Warner wows his receivers
Accurate with passes
BY RALPH VACCHIANO
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
ALBANY - When the ball comes out of Kurt Warner's hand, more often than not it wobbles. It's not a bad throw by any measure of an NFL quarterback, and it's obviously worked for him in the past.
It just seems to pale in comparison to the perfect spiral rookie Eli Manning throws time after time.
But the beauty of Warner's arm and his wobbly passes are in the eyes of his receivers. And so far Warner's new teammates on the Giants love what they see.
"It doesn't matter what his passes look like because the stat sheet doesn't show the aesthetics of a pass," said running back Tiki Barber. "He's smart. He knows how to throw the ball where it needs to be."
That's what Warner always did best in St. Louis, where he threw for 14,447 yards and 102 touchdowns in a mostly remarkable six seasons. And by all accounts that's what he's done in his first week of training camp with the Giants as well. Warner has an uncanny knack for being accurate in both his decisions and where he places the football. And even though he's still in the early stages of learning the Giants' new offense, there's been no evidence that he's lost his touch.
"Kurt is a great anticipator," receiver Ike Hilliard said. "He's seeing the offenses and defenses and routes and schemes to where he can see it open up. It's almost like second nature. Regardless of how the ball looks, as long as it gets to us it's OK. He doesn't have to throw a dart all the time because he's anticipating a second or two ahead. That's all that matters."
Warner has always been good at anticipating where a play is going. He may have had great receivers in St. Louis in Isaac Bruce and
Torry Holt, but the Rams' offense wouldn't have been The Greatest Show on Turf if Warner hadn't been able to constantly hit them on the run.
In fact, no one has ever done that better. Warner's career completion rate of 66.1% is the highest of anyone who's ever thrown 1,500 NFL passes. For four straight years in St. Louis - 1999-2002 - his percentage never dipped below 65.1. And even last year, when the Giants beat him up in the season opener and forced him to play through a concussion, he still completed 62.9% of his throws for 365 yards.
And yet, Warner believes this year he could be even better.
"I'm smarter," Warner said. "I see the field better. I make better decisions than I did before. Through the years, I just feel every year I've gotten better from a mental standpoint. I've been able to slow the game down and I'm able to react to things better than I ever did before."
That, of course, is what the Giants are counting on, and it's exactly why they signed Warner in June. The strong-armed, 23-year-old Manning is the unquestioned future of the Giants. But they needed an intelligent veteran to show him what being an NFL quarterback is all about.
And that, as the Giants are beginning to learn, is Warner's biggest attribute. It's less about his arm strength and the beauty of his throws than making the right choices and giving his receivers a chance to do their jobs.
And once Warner gets comfortable with his new teammates and new offense, that's exactly what he expects to do.
"I'm still not where I want to be," Warner said. "But I can feel myself getting more comfortable every day. I can feel the game starting to slow down a little bit. It's getting back to the way that I normally play the game. That's exciting to me."
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