GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The future of Matty Ice is secured. He's Jim Kelly, maybe better, which is pretty darn good. But the kid will have to wait. He'll have to wait for the old fart in the Arizona uniform, who beat not just Ryan in the face of relentless blitzing but also a reputation for cringing in the face of pressure.
The Atlanta Falcons, wild-card losers to the Cardinals, 30-24, respect Kurt Warner. And like any defense with a functioning cerebrum, there's also a degree of fear over his ability to ignite a scoreboard in a nanosecond.
The Falcons were also aware of the other part of Warner's reputation heartily discussed in football. When Warner is hit or blitzed frequently, his nerves tend to tighten, and the passes become less accurate. Some quarterbacks step into their throws in the face of a blitz and deliver the finger to a defense after delivering the football. Warner sometimes tends to, well, shrink a bit.
At least, that's the reputation. It may not be fair and it may also be inaccurate but it's there. Former player and current analyst Tom Jackson all but called Warner soft in comments before Saturday's game. That reputation partially explains what the Falcons did early in the contest. On the first play, they blitzed Warner. On the second, they blitzed Warner. In both instances, Warner saw the blitz coming and dumped the football, the passes fluttering to the ground.
When Warner burned the Falcons deep on a 42-yard score to superhuman Larry Fitzgerald, who caught the football despite a double-team, it still didn't deter Atlanta from blitzing again and again.
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| Kurt Warner faces constant pressure but is still able to dissect the Falcons' defense. (US Presswire) |
The Falcons were so arrogant in their confidence with the blitz that several times they sent Lawyer Milloy from his safety position, a blitz that took so long to develop, Snoop could've smoked a blunt.
Finally, the Cardinals had seen enough. When the Falcons blitzed Warner again -- in the second quarter -- Warner seemed to be waiting for it, and he made them pay severely. The Cardinals ran a play in which Fitzgerald provided interference on several Atlanta defensive backs. That left Milloy in pursuit of speedy Anquan Boldin. It was no contest as Milloy was left in the dust for an explosive 71 yard score and 14-3 lead.
Warner's performance stood as a microcosm for Arizona's team. Almost no one thought they'd win and almost everyone was picking Ryan to beat Warner despite Warner being the one who has played in two Super Bowls. Both things did not go unnoticed in the Arizona locker room all week. The end result of this game was Arizona's way of saying to the doubters: how'd that taste?
"A lot of people picked the other guy [Ryan] over our QB," said coach Ken Whisenhunt.
In the Cardinals locker room, there was exuberance but also disbelief that Arizona was considered an underdog in their stadium.
"Underdogs? At home? In the bird's nest?" said defensive lineman Calais Campbell.
"People in Vegas lost some money," said lineman Gabe Watson.
