… and some folks *still* can’t help themselves but try and diminish Kurt Warner’s accomplishments.
That old argument that Warner played with nothing but superstars and Green didn’t is tired. And hackneyed.
Warner had Faulk, Bruce and Holt. Fine.
Who did Green have?
Start with Tony Gonzalez,
quite likely the greatest tight-end in pro football history. And as everyone who knows the game realizes, tight-ends are the building block for offensives being able to control the center of the field. A great tight-end forces defensive safeties, not to mention linebackers, to play honestly in the middle of the field. And not cheat towards the hash-marks. Warner never had that luxury with the Rams. Ever. Faulk ran a lot of tight-end routes ... sure. But, as a pass-catching threat, was simply not in Gonzalez' class.
Green also had a collection of solid, if not oftentimes spectacular, outside receivers with the Chiefs – Johnnie Morton; Eddie Kennison; Dante Hall, et al.
Green also had Priest Holmes behind him in the backfield. If Faulk was the best do-it-all running back in the league in the 2000s, then Holmes was 1A. Between 2001-2003, Holmes rushed for 4,570 yards and caught passes for another 1,900. He also accounted for 61 touchdowns.
In 2004, the Chiefs began transitioning to Larry Johnson as their feature back. Together, that year, Holmes and Johnson rushed for 1,473 yards and caught passes for 500 more. In 2005, Johnson ran for 1,750 yards and followed that up with 1,789 in 2006.
And what those two had in common was perhaps the best blocking fullback in the league in Tony Richardson and, without question, the best offensive line – led by Hall of Fame left tackle Willie Roaf and two all-pros at guard – Brian Waters and Will Shields.
Moreover, Green had the advantage of playing those seasons under the guidance of Dick Vermeil and Al Saunders – two wise old heads. Vermeil and Saunders took the offensive philosophy of Mike Martz … and build some fences around it – which ended up protecting their quarterback – insulating him from the extreme physical abuse Warner and Bulger endured. It also limited Green's exposure to being forced to take risks in Martz 'Max-Q' obsessed passing game.
The suggestion is always that Green would have done the same things in St. Louis, and had the same success, that Warner did.
I doubt that. I really do. Green was a damn fine player. Warner was - and is - a Hall of Famer.
But perhaps a more pertinent supposition is …
what would Warner have done in Kansas City with Vermeil, Saunders, Gonzalez, Holmes, Johnson. Roaf, et al?
