Ian Allan

Kurt Warner wins the Jekyll and Hyde Award for the 2007 season. Or maybe that's not quite the right name for it, because Warner managed to be good and awful at the same time.

He was terrific as a passer, particularly during the second half of the season. Consider how he fared in a head-to-head comparision against Tom Brady:

WARNER IN FINAL EIGHT GAMES:
21 TD passes, 295 passing yards per game

BRADY IN FINAL EIGHT GAMES:
20 TD passes, 297 passing yards per game

Pretty darn impressive.

But Warner, while putting up those big numbers, was also way too careless with the football. Too many fumbles, and too many interceptions. He fumbled 12 times (including one game-loser in the end zone against San Francisco), and he tossed 17 interceptions.

Adjusting stats for playing time, he turned the ball over more than anyone (among quarterbacks who played regularly).

The following chart takes the 28 quarterbacks who handled the ball at least 300 times on pass plays as well as scrambles. That includes sacks. It then divides that number of plays by turnovers, showing how often each guy tended to lose the ball.

Warner finishes in last place in this comparision. So despite the big yardage and touchdown numbers he compiled during the second half of last year, it makes some sense for the Cardinals to go with Matt Leinart, who's a lot younger and has more upside. If Leinart can't get the job done, then the Cardinals can revert to Warner; for now, however, I think it's the right decision to give the younger guy the first shot at the job.

QUARTERBACKS, PLAYS PER TURNOVER, 2007

   79.0   David Garrard
   63.5   Jeff Garcia
   53.0   Tom Brady
   49.3   Joey Harrington
   47.3   Donovan McNabb
   40.6   Cleo Lemon
   37.3   Matt Hasselbeck
   37.1   Peyton Manning
   34.7   Ben Roethlisberger
   34.0   Chad Pennington
   32.2   Brett Favre
   31.4   Drew Brees
   29.9   Jay Cutler
   29.3   Carson Palmer
   27.6   Kellen Clemens
   27.4   Tony Romo
   27.3   Derek Anderson
   26.8   Matt Schaub
   25.0   Vince Young
   24.9   Jason Campbell
   24.5   Jon Kitna
   24.5   Tarvaris Jackson
   24.3   Philip Rivers
   23.6   Damon Huard
   23.6   Marc Bulger
   22.7   Kyle Boller
   21.7   Eli Manning
   21.2      Kurt Warner

-Ian Allan

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