Does Kurt Warner Belong in the Football Hall of Fame?

Just about four hours ago, Kurt Warner announced he is retiring from the NFL. Most people wouldn't argue he had a successful career, but was it Hall of Fame worthy?

Warner will end his career with many accolades. In 1999 and 2001, he was NFL MVP and a First Team All-Pro. He was a five time Pro-Bowler. He led two different teams to the Super Bowl, winning Super Bowl XXXIV, and was named MVP of that game. He has the top three passing games in NFL postseason history. He is the only player to throw for 14,000 yards with two different teams, and one of two to throw 100 TD passes for two different teams. For all his great acoomplishments, though, Warner was largely overlooked in his career.

Before the 2008 season, in which he led the Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl, Warner was considered a journeyman. He spent the early part of his career in the Arena Football League and NFL Europe before being named third-string QB for the St Louis Rams in 1998. The following season, he became the starter after Trent Green was injured, threw a career high 41 TD passes, and led the Rams to a Super Bowl victory. In 2000, he split time with Green after being injured himself. The 2001 season saw him return to the full time starting job and lead the team back to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the New England Patriots. This would be followed by five seasons of mediocraty.

An injury early in the 2002 season saw Warner sitting out most of the season in favor of Marc Bulger. That was followed by a terrible start in 2003, and Warner was benched for good, and was ultimately released. He would then become a placeholder for Eli Manning with the NY Giants for half a season, before being benched after a 5-4 start. Warner would again move on, this time to the Cardinals. Being named the teams starter for 2005 wouldn't last long, as an early season injury led to Josh McCown taking over. After McCown was ineffective, Warner would again be the starter, until going down to yet another injury in Week 15. With the drafting of Matt Lienart in 2006, it looked like Warner would be finished. Instead, after Lienart struggled in his first two season, Warner would be the on-again, off-again starter.

This is where the story of Warner's career takes an unexpected turn. As the teams full-time starter in 2008, Warner passed for over 4,500 yards and 30 TDs, the first time he would do either since 2001. He led the Cards to Super Bowl XLIII, where they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Warner would finish 2009 with another playoff run, losing to the New Orleans Saints in the Divisional Round.

So how does all that mean Kurt Warner shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame?

The Argument Against:
For all of Warner's great games and great seasons, he had more seasons where he simply wasn't good. In his 12 seasons, he only started 15 or more games four times. In his other eight seasons he would start 11 or less, due to either injury or pure ineffectiveness. He topped 3,000 yards only six times, and 4,000 only three. He may have a 208 TDs and 128 INTs in his career, but that's thanks mostly to only five seasons where he threw 10 more TDs than picks. In the other seven, his best differential was 2002, when he had 21 and 18 in 11 games. The year after losing Super Bowl XXXVI, he would finish with 3 TDs and 11 picks in six starts.

Warner had some great games. When his teams made the playoffs, he could step up his game with the best of them. He led two teams to three Super Bowls, a great accomplishment on its own. But can we really say a players career is Hall of Worthy when less than half of it was even decent?

The Argument For:
Warner had a lot of bad seasons. He had a lot of seasons he didn't even finish. To say a guy should be in the Hall, though, he should be compared with other players that were voted in before him. To prove he belongs in the Hall, I only need to bring up one name:

Joe Namath

A lot has been said about Namath and how great of a football player he was. Looking at his accomplishments, they don't measure up to Warner's. It isn't even close. Sure, Namath won Super Bowl III, arguably the most important Super Bowl in NFL history, but he would never win another playoff game after that. Yes, he was the first player to pass for 4,000 yards in a season, and the only to do it with a 14 game schedule. But he only did it once, the year before the Jets made the Super Bowl, and he would never come close again. The year after the Super Bowl, Namath had his only season where he threw more TDs than picks. For his career, Namath has 173 TDs, 220 picks, and a career 50.1 completion percentage in 13 seasons. Take away his Super Bowl win, and Namath probably doesn't even come close to being a Hall of Famer. Comperably, Warner has more passing yards, more TDs, less picks, a higher completion percentage, more playoff wins, more Super Bowl appearances, and a higher passer rating. The only stat Namath has on him is more rushing TDs.

In Conclusion:
A strong arguement could be made either way for Kurt Warner. There are probably people who deserve to be in the Hall that aren't yet, and there are clearly people who shouldn't be in the Hall that are. On a personal level, the fact that Warner stocked shelves and played in the Arena League while hoping to one day get his shoty in the NFL is a great story. The fact that he got his shot and took it to three Super Bowls makes it even better. And no one can take away that, or his two MVPs, or his five or so great seasons. Whether or not he makes it into the Hall, he will be remembered as one of the games greats, even if it was for only a few seasons.