Warner has every reason to retire now

True this is not Rams news, but he was the heart of our team when we were once respected. Thank you Kurt for all you did for us!!

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Bernie Miklasz ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH Monday, Jan. 18 2010 When Kurt Warner got mashed into the ground on a vicious but clean hit by New Orleans defensive end Bobby McCray, I automatically assumed the worst. That's it. We've just seen the end of Kurt's career. And what a horrible, depressing way for him to go. What were we supposed to think? Warner was rolling around on the turf, eyes blinking. He seemed disoriented. He was in pain. He's 38 years old. He's endured multiple injuries in his career, including five concussions. The Saints were already up by two touchdowns in the second quarter of this NFC playoff game, and would go on to win by 31. When Warner threw that interception, looked to make a tackle, and ended up blind-sided by McCray, it appeared to be the final blow. Fortunately, the immediate repercussions weren't as severe as feared. Warner was shaken up, but returned in the second half. That's good, but it still doesn't ease the big-picture fears and the concerns over Warner's long-term health and future. I hope Warner will walk away from the game. What else does he have to prove? I believe he's already done enough to warrant selection to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Just look at a partial list of all that he's accomplished since entering the NFL with the Rams in 1998: Two-time league MVP with the Rams; Super Bowl MVP and championship with the Rams; three-highest passing-yardage days in Super Bowl history; 52 300-yard games; the only NFL quarterback to throw 100 touchdown passes for two teams; nine postseason victories; the second-best passer rating (102.8) in NFL postseason history; and guiding two down-and-out franchises to the Super Bowl. There's nothing left for Warner to gain, but he has much to lose. Kurt and wife Brenda have seven children at home. As Warner told me in an interview earlier this year, he wants to be healthy and vibrant and immersed in their lives. Warner wants to enjoy being a grandfather some day — and without limitations brought on by football-related debilitation. Warner has given 11 years of his life to the NFL but says he wants to be sure that the best years of his life to go to his family. And it won't be easy for Warner to continue rebounding from injuries. After all, it took him a few years to recover from the hand injuries, concussions and harsh beatings he took in St. Louis before finally regenerating his career in Arizona. And Warner was younger then. He'll be 39 if he chooses to play the 2010 season. Last fall, the results of a preliminary study commissioned by the NFL indicated that former NFL players have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or similar memory-related diseases at a dramatically higher rate than the national average. This is a brutal sport. Last week, Warner told reporters that he's noticed the way defensive players seemed to be taking more swipes at his helmet. Defenders aren't stupid; Warner has a history of concussions and if you want to stop the Cardinals the best way is to knock No. 13 out of the game. So why would a vulnerable Warner continue to put himself at risk? After Saturday's loss, Warner confirmed that he's considering retirement. "I have some ideas in my head," Warner said during the postgame news conference. "But you want to get away from the season for a minute and make sure what you're feeling stays that way. But I don't think it will be a long process." As Brenda Warner told the New York Times this week, the decision is between "Kurt and God." But based on previous comments, she'd undoubtedly favor retirement. Seeing Brenda's televised reaction to the on-field violence in Saturday's game only reinforced those thoughts. Commenting to the NY Times about the concussion that her husband suffered at the Edward Jones Dome in November, Brenda said: "I would give every dime I've ever seen in my life to take that one blow to the head back. It does change your perspective." Sunday morning on the NFL Network, Marshall Faulk offered a prediction on his close friend and former teammate. "Knowing Kurt, I'm going to say that this is probably it for Kurt," Faulk said. "Kurt is a competitor. But he understands that he has a family at home. And all of the head trauma that we now have data about — about guys having concussions, having dementia, and all of the other problems when you're done playing ... "I'm pretty sure that Kurt and Brenda are weighing this. He's going to have that discussion with her, and I think this year Brenda's going to win." Warner is in position to do so many valuable, meaningful things with the rest of his life. And that could be through his ministry work, his desire to help the poor, his devotion to children, his motivational speaking or many charitable causes. One Arizona columnist recently suggested that Warner could become president of the United States if he wanted. Hey, I wouldn't rule anything out with this man. Warner is a true American original. But to fully realize all of his post-football goals, he must be healthy. And if Kurt Warner can walk from the NFL with his mind and body intact, it'll be the greatest triumph of his career.

KW for President

Has a nice ring to it.....I'd vote for you Kurt!

Rams Collapse On Cue, Collect First Overall Pick

By Jeff Gordon

The Rams finished their 2009 season on a positive note Sunday.

With their come-from-ahead 28-6 loss, the Rams finished dead last in the NFL and earned the first overall draft pick.

If the Rams want dominant Nebraska defensive tackle Ndumakong Suh, he is all theirs. The franchise can lock in on their first pick and even negotiate with him before the draft.

The 1-15 Rams will get their chance to add a cornerstone player for their massive rebuilding program. In this draft, the first overall pick appears to have special value.

As for Sunday’s game itself, it was an utter disaster. “It was a hard way to finish,” coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “We were hoping to finish on a high note and weren’t able to do that.”

This loss will rank among the most incompetent offensive performances in Rams history. Look at the particulars:

• The Rams gained just 109 total offensive yards against the 49ers. Their net passing yardage was 22.
• They earned just six first downs and had a staggering 2-for-18 conversion rate on third down.
• Quarterback Keith Null completed 7 of 17 passes for 57 yards . . . and got sacked five times for 32 yards in losses. He was suffering from concussion-like symptoms after taking that beating.
• Replacement quarterback Kyle Boller was even worse. He completed 4 of 11 passes for 23 yards . . . and got sacked three times for 26 yards in losses.
• Receiver Donnie Avery left the game with a concussion.
• Frustrated running back Steven Jackson blew up at Boller and the offensive line after one especially inept play resulted in a 5-yard loss.
• Punter Donnie Jones had to kick 11 times, not counting multiple kick-overs due to penalty.

With the Rams unable to score, the 49ers finally got their offense going with some big Alex Smith completions. That led to a full-scale Rams collapse in the last eight minutes.

Frustrated defensive end Chris Long was ejected for throwing a head butt during San Francisco’s final scoring drive. What a fitting conclusion to this most unfortunate season.

Now the rebuilding continues. The Rams will continue shedding useless veterans (like tight end Randy McMichael) to clear space for free agents and draft picks.

“I do feel good about some of things we established,” Spagnuolo said. “I feel good about the guys in the locker room.

“I think there is a lot of good that came from it.”

Rams Fall to Arizona

By Nick Wagoner
Senior Writer

GLENDALE, Ariz. – On numerous occasions this season, it’s been evident from a glance at the scoreboard that the Rams have been a play or two away from pulling out a victory.

In fact, entering Sunday’s game against Arizona, the Rams had played eight games that the margin of victory was within one possession. They had won just one of those games.

And in each of those situations, the Rams knew that one play here or one bounce there going in their direction could have significantly altered the outcome.

But sometimes, even when the score isn’t that close, a play or two made earlier in the game can change the way a game plays out, if not the result.

Such was the case in Sunday’s 31-10 loss to Arizona. While the final tally isn’t necessarily misleading in relation to the final statistics, it certainly doesn’t tell the whole story.

“There was a swing there where it really could have been a tight battle if we had held on to a possible interception and we don’t turn the ball over there with a fumble,” coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “Two plays don’t make the game, don’t get me wrong. I think the momentum was headed that way.”

The result was a three-touchdown defeat to the NFC West Division champion Cardinals, who improved to 10-5 with the win. The loss drops the Rams to 1-14 on the season.

Once again, though, that record could have gotten a boost in the other direction were it not for some missed opportunities to make the plays that can change a game.

Coming out of the locker room at halftime trailing 17-0, the Rams came out with their usual high energy effort.

On the fourth play of the half, defensive tackle LaJuan Ramsey burst through the middle of Arizona’s line and sacked quarterback Kurt Warner, jarring the ball loose. End Victor Adeyanju recovered at Arizona’s 35 and suddenly the Rams had at least a modicum of momentum in their favor.

Five plays later, on third-and-7, quarterback Keith Null floated a deep pass to the left corner of the end zone. The pass appeared to be overthrown but receiver Brandon Gibson adjusted, leaped and hauled in a spectacular catch with his knee landing in the end zone and possession of the ball.

The catch was ruled incomplete but Spagnuolo challenged and the Rams got it overturned.
“(That was) very nice,” Spagnuolo said. “I give credit to the coaches upstairs too. They saw it was a foot and a knee and he came up with it. It was nice to see Brandon get that.”

Gibson’s first career touchdown catch cut the deficit to 17-7 and now there was much more than just a glimmer of momentum in the Rams’ favor.

Arizona began its next possession at its 32. As Warner dropped back to pass, he quickly fired to his right toward receiver Steve Breaston.

Young cornerback Danny Gorrer, playing in just his second NFL regular season game and learning on the fly, read the three-step drop and jumped the route clean with nothing but about 38 yards of green grass and his first NFL touchdown in front of him.

In a matter of moments, the Rams were poised to shave 14 points off a 17-point deficit. One problem, though, as Gorrer forgot to come up with the catch.

“I was reading the three step and when I saw it I just shot it and I thought I had the interception and took my eyes straight to the end zone and I dropped it,” Gorrer said. “That’s exactly what I was doing. As a rookie, I can’t do that. That could have been a turning point of the game. I have to go back to work and just correct my mistakes.”

Still, the Rams defense got the job done, forcing a three-and-out that would give the offense a chance to shave into the lead.

Danny Amendola has been Mr. Reliable all season and nearly cut the lead down himself as he broke a 34-yard return down the left sideline.

As he attempted to juke punter Ben Graham, he collided with two Cardinals and lost the ball. Arizona recovered the fumble and turns it into a 2-yard touchdown run by Tim Hightower that made it 24-7 and effectively turned momentum back to the Cardinals.

The Rams added a field goal from Josh Brown and Arizona got a 3-yard touchdown run from Chris Wells for the final margin.

“That was kind of a 14-point swing,” Spagnuolo said. “That’s the way the game is. You have got to rebound from that and we really didn’t.”

Of course, matters might have been different for the banged-up Rams had they been unable to get untracked in the first half.

Playing without star running back Steven Jackson for the first time this season, the Rams came out battling, playing the Cardinals to a 0-0 draw in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, though, Arizona got untracked. The Cardinals rattled off 17 consecutive points, buoyed by a pair of Warner touchdown passes and Mike Nugent’s 19-yard field goal.

Falling behind made things difficult on the Rams, especially so without Jackson. Jackson has been the constant all year for the Rams and rushed for over 100 yards in the first meeting but he simply wasn’t able to get past his continued back issues and some leg pain in pregame warm-ups.

“He works through it all week,” Spagnuolo said. “He went out there today and just didn’t feel like he would be able to go out there and play at the level he is used to playing and I respect him for that. He never wants to hurt the football team. So we made the decision to put him down.”

With Jackson out, the already shorthanded Rams were about as shorthanded as they can get. Although Kenneth Darby and rookie Chris Ogbonnaya filled in admirably by combining to rush 20 times for 85 yards, the lack of Jackson’s presence allowed Arizona to put even more pressure on rookie quarterback Keith Null with a variety of blitzes.

Despite all of that, the Rams still found themselves within a couple of plays of giving the division champions all they could handle on their home field.

“I don’t want to put that on two players or two plays, I think it’s more than that but the bottom line is that is a playoff football team and there was a moment in the game where we were battling a playoff football team and one turn or two here, we are in the game,” Spagnuolo said. “Going forward, I think that’s important, even undermanned as we were, I think it’s important the players realize that.”

Unfortunately, in this 2009 season, it’s a feeling the Rams know all too well.