Is Kurt Warner Done? Hardly! By J.P. Fox-Contributing Writer-Football Reporters Online

Is Kurt Warner Done? Hardly! By J.P. Fox-Contributing Writer-Football Reporters Online

When Kurt Warner led the Arizona Cardinals to the playoffs with a 9-7 record last season, NBC’s Cris Collinsworth declared them the worst playoff team in the history of the NFL. The team had the 19th best defense in the NFL and they also held the title as the worst rush offense in the league, so who could really blame him? But, as we all know the story of Kurt Warner already, having him on your side certainly doesn’t hurt your chances in big games. Warner showed that all throughout the 2009 playoffs, leading Arizona to their first Super Bowl berth in franchise history. In doing so, he put the Arizona Cardinals on the map in the football world, and gave Cardinals fans the hope that they have deserved all throughout the teams history.

                The Cardinals had three 1,000 yard receivers last season in Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, and Steve Breaston. And to aid the worst rush offense in the NFL, the team added Ohio State running back Chris “Beanie” Wells in the draft to a Tim Hightower-featured backfield and rid themselves of the aging Edgerrin James. But the whole offense will be dictated by the play of Kurt Warner. Warner put up huge numbers at the age of 37 and the team excelled in the playoffs as Warner capped the improbable playoff run by throwing four touchdowns against the Philadelphia Eagles en route to the Super Bowl. Even though he couldn’t lead the Cardinals to a Super Bowl victory, Warner is the franchise right now. No matter how old he is, the team will go as he goes.

As a free agent after the Super Bowl, Warner proved his loyalty to the franchise that gave him another shot by accepting less money from Arizona than from the San Francisco 49ers. Shortly after signing the two year contract extension, Warner had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip, something that bothered him at the end of last season. But with his hip now repaired, Warner is poised to lead the Cardinals back to the playoffs and even back to another Super Bowl.  Already having 3 Super Bowl appearances on his resume helps Warner in his Hall of Fame bid, and adding a fourth is certainly not out of reach. He proved he can lead an “average” team to his third.

Kicking off the season at home against the 49ers, Warner couldn’t lead Arizona to a win. He could only manage a 67.2 passer rating against a weak 49er defense. Warner also walked off the field holding the thumb on his throwing hand. Warner has been slowed by numerous injuries in his career but has always rebounded positively from them. And if his week two performance in Jacksonville is any indication of the near future, Warner doesn’t look like he is ready to slow down any time soon. With a 92.3% completion percentage, he broke the NFL’s single game record for that category, going 24 of 26. He focused on short to intermediate routes and was extremely accurate in doing so. It looked like the Kurt Warner that all football fans have been used to.

The Cardinals have the 27th most difficult schedule out of all NFL teams, which makes it very possible to win plenty of games, having only 5 of 16 games against playoff teams. Ridding themselves of Edgerrin James and adding the younger Beanie Wells should help the Arizona running game, which will take a lot of pressure off of Warner. Having the threesome of wide receivers that Arizona has only sets up Warner for success. If the defense can hold up and play decently, the running game can improve on last year’s statistics and the passing game can stay as lethal as last season, I believe that the Cardinals can win their division for a second straight season and make another run at a NFC title. But again, it all depends on Kurt Warner’s health and how productive he can be with all of the weapons he has. If he stays healthy and can stay on the field for a full 16 game season, something he’s done only 3 times in his career, the Cardinals will have a chance to make it back to back seasons in the playoffs for the first time since the 1974-1975 teams.

NFL Restricted and Unrestricted Free Agent Signings - June 14th

This is from NFLMedia.com

2007 NFL UNRESTRICTED & RESTRICTED FREE-AGENT SIGNINGS
AS OF 6/14/07

(Based on official notification to NFL office)

1) 126 UNRESTRICTED free agents have signed with a NEW team:

TEAM PLAYER FORMER TEAM DATE REPORTED

ARIZONA DE Rodney Bailey Pittsburgh 4/13
CB Ralph Brown Cleveland 4/13
T Mike Gandy Buffalo 4/3
S Terrence Holt Detroit 3/8
CB Roderick Hood Philadelphia 3/13
C Al Johnson Dallas 3/6
NT Ross Kolodziej Minnesota 4/11
WR Sean Morey Pittsburgh 3/15
DE Joe Tafoya Seattle 4/13

ATLANTA K Billy Cundiff New Orleans 5/7
G Toniu Fonoti Miami 3/15
T Leander Jordan San Diego 5/9
FB Ovie Mughelli Baltimore 3/2
CB Lewis Sanders Houston 3/7
LB Marcus Wilkins Cincinnati 3/3

BUFFALO G Derrick Dockery Washington 3/3
RB Josh Scobey Seattle 5/3
T Langston Walker Oakland 3/3
C Jason Whittle Minnesota 3/3

CAROLINA S Deke Cooper San Francisco 3/26

CHICAGO DT Anthony Adams San Francisco 3/30

CINCINNATI DT Kenderick Allen Green Bay 5/14
DT Michael Myers Denver 4/20

CLEVELAND DE Antwan Peek Houston 3/5
DT Robaire Smith Tennessee 3/16
G Eric Steinbach Cincinnati 3/3
CB Kenny Wright Washington 3/6

DALLAS T Leonard Davis Arizona 3/5
S Ken Hamlin Seattle 3/26

DENVER TE Daniel Graham New England 3/9
LB Warrick Holdman Washington 4/26
G Montrae Holland New Orleans 3/5
LB D.D. Lewis Seattle 4/26
DT Alvin McKinley Cleveland 3/21
P Todd Sauerbrun New England 4/20
RB Paul Smith St. Louis 3/6

DETROIT RB T.J. Duckett Washington 3/16
CB Travis Fisher St. Louis 3/13
WR Shaun McDonald St. Louis 3/19
WR Troy Walters Arizona 6/1
DE DeWayne White Tampa Bay 3/5

JACKSONVILLE WR Dennis Northcutt Cleveland 3/5
T Tony Pashos Baltimore 3/3

GREEN BAY CB Frank Walker NY Giants 3/15

HOUSTON LB Shawn Barber Philadelphia 3/21
T Jordan Black Kansas City 3/9
WR Andre Davis Buffalo 4/12
RB Ahman Green Green Bay 3/5
LB Danny Clark New Orleans 3/7
CB Jamar Fletcher Detroit 4/5


INDIANAPOLIS
DT Jeff Zgonina
G Rick DeMulling
Miami
Detroit
3/15
3/30
KANSAS CITY
TE Mike Seidman
DT Alfonso Boone
Carolina
Chicago
5/8
3/20
LS J.P. Darche
LB Donnie Edwards
Seattle
San Diego
3/8
3/19
LB Napoleon Harris
S Jon McGraw
Minnesota
Detroit
3/6
3/28
MIAMI
G Damion McIntosh
K Jay Feely
Miami
NY Giants
3/3
3/8
WR Az-Zahir Hakim
G Chris Liwienski
San Diego
Arizona
3/22
3/22
TE David Martin
FB Cory Schlesinger
Green Bay
Detroit
3/5
3/15
MINNESOTA
S Cameron Worrell
LB Vinny Ciurciu
Chicago
Carolina
3/8
3/3
S Mike Doss
WR Cortez Hankton
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
4/4
4/16
TE Visanthe Shiancoe
WR Bobby Wade
N.Y. Giants
Tennessee
3/5
3/7
NEW ENGLAND TE Kyle Brady
CB Tory James
Jacksonville
Cincinnati
3/3
4/24
RB Sammy Morris
WR Donte’ Stallworth
Miami
Philadelphia
3/3
3/13
LB Adalius Thomas
WR Kelley Washington
Baltimore
Cincinnati
3/3
3/13
NEW ORLEANS LB Troy Evans
TE Eric Johnson
Houston
San Francisco
4/10
3/8
NEW YORK GIANTS
S Kevin Kaesviharn
LB Kawika Mitchell
Cincinnati
Kansas City
3/15
3/27
CB Michael Stone
QB Anthony Wright
Houston
Cincinnati
4/16
4/18
NEW YORK JETS FB Darian Barnes
DE David Bowens
Miami
Miami
3/8
4/2
DE Kenyon Coleman
QB Marques Tuiasosopo
Dallas
Oakland
3/6
3/23
OAKLAND G Cooper Carlisle
T Cornell Green
FB Justin Griffith
Denver
Tampa Bay
Atlanta
4/13
3/30
3/12
C Jeremy Newberry
RB Dominic Rhodes
San Francisco
Indianapolis
3/7
3/9
TE Tony Stewart
WR Travis Taylor
Cincinnati
Minnesota
3/12
5/22
PHILADELPHIA
TE Fred Wakefield
WR Kevin Curtis
Arizona
St. Louis
3/9
3/19
WR Bethel Johnson
DT Ian Scott
Minnesota
Chicago
3/15
5/3
PITTSBURGH DE Nick Eason
C Sean Mahan
Cleveland
Tampa Bay
4/16
3/12
ST. LOUIS WR Drew Bennett
LB Chris Draft
Tennessee
Carolina
3/3
4/2
S Todd Johnson
RB Travis Minor
Chicago
Miami
3/12
3/9
SAN FRANCISCO
CB Lenny Walls
LB Tully Banta-Cain
Kansas City
New England
4/4
3/7
DB Nate Clements
NT Aubrayo Franklin
Buffalo
Baltimore
3/3
3/3
WR Ashley Lelie Atlanta 3/6


S Michael Lewis Philadelphia
SEATTLE S Deon Grant Jacksonville
DE Brandon Green St. Louis
DE Patrick Kerney Atlanta
S Brian Russell Cleveland
TAMPA BAY RB B.J. Askew N.Y. Jets
LB Patrick Chukwura Denver
QB Jeff Garcia Philadelphia
LB Cato June Indianapolis
DE Lance Legree San Francisco
TE Jerramy Stevens Seattle
TENNESSEE WR Justin Gage Chicago
CB Nicholas Harper Indianapolis
QB Tim Rattay Tampa Bay
CB Bryan Scott New Orleans
WASHINGTON LB London Fletcher Buffalo
CB David Macklin Arizona
S Omar Stoutmire New Orleans

2) 88 UNRESTRICTED free agents have re-signed with their OLD team:

TEAM PLAYER

ARIZONA LB Monty Beisel
DT Chris Cooper
S Hanik Milligan
RB Marcel Shipp

BALTIMORE DE Jarret Johnson
S Gerome Sapp
RB Musa Smith

BUFFALO RB Anthony Thomas
CB Kiwaukee Thomas
CAROLINA LB Na’il Diggs

DT Kindal Moorehead
CHICAGO G Ruben Brown
CINCINNATI TE Reggie Kelly

RB Kenny Watson
CLEVELAND C Hank Fraley
C Lennie Friedman
DALLAS T Marc Colombo
K Martin Grammatica
DENVER WR Quincy Morgan
DE Kenny Peterson
DETROIT RB Aveion Cason
DE Corey Smith
GREEN BAY C Tyson Walter
LB Tracy White

HOUSTON TE Mark Bruener
RB Ron Dayne
DE Ndukwe Kalu
CB Dexter McCleon
T Ephraim Salaam
P Chad Stanley

INDIANAPOLIS LB Rocky Boiman
DT Dan Klecko
WR Aaron Moorehead
LB Rob Morris

JACKSONVILLE LB Tony Gilbert

3/3
3/13
4/25
3/7
3/12
3/5
3/3
3/3
3/19
3/8
4/30
3/23
3/16
5/11
3/26
3/3
4/6
3/22
DATE REPORTED
3/15
3/26
3/3
3/6
3/6
4/11
3/6
3/12
3/13
3/2
4/23
3/30
3/8
3/5
3/3
3/20
3/12
3/7
3/12
3/13
3/7
3/5
3/5
3/7
3/12
3/23
3/5
4/2
3/5
3/7
4/17
3/23
4/27
3/5
3/26


RB LaBrandon Toefield 3/29
KANSAS CITY DT Ron Edwards 3/15
QB Damon Huard 3/2
DT James Reed 4/16
DE Jimmy Wilkerson 3/21
MIAMI CB Michael Lehan 3/19
LB Donnie Spragan 4/25
S Travares Tillman 4/13
NT Keith Traylor 3/8
MINNESOTA LB Jason Glenn 4/4
NEW ENGLAND FB Heath Evans 3/2
LB Larry Izzo 3/6
LB Junior Seau 5/21
N.Y. GIANTS C Shaun O’Hara 3/3
C Grey Ruegamer 3/27
N.Y. JETS T Anthony Clement 3/19
C Wade Smith 3/12
NEW ORLEANS S Jay Bellamy 4/2
CB Dejuan Groce 3/9
NT Antwan Lake 3/5
T Jon Stinchcomb 3/5
OAKLAND T Chad Slaughter 3/12
CB Duane Starks 3/26
WR Alvis Whitted 3/9
PHILADELPHIA RB Correll Buckhalter 3/21
CB William James 3/15
DE Juqua Thomas 3/2
PITTSBURGH S Tyrone Carter 4/2
RB Najeh Davenport 3/6
CB Chidi Iwuoma 3/15
ST. LOUIS LB Raonall Smith 5/3
T Todd Steussie 3/7
SAN DIEGO G Kris Dielman 3/5
LB Carlos Polk 3/22
C Cory Withrow 3/9
SAN FRANCISCO WR Bryan Gilmore 3/3
LB Hannibal Navies 3/16
RB Moran Norris 3/5
SEATTLE WR Bobby Engram 3/23
G Chris Gray 4/9
TE Will Heller 3/5
G Floyd Womack 3/12
TAMPA BAY CB Philip Buchanon 3/2
CB Torrie Cox 3/3
TENNESSEE QB Kerry Collins 3/12
DT Rien Long 3/2
S Donnie Nickey 4/2
T Seth Wand 3/8
LB LeVar Woods 3/12
WASHINGTON S Vernon Fox 3/2
CB Ade Jimoh 3/6
T Todd Wade 3/20
TE Todd Yoder 3/15

3) 4 RESTRICTED free agents have signed with NEW teams:
TEAM PLAYER FORMER TEAM DATE REPORTED
CLEVELAND DT Shaun Smith Cincinnati 3/16


NEW ORLEANS CB Jason David Indianapolis 4/27
ST. LOUIS P Donnie Jones Miami 4/18
TENNESSEE LB Ryan Fowler Dallas 3/16

4) 88 RESTRICTED free agents have re-signed with their OLD team:

TEAM PLAYER DATE REPORTED
ARIZONA C Nick Leckey 4/13
ATLANTA TE Dwayne Blakely 4/4
QB Matt Schaub 3/22 (Traded to Houston)
LB Demorrio Williams 4/23
BALTIMORE WR Devard Darling 5/15
WR Clarence Moore 4/24
PR B.J. Sams 5/10
BUFFALO DT Tim Anderson 4/17
DE Tony Hargrove 4/5
CAROLINA DT Jordan Carstens 3/20
WR Drew Carter 4/18
TE Michael Gaines 5/4
CINCINNATI G Stacey Andrews 4/23
CB Greg Brooks 4/2
LB Landon Johnson 4/20
P Kyle Larson 3/20
LB Caleb Miller 4/24
CLEVELAND T Nat Dorsey 4/27
NT Ethan Kelley 4/20
LB Mason Unck 4/25
DALLAS WR Patrick Crayton 4/5
CB Nathan Jones 4/13
CB Jacques Reeves 4/20
DENVER RB Kyle Johnson 4/2
RB Cecil Sapp 4/11
DETROIT LS Don Muhlbach 3/2
S Keith Smith 4/24
HOUSTON LB Charlie Anderson 4/24
S Glenn Earl 4/28
CB Von Hutchins 4/3
RB Vonta Leach 3/26
LB Shantee Orr 4/23
INDIANAPOLIS LB Gilbert Gardner 3/16
G Ryan Lilja 3/20
G Jake Scott 4/19
QB Jim Sorgi 4/11
DE Josh Thomas 4/24
JACKSONVILLE CB Ahmad Carroll 4/4
LB Jorge Cordova 4/19
QB Quinn Gray 4/20
DE Bobby McCray 6/13
K Josh Scobee 3/2
WR Ernest Wilford 4/20
KANSAS CITY DE Jared Allen 5/22
LB Keyaron Fox 4/24
WR Samie Parker 4/26
T Kevin Sampson 4/26
S Benny Sapp 4/3
LB Rich Scanlon 4/24
K Lawrence Tynes 4/4
MIAMI S Yeremiah Bell 5/21


QB Cleo Lemon 5/29
WR Wes Welker 3/5 (Traded to New England)
MINNESOTA G Anthony Herrera 4/23
DT Spencer Johnson 4/24
TE Richard Owens 4/19
RB Artose Pinner 4/23
DE Darrion Scott 6/1
NEW ENGLAND CB Randall Gay 5/29
G Gene Mruckzowski 3/22
NEW ORLEANS WR Terrance Copper 3/27
NT Rodney Leisle 4/3
NEW YORK GIANTS LB Reggie Torbor 4/23
RB Derrick Ward 5/29
S Gibril Wilson 5/2
NEW YORK JETS TE Sean Ryan 3/26
LB Cody Spencer 3/28
OAKLAND RB Reshard Lee 5/7
PITTSBURGH QB Brian St. Pierre 4/23
T Max Starks 4/25
ST. LOUIS LB Brandon Chillar 4/23
G Adam Goldberg 4/19
TE Aaron Walker 4/17
SAN DIEGO RB Michael Turner 4/26
SAN FRANCISCO RB Maurice Hicks 5/3
P Andy Lee 3/8
SEATTLE CB Jordan Babineaux 5/4
WR D.J. Hackett 4/23
LB Niko Koutouvides 4/20
T Sean Locklear 4/24
DT Craig Terrill 4/3
LB Robert Reynolds 4/4
TAMPA BAY G Jeb Terry 5/7
TENNESSEE C Eugene Amano 4/17
T Jacob Bell 6/14
TE Ben Hartsock 4/24
DT Randy Starks 4/17
WASHINGTON P Derrick Frost 4/2

5) 0 FRANCHISE players have signed with NEW teams:
TEAM PLAYER FORMER TEAM DATE REPORTED

6) 3 FRANCHISE players have re-signed with their OLD team:
TEAM PLAYER DATE REPORTED
CINCINNATI DE Justin Smith 5/8
NEW ORLEANS DE Charles Grant 4/27
SEATTLE K Josh Brown 5/2