Tag: kurt warner

Notre Dame Players Meet with Another Former NFL MVP

Running game coordinator Lance Taylor who we’ve discussed for his connections at length already this week, arranged another meeting Friday, this time with his stable of running backs.  

Notre Dame players have recently had the benefit of meeting with a couple of former NFL stars.  New tight ends coach John McNulty arranged a meeting with Hall of Famer Kurt Warner a week or so ago and earlier this week he had a video conference arranged for his tight ends with former Irish great, Anthony Fasano.

Running game coordinator Lance Taylor who we’ve discussed for his connections at length already this week, arranged another meeting Friday, this time with his stable of running backs.

A couple thoughts here from Shaun Alexander talking to a room of Notre Dame running backs.

I wasn’t able to legally drink when Alexander won his MVP in 2005 and am now 34. I wonder if the players on this call are aware of how great he was considering they were all probably about six or seven years old in Alexander’s prime.

How great would it be to be able to have a giant poster of yourself on the Madden cover to put up in your home office?  Power move.

If you’ve forgotten, go check out Alexander’s career numbers.  He averaged more than a touchdown a game over a five year span.

Also noteworthy is the former Notre Dame running back who is looking to get drafted next week that regrets not jumping on the call today.

It’s cool to see Notre Dame taking advantage of this strange time and making the best of a bad situation.  Now we’re curious what former NFL star will be next to meet with a one of the 2020 squad’s positional groups.

51 Pro Football Hall of Famers from small schools

51 Pro Football Hall of Famers from small schools

51 Pro Football Hall of Famers from small schools

There have been a number of players from small schools that have gone on to careers as Pro Football Hall of Famers.

The route to Canton doesn’t always go through big-time college football. These players went to small schools and still found a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Great thanks to the HOF for its wonderful bio info.

Larry Allen

Getty Images

Larry Allen began his college football career at Butte Junior College in Oroville, Calif. before transferring to Sonoma State, a Division II school near San Francisco. He quickly developed a reputation as a dominant lineman and his stock rose among NFL scouts. The Dallas Cowboys used their second-round pick, 46th player overall, in 1994 on Allen, who became a 10-time Pro Bowler and seven-time All-Pro.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10, Page 11, Page 12, Page 13, Page 14, Page 15, Page 16, Page 17, Page 18, Page 19, Page 20, Page 21, Page 22, Page 23, Page 24, Page 25, Page 26, Page 27, Page 28, Page 29, Page 30, Page 31, Page 32, Page 33, Page 34, Page 35, Page 36, Page 37, Page 38, Page 39, Page 40, Page 41, Page 42, Page 43, Page 44, Page 45, Page 46, Page 47, Page 48, Page 49, Page 50, Page 51

Notre Dame Football: Quarterbacks Get Insight From Kurt Warner

Kurt Warner followed through his plan promise earlier this week to sit down with the Notre Dame quarterback room including Ian Book.

There aren’t a lot of stories that are better than the sudden rise of Kurt Warner from grocery store clerk to NFL and Super Bowl MVP in 1999.  He came from nowhere and would eventually end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a stop with the New York Giants and leading the Arizona Cardinals to a Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl XLIII.

Since retiring Warner has become a part of both Westwood One and NFL Network’s coverage of the game.  This week Warner followed through on a request made from Notre Dame tight ends coach and former Cardinals staffer John McNulty.

McNulty shot his shot and landed Notre Dame quarterbacks a chance to visit with Warner earlier this week and that has apparently happened.

Nobody offered much information as to what advise Warner had to offer but he did appear to have a good time.

Notre Dame starting quarterback Ian Book took to Twitter to briefly describe the experience as well.

Here’s to hoping whenever we get football again that Ian Book leads a Notre Dame offense that becomes the 2020 version of “The Greatest Show on Turf”.

Hall of Fame NFL Quarterback to Meet with Notre Dame QB’s

Shoot your shot. That’s what Notre Dame’s new tight ends coach did and an NFL HOF QB will now meet with ND’s quarterbacks as a result.

Shoot your shot.

It’s not a command as much as a philosophy new Notre Dame tight ends coach John McNulty appears to live by.  McNutlty is a football-lifer, playing collegiately at Penn State before having jobs all around both college football and the NFL, most recently as an analyst on Penn State’s staff last season before being hired to Brian Kelly’s staff at Notre Dame this year.

McNulty took to Twitter to get a little help from a player he spent time with in Warner’s final NFL season of 2009.

Warner didn’t respond to the tweet but he must have reached out to McNulty somehow because a couple of days later Notre Dame’s tight ends coach shared some news in regards to that requested Zoom meeting.

And that my friends completes your “Shoot Your Shot 101” class taught by John McNulty.

No word on when this Zoom conference will be going down but a cool experience for the Notre Dame quarterback room nonetheless.  Even if Ian Book was all of 11 years old when Kurt Warner took his last snap in the NFL.

Kurt Warner doesn’t think the Texans’ Deshaun Watson is a complete QB

Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner doesn’t consider the Houston Texans’ Deshaun Watson as being complete QB.

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson still has a ways to go if he is to be a complete QB in the NFL.

So says Hall of Fame quarterback and NFL Network analyst Kurt Warner, who joined Radio.com’s “Baldy’s Breakdowns” with Brian Baldinger and Jason Myrtetus.

Myrtetus asked who were some young quarterbacks that could make the jump in 2020 into the NFL’s upper echelon, such as the Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray and the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson.

“I think we’ve got some good, young, playmaking quarterbacks in guys that you mentioned,” Warner said. “And there’s a bunch of them out there. The question to me is who can develop and grow their game to the point where they’re not just a playmaking quarterback, but they’re a complete quarterback.”

Warner talked about how Murray had a statistically good year with the 5-10-1 Cardinals, throwing for 3,722 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. However, the 2019 first-round pick from Oklahoma, “didn’t even know what he was doing half the time,” according to Warner.

The former Super Bowl XXXIV MVP then segued into talking about Watson, a two-time Pro Bowler.

“Deshaun Watson’s another guy that, impressive, he’s a leader,” said Warner. “He’s a playmaker, but hasn’t really learned how to play the game yet.”

Watson collected 3,852 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions in 2019. The former 2017 first-round pick from Clemson also rushed for seven touchdowns and even caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from receiver DeAndre Hopkins in Week 13 versus the New England Patriots.

However, Warner still sees Watson in the same stratosphere as the Philadelphia Eagles’ Carson Wentz and the Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott.

Said Warner: “They’ve shown glimpses and times where they’ve been really good and they have shown they can win at this level, but just winning is different than being a championship quarterback.

“Being a championship quarterback is the ability to be able to win in different ways, and specifically to me being able to win inside the pocket when a team forces you to win inside the pocket; to make decisions, to make reads, to make layups that you’re supposed to make.”

Interestingly, Watson had the highest Pro Football Focus grade on passes 20-plus yards downfield when he had a clean pocket.

The old adage is that “winning cures all.” If Watson is part of a Texans team that breaks into the NFL’s final four or further, suddenly, he will appear to be more of a complete quarterback than he already is.

NFL free agency: 25 signings that turned out for the best

Reggie White, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Mark Ingram fit the bill as smart NFL free-agent signings.

There have been some major shifts for teams through the free-agent market. Plenty of Hall of Famers — and future HOFers — have made marks by moving from one city to another.

Shaquil Barrett

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Bucs signed Shaq Barrett to a $5 million contract before last season. The linebacker delivered in a big way. He led the NFL with 19.5 sacks and has earned himself a big pay day in the 2020 Class.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10, Page 11, Page 12, Page 13, Page 14, Page 15, Page 16, Page 17, Page 18, Page 19, Page 20, Page 21, Page 22, Page 23, Page 24

Ranking 6 options for ESPN now that Tony Romo won’t be in the Monday Night Football booth

HOUSTON – NOVEMBER 23: ESPN Monday Night Football cameras point during the game between the Tennessee Titans and the Houston Texans on November 23, 2009 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. The Titans won 20-17. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) …

HOUSTON – NOVEMBER 23: ESPN Monday Night Football cameras point during the game between the Tennessee Titans and the Houston Texans on November 23, 2009 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. The Titans won 20-17. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

All that speculation about Tony Romo leaving CBS for the greener pastures of Monday Night football was for naught. Romo is hanging around CBS for the foreseeable future — as anyone would if they were offered $17 million per year — and ESPN has to figure out what material changes — if any — will be made for their flagship football program.

Before we start all the speculating, here are the rules:

The potential color person must not be tied to another network for work on game day. Nate Burleson has shown some great personality and may be a good option but he’s tied to CBS on Sundays.

There will be a preference for ESPN personalities. See, it’s a lot cheaper to move people in-house than it would be to hire someone from the outside. Of course, there will be non-ESPN personalities on the list, but they will probably come at more of a cost.

We won’t be dealing with current players either. Tom Brady isn’t going to be in that booth. Greg Olsen is signed to a nice contract with the Seahawks. This is not a reverse Jay Cutler situation where Cutty signed on with Fox and then came back to the NFL.

Let’s get to it.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7

Kurt Warner: Titans are ‘best situation’ for Tom Brady in free agency

Kurt Warner believes the Titans are the best fit for Tom Brady if he leaves the Patriots.

If Tom Brady does indeed leave the New England Patriots this offseason, Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner believes the Tennessee Titans are the team he should go to.

Warner spoke to USA Today Sports and said the future Hall of Famer should not go to an AFC West team like the Los Angeles Chargers or Las Vegas Raiders because he’d have to contend with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

“I still don’t look to go to the Raiders or the Chargers and have to compete against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs twice every year just to win my division. I don’t want to have to go through the other great quarterback in the AFC right now twice a year and then possibly have to be the wild card.”

Instead, Warner thinks the Titans would be a better fit. He points to their run to the AFC Championship Game last season as the reason that’s the case.

“Just from that standpoint alone, I probably look at a team like the Titans, and I say to myself, ‘Well, they were right there last year, and they’ve got some pieces we can build off of.’ That’s probably, in my mind, the best situation of those three that I’m hearing about.”

It’s true that the Titans are in a much better position to win now and have an easier division to navigate in the AFC South, as opposed to the Chargers and Raiders in the AFC West.

As long as the Titans re-sign some of their big free agents like right tackle Jack Conklin (or Dennis Kelly instead) and running back Derrick Henry, there’s reason to believe Tennessee can make another run.

Tennessee not only has an elite ground game, solid offensive line and a young, talented defense to support Brady, but it also has an impressive group of receivers with A.J. Brown, Corey Davis, and slot man Adam Humphries.

And we all know how much Brady loves to throw to tight ends; well, the Titans are good there also with Jonnu Smith, Anthony Firkser, and Delanie Walker if he doesn’t get cut entirely this offseason.

Adding to all that, there’s a comfort level with Titans head coach Mike Vrabel for Brady, as the two are good friends and were teammates years back with the Patriots.

If Brady leaves New England and there is a mutual interest between he and the Titans, the man many call “the GOAT” could end up in Nashville next season.