Is Kurt Warner a Hall of Fame Quarterback?

Super Bowl XLIII Burning Questions!

1. Arizona Cardinals' quarterback, Kurt Warner, will become just the second quarterback in NFL history to start the Super Bowl for two different teams, and with a win, he'll become the first quarterback in NFL history to win the big game starting for two different squads, an accomplishment that should guarantee him a spot in Canton. However, if the Cardinals fall to the Steelers, is Kurt Warner still a Hall of Fame quarterback?

Bruno Boys Whooley: While entrance to the baseball Hall of Fame is largely contingent on stats, Canton doesn't work in exactly that same way. There aren't thresholds for the number of passing yards a quarterback needs or TDs a wide receiver has to catch to really have a shot. In football, it's all about being impressive during your time out there between the hash marks.

Don't believe me? Well, just consider Lynn Swann. In eight career seasons, Swann amassed just 5,462 receiving yards, well short of the NFL record of 22,895 held by Jerry Rice, but his bust still resides in Canton thanks to his "gazelle-like speed, fluid movements, and tremendous leaping ability" that left an impression on all those that watched him. Warner, too, may come up a bit short in the numbers department as his career has not been as long as other Hall of Famers, but the success he has had in the games he's played in, which has led to two NFL MVPs, a Super Bowl ring, and a Super Bowl MVP make him a Hall of Famer win or lose on Sunday.

Bruno Boys Cavigs:  I have been upfront about this throughout the 2008 campaign, Kurt Warner is a Hall of Fame quarterback regardless of how he does in Super Bowl XLIII. In 110 career regular season games, Warner has 28,591 passing yards (259.9 per game), 182 touchdown passes and a 93.8 QB rating.  On top of that, he has two NFL MVP awards, has played in two Super Bowls (winning one) and a Super MVP award.  Now he is heading to his 3rd Super Bowl over a ten years period and is playing his best football at the age of 37. Some might think Warner needs to win another Super Bowl or have two more great seasons to be enshrined in Canton, but I feel there is already a place for him once he decides to retire.

Bruno Boys Ziza: No, I do not believe he is a Hall of Fame quarterback. Yes, he has had some excellent years but lets be honest here. In his career he has only started all 16 games three times, 14 one time and the rest of the seasons have been 11 games or less started. That really is not the stability that I would look for in a Hall of Famer. Now if he does win the Super Bowl he will undoubtedly have done something that no one else has ever done, making that a Hall of Fame accomplishment, but a Hall of Famer? I don't think so. Just to prove my point though, in similar years in the NFL, Peyton Manning has nearly double the touchdowns as Kurt Warner. 

2. The Pittsburgh Steelers are vying for their sixth Super Bowl title. Win or lose, are they the best franchise in NFL history?

Bruno Boys Cavigs: You can make a case for the Pittsburgh Steelers being the best franchise in NFL history, but my choice is the San Francisco 49ers. I will admit that this might be a bit bias, being that I am a die-hard San Francisco 49ers fan, but when you think Super Bowls you think Joe Montana, Steve Young, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott and Roger Craig. Plus, even if the Steelers win this game and claim their league leading sixth Super Bowl title, they still have a blemish on their Super Bowl record when they lost to the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX. As for the 49ers, they not only are tied for the most Super Bowl titles with five, they also have the most without losing a game, as they are a perfect 5-0 in Super Bowl history.  Depending on who you ask this question will vary significantly, but I'm sick of the East Coast bias and giving the 49ers the nod as the best franchise in NFL history.

Bruno Boys Ziza: Looking at it from the outside, being a Detroit Lions fan I have to honestly say that both of those franchises deserve some consideration. We are all too young to appreciate what the Pittsburgh Steelers did with Terry Bradshaw but they did dominate like no other during their era. When I started really getting into football the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers were the teams to beat. If I were to choose one it would be Pittsburgh, but I really think that both deserve a pat on the back for what they have accomplished.

Bruno Boys Whooley: While I'd love to agree with Cavigs here and give the nod to the San Francisco 49ers, I just can't. Had this question been asked in the '90s, then yes, it's the 49ers, but due to recent history the allure of the franchise has faded. I mean, Scott Linehan turned down the 49ers' offensive coordinator position to guide the offense of a team that just went 0-16 in the Detroit Lions. Thus, until the Niners can turn things around, I have to go with the Steelers here. Thanks to coaching consistency as the Steelers have employed just three coaches since 1969 (Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, and Mike Tomlin) the Steelers have been able to avoid any horrendous downturns like the Niners are going through right now. Not only have they avoided the downturns, but they've also excelled to the point in which they are on the brink of history as they go for their sixth Super Bowl win. Wave those terrible towels Steelers' fans because you are the fans of the best franchise in football.

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Is Kurt Warner a Hall Of Fame Quarterback?