Is Kurt Warner Better Than Tom Brady?

Bill Barnwell thinks so, at least in terms of playoff success.

And you know what?  It's difficult to argue with him.

In the first six full seasons of Tom Brady's career, the argument for his greatness rested upon his three Super Bowl rings, all of which came thanks to the right foot of Adam Vinatieri.

How many seasons do you think Brady had with a 100.0+ quarterback rating in that time?  None.  In his two highest seasons, he posted a 92.6 rating and a 92.3 rating.  Otherwise, he was in the 80.0's.

The entire Brady mythology revolved around his Super Bowl rings.  There was a perpetual argument between him and Peyton Manning (three seasons of 100.0+ and three more with a 90.0+ rating) in which it was argued that it didn't matter that Peyton put up unbelievable numbers, Tom Brady had the rings.  Brady was a 'winner,' the argument went, with the implicit message being that Manning was a 'loser.'

And then the situation reversed.

In 2006, Peyton Manning won the Super Bowl.

In 2007, Tom Brady put up unheard-of numbers, but his undefeated Patriots were shocked in the Super Bowl by the New York Giants.

Who was the winner now?

Let's bring Kurt Warner (two 100.0+ QB ratings and three 90.0+ ratings) into the equation.

In Super Bowl XXXIV, his Rams were tied with the Titans, 16-16, when he tossed a dramatic 73-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce that turned out to be the game-winner when Kevin Dyson's dive came up a yard short.

Two years later, Warner led a game-tying touchdown drive in the final minutes against Brady's Patriots, capped off by a 28-yard score to Ricky Proehl... only to watch Vinatieri's kick cause the upset.

Then there was last year, with Warner bringing the Cardinals back from thirteen points, capped off with a go-ahead 64-yard touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald... only to see Ben Roethlisberger win the Super Bowl for the Pittsburgh Steelers with a magnificent hook-up with Santonio Holmes in the final minute.

To sum up the facts:  Kurt Warner has as many Super Bowl rings as Peyton Manning and probably could have had as many rings as Tom Brady if only his defense could have come up with a couple of stops.

To sum up my opinion:  Eh, good for him.

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