By Mark Malone
Special to ESPN.com
Kurt Warner will probably win this game, but Brett Favre is more valuable to his team.
Warner's skills aren't superior to Favre's. Favre can throw the ball farther, he makes more plays out of the pocket, and his physical talent is superior to Warner's. And Favre is the best at doing what everyone wants their quarterback to do from time to time -- put his team on his back and carry them to a victory -- you can't say that about Warner.
Unfortunately for Green Bay fans, it's not a tennis match. The Rams as a team have too much talent for even Brett Favre to overcome. Favre is not as equipped as Kurt Warner is to win this game. Warner just has so many more weapons -- plus, he's at home, on turf, where everything is super fast. The Packers are not a turf team, and Favre is not a turf quarterback.
Without Warner, the Rams wouldn't have achieved the level of success they've had. But with all the extraordinary players they have in an extraordinary offense, they'd still be close. Without Favre, the Packers wouldn't be on their way to St. Louis, and they'd have no chance to beat the Rams.
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By Sean Salisbury
Special to ESPN.com
Over the first 44 games of his NFL career, Kurt Warner has the greatest statistics of any quarterback ever. That speaks volumes about both his ability and his value to the St. Louis Rams.
If I had one player to pick to win a football game, it would be Brett Favre, but nobody throws for more yards with more accuracy than Warner. And none of it is luck. No player can do what he has done for three seasons based on luck. Warner has gone through a tremendous amount of adversity to get to where he is now, and it took supreme confidence in himself when nobody else would believe.
His confidence is a big part of his success and of his on-the-field presence. Warner feels he can make any throw at any time. He has a great release and a belief he can make the tough throw, even if it results in an interception.
While I love Favre, I'm not so sure there is a quarterback who would fit what the Rams do like Warner. He throws the 20-yard in-cut with the same accuracy other quarterbacks throw an eight-yard hitch or a swing pass. Warner has a unique quality about him.
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