FAYETTEVILLE — I guess he ain't ready for the rockin' chair yet.
Arizona QB Kurt Warner really stunk it up in the Cardinals' Week 1 loss to San Francisco. So much so that my friend Brad (a lifelong Cardinals' fan) and I even began to wonder if the team might have to put the 38-yearold out to pasture in favor of the much-younger Matt Leinart.
That notion was emphatically put to bed on Sunday at Jacksonville.
Warner was on fire, completing 24 of 26 passes for 243 yards and 2 touchdowns. It was an NFL record for completion percentage (92.3 percent) in a game with at least 20 pass attempts.
"Kurt's found the fountain of youth somewhere," Arizona WR Larry Fitzgerald told the Associated Press.
With the Cards up 31-3 late in the third, Warner headed for the bench to rest a sore shoulder.
Leinart struggled, the Jags cut the lead to 31-17, and it looked like Warner might have to re-enter the game.
Arizona held on to win comfortably, and Warner's record-setting day was safe. It's obvious that if the Cardinals have a chance to make it back to the Super Bowl this year, it will be Warner - not Leinart - who takes them there.
And if he can keep that 38-year-old shoulder healthy, he just might.
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Week 2 Golden Nugget: Antwan Odom, DE, Cincinnati.
You know, I don't think I've ever awarded a Golden Nugget to a Bengal. But when a guy like Odom comes out of nowhere to register a team-record five sacks to help Cincinnati pull off an upset at Green Bay, I've got to give him his props.
Other stars: 49ers RB Frank Gore (246 total yards, 2 TDs), Vikings LB Chad Greenway (2 INTs, fumble recovery), Texans QB Matt Schaub (357 passing yards, 4 TDs), Titans RB Chris Johnson (284 total yards, 3 TDs).
Week 2 Chicken Nugget: Tony Romo, QB, Dallas.
The opening of gleaming-new JerryWorld in Dallas ended with a dud Sunday night, as the Giants came away with a last-second 33-31 win.
Romo didn't do much to help, throwing for just 127 yards and three picks.
Other duds: Steelers K Jeff Reed (0-2 FG in fourth quarter), Rams WR Donnie Avery (1 catch, 4 yards), Seahawks RB Julius Jones (8 carries, 11 yards).
Joe West is a freelance writer for the Northwest Arkansas Times. Each week, NFL Nuggets is submitted before the completion of Monday night's games.
Sports, Pages 10 on 09/22/2009