Rams News

Quarterback looks for last chance with Rams
06/10 08:55 PM

By Elizabethe Holland
Of the Post-Dispatch Staff

After attending a recent church service, Amsterdam Admirals quarterback Kurt Warner found himself passing through Amsterdam's infamous red-light district on the way back to his hotel -- a misstep that might have made some turn on their heels and head right back to church.
But Warner, 26, kept on moving. He has become accustomed to taking odd routes to get where he wants to go.
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound player ended up in the Green Bay Packers' training camp in 1994 after playing starting quarterback only one season at Northern Iowa. Bumped out of the Packers' camp, where his competition was the indomitable trio of Brett Favre, Mark Brunell and Ty Detmer, he stumbled into the Arena Football League.
After three years as a star quarterback for the Iowa Barnstormers, he signed a one-year contract with the Rams last winter and went to work with the Admirals of NFL Europe, formerly known as the World League. And now, despite a stinker of a workout with the Rams before he was signed -- what he labels his worst tryout for anybody, ever -- he hopes his roundabout efforts will earn him a spot as an NFL quarterback.
``I'm really looking at this as my last opportunity,'' said Warner, who plans to be at the Rams' minicamp that begins today. ``I feel I'm good enough to play, and I feel the St. Louis situation is as good a situation as I can be in at this point in time.''
Though purists may cringe at the possibility of a former arena football player winning a spot on the Rams' roster, coach Dick Vermeil and Charley Armey, the team's vice president of player personnel, maintain the arena game has boosted Warner's talents.
In arena football, the field is 50 yards long and 85 feet wide and the end zones measure eight yards. Quarterbacks have to have a quick release and be able to make swift decisions. Warner suffered no difficulties in either category.
Last season with the Barnstormers, the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native completed 65 percent of his passes for 4,149 yards and 79 touchdowns while throwing only 15 interceptions. Under Warner, the Barnstormers never had a losing record or failed to qualify for the playoffs.
His success in Iowa chased him overseas. For the Admirals, he threw a league-best 2,101 yards and 15 touchdowns and completed 165 of 326 passes. He had six interceptions -- second lowest in the league -- and a rating of 78.8 percent. Twice he was named offensive player of the week.
``He's very impressive,'' Vermeil said. ``He gets back in the pocket and he has a great feel for everybody in terms of pass rushers. He finds the throwing lanes instinctively. . . . He throws the ball awfully well, delivers it quickly. I think his only limitation is experience.''
Lack of experience, however, didn't seem to have any adverse effects in Amsterdam.
His most stunning performance was against Barcelona, when Warner threw for 387 yards and five touchdowns in a 41-28 victory over the Dragons. The five TD passes tied an NFL Europe record, and the 387 yards passing broke the Amsterdam franchise record of 384 yards set by Will Furrer -- one of the backup quarterbacks Warner will be competing against for a place on St. Louis' roster.
``I'm pretty pleased with how I've performed,'' said Warner, who on Sunday played his last game for the Admirals -- a 26-23 victory over the Scottish Claymores. ``I feel that I've really picked the game up, and mentally I haven't really had a lot of lapses. I've been making good decisions. I feel really good being able to make all the different throws. . . .
``It's enjoyable to go out and do what I love and then to get back to this level, on the big field. It just seems like there's a lot of room out there.''
Whether there will be room for him in the Rams' quarterback corps will depend on whether his talents will follow him overseas once again. Warner believes they will.
His first shot at the NFL left him with the realization that he wasn't ready for the big time. Although he felt physically competent while in training camp with the Packers, he doubted he was mentally prepared. But after three prosperous seasons in arena football and having built a reputation as a player who can bring teams back from the brink of disaster, he is ready to try again.
``I felt that I deserved another chance,'' he said. ``I'm just hoping that I get a good opportunity in St. Louis and can really prove myself there.''
Armey thinks he has a healthy shot to make it in the NFL, if not with the Rams.
Armey said, ``He's got as strong an arm as anybody in the National Football League, and he's been pretty smart on the football field. . . . It'll be interesting to see how he does.''

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