Kurt Warner: Cardinals missing ‘wow’ factor, keep winning anyway
Nov 6, 2014, 12:56 AM | Updated: 12:56 am
The Seahawks had Russell Wilson and Richard Sherman; the Ravens had Ray Lewis. The Giants had Eli Manning and Victor Cruz and the Packers had Aaron Rodgers.
Each Super Bowl champion in the last few years has had a star, a headline player; a player whose name has become synonymous with that team.
The player stood out through the season (Sherman’s mouth and Legion of Boom leadership, Wilson’s consistency, Lewis’ retirement, Rodgers’ accuracy, etc.) and became a heavy storyline during the championship run.
Who do the NFC-leading Cardinals have?
Nobody, if you ask former Arizona quarterback and Ring of Honor member Kurt Warner.
“Who’s really the superstar on this team?” Warner said to Arizona Sports 98.7‘s Bickley and Marotta. “I mean, we talk a lot about Patrick Peterson — is he that guy — and everybody’s saying Larry (Fitzgerald) is not the Larry we knew five years ago.
“So who’s the superstar on this team?”
Warner said he’s watched the team throughout the season and thinks they’re playing solid in all phases, yet nothing really stands out to him.
“I think the one thing is you don’t necessarily see the ‘wow’ factor with this team,” he said.
But Arizona fans, before you get your No. 13 jerseys in a twist, his point was that Arizona is stepping up equally and that a lack of a ‘wow’ factor doesn’t mean the Cardinals can’t win a Super Bowl.
“I think that’s what’s so impressive,” he said. “Injuries in training camp and suspensions and you’re thinking ‘Oh my gosh, this defense won’t be able to play up to that standard,’ you know, Carson (Palmer) gets hurt and you play Drew Stanton, I mean, all these different things and you’re still sitting atop the NFC.”
So maybe this year, if they make a championship run, the Arizona Cardinals’ standout player will be ‘The Arizona Cardinals’.
