ProFootballCentral.com

By PFC Cardinals Writer Laura Healy

Over the past two months NFL fans watched the Farve-Green Bay situation with varying degrees of interest. Whether watching ESPN, the NFL Network, or even on FOX News Greta Van Sustern’s interview with Farve, the tiff between the Packers and their Pro Bowl QB was clear. Farve retired after the end of last season. Green Bay drafted players based on Farve’s retirement, including a QB in round 2. Farve then stunned Green Bay by saying he wanted to play again.

After weeks of back and forth, the Packers organization told Farve he could come back and compete for the starting QB job. John Madden, a former coach turned announcer, said the only thing he could see was Farve coming back into Green Bay as the starting QB. He could not imagine a different outcome.  Unexpectedly, Green Bay announced trading Farve to the New York Jets. In doing so, Green Bay lost more than an excellent QB. They lost many loyal fans. Aaron Rodgers might end up being a good quarterback, but he might not. Nobody can answer that, because he is unproven. 

Immediately after acquiring Farve, the Jets waived QB Chad Pennington and installed Farve as their starter. Farve traded green and yellow of the Packers for green and white of the Jets. Guess What? Farve said he made mistakes and so did Green Bay. Regardless of whose fault it was, the result is the same; the Packers lose. They traded a Pro Bowl QB with gas left in his tank, for an unknown youngster. I hearken back to John Madden, who honestly thought Green Bay would welcome Farve back with open arms. The Packer’s organization thought it did the right thing.

Now, Green Bay is put down a step and the Jets go up a step. Arizona plays the Jets the fourth game of the season. What would have been an easy win for the Cardinals, now is up in the air. Because the Jets added one player that makes all the difference— the QB.

What does the Farve-Green Bay situation have to do with the Cardinals? Everything! Before the start of the 2005 season, Arizona signed QB Kurt Warner. The same Kurt Warner who won the Super Bowl with the Rams, but was run out of town by a coach whose ego couldn’t handle him. Warner latched on with the Giants, but they drafted Eli Manning. Coach Coughlin sent tapes of Warner throwing to teams that might need a QB. He did this because he had never seen a more accurate passer.

Arriving in Arizona, Warner looked forward to the 2005-2006 season. Unfortunately, Warner spent half the season out with an injury. Arizona, listening to Dennis Green, picked QB Matt Leinart #10 overall in the draft of 2006. He threw Leinart to the wolves hoping he would save his job, and because Warner fumbled too much. Yes, I said Warner fumbled too much, because of an injury he sustained in St. Louis, which caused him to have surgery on his throwing hand. However, Warner saw Ben Rothlesberger wearing gloves and gave them a try. If he hadn’t donned the gloves, Warner would be retired now. But, he rejuvenated his career in 2007. The stats for the last eight games of the season put Warner up with Brady, as evidenced by ESPN drawing a comparison.

Like Farve, who revived his career last year, not because he did anything different, the Packers had more talent than in previous years. Warner should have led Arizona to the playoffs, but didn’t, because of injuries on defense and coaching mistakes. If the Cardinals did not have Warner, they would not have finished 8-8. Coach Whisenhut should be thankful Warner was around. He threw 27 TD’s, missing the Cardinals record by one. Amazingly, Ken Whisenhut named Leinart as the starter, the young QB who did nothing noteworthy in his tenure at Arizona. In fact, he had he lowest QB Rating in the league last year before he got hurt.

So, I go back to the Farve-Packers deal. Who will win? Farve and the NY Jets. Who will lose? Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. Farve’s age is irrelevant. The Jets have skyrocketed into another class with a Pro Bowl QB. Yes, that’s right! The QB makes more of an impact than any other player on the offense. It doesn’t matter that Arizona has one of the best tandems at WR in the game, nor does it matter that they are solid at RB. All of the skills of these players go down the drain if Arizona doesn’t have a QB who can win with them. Arizona must learn from the mistakes that led to the Packers getting rid of Farve. Warner will serve Arizona well, and will make the Pro Bowl this year. All he needs is a chance.

So, with Warner at QB, I’m picking the Cardinals to go into the Dallas game 5-0. Leinart could not hope to start the year with 5 wins. Forget the future. Leinart may be a bust, just like Green Bay’s Rodgers might be. “Believe in now”. This year is all about redemption. Redemption for a 37-year old QB, who can lead the team into the playoffs; redemption for Edgerrin James who will likely be released after this season; and most of all, redemption for the Cardinals. If only they would look at Green Bay, and not throw away what they have this season, for a future that may never come.