I just could not get to the point where I had a dog in that fight.

Was it the play of Pittsburgh's defense, the screw-ups on part of Arizona's defense or Pittsburgh's QB.

It is too tough to break out individual performance when each team has eleven players on the field for every play.

My tribute is to each team for a good game.

It's kind of like noting that it is harder to lose 20 games in a MLB season than it is to win 20. You really gotta have something going for you for them to keep throwing you out there in loss after loss.

should you really count this as the third time he's lost his job?

The Broncos drafted a QB with a 1st round pick late in John Elway's career and the Packers did the same for Brett Favre. They both kept their jobs until they retired although, granted, they wouldn't let Favre unretire.

The job was never really Kurt's in NY to begin with except as a caretaker. He could just keep the seat warm until Manning was ready. In fact, Kurt's NY stats were better than Manning's that year, but who was getting paid more determined who the starter would be.

James, it seems like you're giving a little too much of a vote to the teams that cut Warner. The teams simply wanted Quarterbacks that were 6-12 years younger than Warner -- it was age discrimination.

A fair point.

And I suspect it's more about an age of parity, than a pass-happy era.

Could be. After all, Tony Romo has shattered most of the single season records held by Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman, both of whom were clearly better QBs.

The closest I can think of is Joe Montana, who lost out to future HOFer Steve Young after an injury. But that wasn't in his peak years but after the 49ers judged he was going downhill.

Most of the quirks in his history are because the NFL didn't give him a chance. I don't see the voters holding that against him. Indeed, I think they'll empathize with him.

As noted above, Kurt didn't really lose a job that was never his except in a caretaker role in NY. He effectively lost his job in St. Louis because Mad Mike Martz was getting him killed and his thuimb injuries which were never heavily publicized made it difficult for him to grip the ball effectively, hence all the fumbles. And yes, he was the starting QB when he went to Arizona until he got injured and then McCown took over. After a merry go round approach to QB for a couple of years, Warner kept rescuing Leinert's weak efforts until he finally took the job from him even though Leinert was announced as the starter in training camp this year.

You undersell just how "from a spaceship" his three years in St. Louis were. It isn't just that he took two teams to three Super Bowls, but which two teams he took, the hapless Rams and probably the worst run franchise in NFL history -- the Cardinals. Without listing them all here, Kurt Warner owns a lot of records in the NFL, inclduing the three best passing performances in Super Bowl history. Numbers One. Two. And. Three.

Is it Kurt Warner's fault that he didn't get a chance to play in the NFL until he was in his late 20's? For those that say his time at the top was too brief, ever heard of Gale Sayers or Dick Butkus? Take a look at how brief their careers were, and how little success their teams had, and yet they are still mentioned in lists of the greatest players ever.

There was an article in SI (IIRC) that noted that Kurt makes people uncomfortable because of his lifestyle and as such he doesn't get the good press that he otherwise might for his achievements.

The gaps in his playing career will certainly make his overall numbers look pretty pedestrian. Even so, he's one more strong season from being in the top 20-25 of several major passing categories. Plus he's remained ridiculously accurate over time. He may not be a first-ballot guy, but I think he gets in.

Speaking of Canton, I’m a bit surprised that it has now become conventional wisdom that Kurt Warner is bound for the Hall of Fame.

Bernie Miklasz of the St Louis Post Disgrace disagrees with you. Money quote:

Even though he's played in fewer games, Warner has passed for more career yards than many Hall of Famers, including Staubach, Namath, Van Brocklin, Terry Bradshaw, Bart Starr, Bob Griese, Bobby Layne, Sammy Baugh, George Blanda and Y.A. Tittle. And Warner has more touchdown passes than Hall of Famers Troy Aikman, Namath, Staubach and Van Brocklin.

Also:
Moreover, Warner is a two-time NFL MVP. His regular-season career QB rating of 93.8 ranks No. 3 in NFL history. He has the fourth-highest passing yards per attempt average (8.04) in NFL history and is No. 2 in completion percentage. He has passed for 300 yards or more in 48 of his 101 starts, a preposterous percentage that is easily the highest in NFL history. And Warner's average of 259.9 yards passing per game is No. 1 in NFL history.

Bernie is an admitted drum beater for Warner, but the #s don't lie.