFC championship game, Kurt Warner punched the Arizona Cardinals ticket to the team's first Super Bowl. (I believe I saw where the St. Louis franchise went to the NFL Championship game in 1961, but this would be the first Super Bowl). And this will be Kurt Warner's third career Super Bowl after winning one and losing another in St. Louis with the Rams. And it should WITHOUT question punch Warner's ticket for a bust in the Hall of Fame. NO DOUBT ABOUT IT! The guy has won two MVPs and maybe should have won a third this season. He has taken the FREAKING CARDINALS, a team that one "pundit" said was the worst team EVER to make the playoffs (I think it was maybe the same genius that said the Falcons would go 1-15?) to the SUPER BOWL. He has helped Larry Fitzgerald turn into the best Wider Receiver out there today. Edge James has become revitalized, in part because of Warner. The Cardinals were LOSERS, but then Warner came out to the desert after grooming Eli Manning in New York and played LAST SEASON with one arm. This season, he beat out Leinart ONCE AGAIN and the Cardinals should thank their lucky stars because he has them one win (and they have just a tad of momentum, wouldn't you say?) from a Super Bowl title. WOW. Best QB in the franchise's history? Way better than Jake the Snake.
He has one title in the bag, the yardage marks, the completion percentage records, the ratings records, EVERYTHING. And there is NO Question he should be in Canton. So just go ahead and put him in there. Done. Not a fluke.

His opponent today Donovan McNabb is considered by some to ALREADY be in the Hall of Fame. I say, "WHY?" What has Donovan EVER done to get into Canton? He is Jim Kelly-lite. He chokes in the big games. He is as it stands 1 for 5 in the NFC Championship games. And the ONE that he won, he then vomited in the Super Bowl with a chance to go down the field for the win. He then got TO kicked out of Philly because suddenly Donovan wasn't the main attraction anymore. Ummmm, you are 0-4 in NFC Championship games without TO. Maybe you should have shared the spotlight with TO and tried for another Super Bowl? But you couldn't stand NOT being the man. So you and Andy ( your shoeshine boy) got TO run out of town. Smart move? And Andy Reid then had Jeff Garcia take him to the second round of the playoffs, but he couldn't imagine his life without Donovan, so he sent Garcia packing (straight to a division title with Tampa while Philly missed the playoffs last year.) The gamble worked out I guess as Donovan, despite not knowing rules of overtime, led Reid to another NFCCG, but he couldn't get it done YET AGAIN, thus the Jim Kelly-lite. Yeah, JK is in the Hall of Fame, but that's because he went to four straight SUPER BOWLS. He couldn't get it done there. DMac only went once, and threw up when he got there. Not Hall of Fame worthy if you ask me.

To sum up: Kurt Warner now 3-0 in NFCCG and 1-1 with a third TBD while McNabb is 1-4 in NFCCG with an 0-1 record in the Super Bowl. I just cannot put McNabb in the Super Bowl. Sorry. If I do, I have to put Rich Gannon of Oakland or Steve McNair of Tennessee in there too. Jim Hart of St. Louis went to the NFC championship game in 1975, 76, 77. Guy went to Pro Bowls from 1974-77. But he's not there and I just cannot put McNabb in there if Gannon (WITH an MVP) or McNair (co-MVP) are not. Sorry Philly fans.

AND PS, Sportsbyfletch is officially endorsing the Arizona Cardinals as his pick for the Super Bowl. PS#2, the AFC rep hasn't been decided yet, but we here at SbF are throwing our hat into the ring for Larry Fitzgerald and that future HoFer Kurt Warner! Go Cards!