Just throw it.
It may not be as profitable as “Just do it” or as in-the-moment as “Yes we can,” but the Cardinals would like 37-year-old Kurt Warner to keep those three words in his head and take them to heart.
Even if that simplified sentiment goes against much of what he has learned in his 37 years on earth and his nearly as many years spent in the pocket.
But no thrower of the football needs much prompting to look for the wondrous Larry Fitzgerald, who goes after a thrown ball the way Dennis Rodman used to inhale rebounds. His mentality is it’s mine, and usually it is.
When he’s open, get him the ball. When he’s not open, get it to him anyway.
“Obviously, we don’t want him throwing the ball to Larry every time, whether he is covered or not,” Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “But there are specific plays where you talk about ‘This is the opportunity where you can put the ball up.’ “
It was those specific plays that initially flummoxed Warner, but now that he gets it. The two are the most feared combo in the league and give the Cardinals a hammer to wield in Tampa against the favored Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII one week from today.
“I understand what it means for different guys to be open and for Larry to be open,” Warner said. “We try to take advantage of that.”
Consider that an understatement.
To gain admittance to their first Super Bowl in franchise history, the Cardinals raced to a 24-6 lead on the Eagles and then held on for a 32-25 victory in the NFC Championship Game. Fitzgerald had six receptions for 113 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. When the Eagles stormed back to take a 25-24 lead, Warner on the game-winning drive three times found Fitzgerald for gains of 15, 18 and 6 yards.
Nevertheless, this trust did not happen instantaneously.
“I think that’s been acquired over the years,” Fitzgerald said.
Warner honed his craft and reached the heights of his profession in St. Louis, where the Greatest Show on Turf was fueled by Warner’s quick-trigger release, rifle arm and the precise patterns and speed of receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt.
“I could always tell someone was open based on the separation they got from the defensive back,” Warner said.
He got to the Cardinals in 2005 and was stunned to see the incumbent quarterback, Josh McCown, tossing the ball up seemingly for grabs.
“When I saw some of Josh’s throws.” Warner said, “I asked ‘What made you make that throw? It looked like he was covered.’ It’s one of those things I’ve had to change in my game with these guys because they play the game a little different than other receivers I’ve played with. It took me well over a year to understand that.”
The growing pains were at times painful to watch, as Warner simply would not release the ball despite the urgings of the coaching staff.
“I think the hardest thing for Kurt with Larry is that Kurt is very good at making his reads and making quick decisions,” Whisenhunt said. “What happens a lot of times is that it almost seems that even if there are two guys around him, if you put the ball in there, he’ll make the play. And sometimes with a quarterback who has performed as efficiently as Kurt, it’s not natural to put the ball up when he sees the guy is not open to go to his next read.”
For all his skills, Fitzgerald is not an exact route-runner, further complicating the on-field relationship.
“It’s not natural for him to just throw it up,” Fitzgerald said. “He likes to be able to see favorable positions, leverage and things like that. That makes him a little more comfortable, but I’m fortunate that he’s trusting me a little bit more.”
Warner is at long last a convert.
“All he has to do is get a step on you,” he said of Fitzgerald, “and he’s so big and strong and athletic that he’s going to get it.”
