"I know for sure he's a Hall of Fame quarterback," said retired Rams running back Marshall Faulk, an analyst for NFL Network. "Kurt's been to Super Bowls and he's won a Super Bowl. He's in the first-ballot category."

Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana recently told interviewer Dan Patrick that Warner was a "shoo-in" for the Hall.

The strong consensus seems to be that Warner can clinch a spot in the Hall of Fame by leading his Arizona Cardinals to an upset victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl on Sunday.

I'd argue that Warner already has established the Hall of Fame credentials. My friend Peter King of Sports Illustrated, and others, have expressed reservations because Warner has had only three or four great seasons. And some point out that Warner has played in only 110 regular-season NFL games.

But modern-era Hall of Fame QB Bob Waterfield played in 91 games. And Warner isn't that far from matching games-played totals of other Hall of Fame QBs - Roger Staubach, Joe Namath, Norm Van Brocklin.

Actually the games-played total can be used in Warner's favor. Even though he's played in fewer games, Warner has passed for more career yards than many Hall of Famers, including Staubach, Namath, Van Brocklin, Terry Bradshaw, Bart Starr, Bob Griese, Bobby Layne, Sammy Baugh, George Blanda and Y.A. Tittle. And Warner has more touchdown passes than Hall of Famers Troy Aikman, Namath, Staubach and Van Brocklin.

Moreover, Warner is a two-time NFL MVP. His regular-season career QB rating of 93.8 ranks No. 3 in NFL history. He has the fourth-highest passing yards per attempt average (8.04) in NFL history and is No. 2 in completion percentage. He has passed for 300 yards or more in 48 of his 101 starts, a preposterous percentage that is easily the highest in NFL history. And Warner's average of 259.9 yards passing per game is No. 1 in NFL history.

Warner is also one of the best postseason quarterbacks of all time. His postseason record is 8-2. He has the second-highest postseason QB rating in NFL history, 97.3. He was a Super Bowl MVP. He holds the record for most yards passing (414) in a Super Bowl. He threw a 73-yard TD pass to Isaac Bruce to win a Super Bowl. He delivered the Rams (1999) and Cardinals (2008) into the Super Bowl by throwing late, winning TD passes in the NFC championship game. And even in the Super Bowl the Rams lost, Warner rallied them from 14 points down in the fourth quarter to tie, only to have New England's Adam Vinatieri win it on a last-play field goal.

Besides, do the numbers even matter as much as Warner's story? It's my belief that his career is unprecedented. Warner entered the league as a no-name. He didn't start an NFL game until age 28. He made a spectacular debut, having three epic seasons from 1999-2001, only to suffer deterioration of his play caused by hand injuries. And after two teams had given up on Warner, after he had to sit on Arizona's bench for a while, Warner rallied at age 37 this season to have a second peak phase in his career.

How many guys at the very top of their league fall off, then get back to the top again? And keep in mind that Warner did something that many people thought was nearly impossible: He won a Super Bowl ring for Georgia Frontiere, and he took Bill Bidwill to the Super Bowl. The Rams were 45-99 in the 1990s before Warner and the 1999 Rams won the Super Bowl. And the Cardinals haven't won an NFL championship since 1947. It's not like Warner led the Tom Landry-coached Dallas Cowboys or the Bill Belichick-coached New England Patriots to Super Bowls. No, Warner lifted two of the league's bottom teams to the highest level of achievement.

Again: Please give me the name of another player who has done something like this in NFL history.

Former Giants running back Tiki Barber, an analyst for NBC, said it best: "Kurt is no doubt a Hall of Famer. But rather than look at the statistics, I would want to take my son to the Hall of Fame and tell him Kurt's story. I don't think there's ever been a story like this."

Reading Time, 2 minutes Congrats to Rams owner Chip Rosenbloom and GM Billy Devaney for giving the franchise a fresh start with a new front office with the hirings of salary-cap specialist and chief operating officer Kevin Demoff and director of pro personnel Mike Williams. Those moves, in addition to the hiring of head coach Steve Spagnuolo, have given the Rams a new set of leaders and a legitimate reason for optimism.

In an interview earlier this week, Cardinals owner Bidwill defended his team's 28 seasons in St. Louis. "Well, they weren't all lean years - some years were spectacular, like the success we enjoyed with (coach) Don Coryell. Before that we either led the (old) Eastern Conference or were tied a number of times. We had a very good Football team, scored a lot of points and we did win some division titles." Asked if he ever considered selling the Cardinals, Bidwill said, "No, it never crossed my mind. I love the business, I'm accustomed to it. I don't let it get to me if we have a bad game or a bad year. I just go back into it and try to get better."

St. Louis U. basketball coach Rick Majerus reflects on his coaching career, his love for basketball and his decision to get back into coaching in In My Own Words: Rick Majerus, a 30-minute special premiering Sunday on Fox Sports Midwest. ... During the Billikens' trip to Philadelphia, Majerus was visited by one of his former stars at Utah, Philadelphia 76ers point guard Andre Miller.

When the Football Cardinals belonged to St. Louis, Bidwill was a regular customer of the Crown Candy Kitchen on the town's near North Side. His favorite was the banana-chocolate malted. When Arizona plays the Rams in St. Louis, Bidwill and his son Michael stop by Crown Candy. Andy Karandzieff, one of Crown Candy's owners, attends the Super Bowl every year. This time he's wearing something special to the game: a red Cardinals jersey with the name "Bidwill" on the back, placed over the numeral 1.

"I got the jersey made to support the team and put 'Bidwill 1' on it as a thank-you for all the kindness that they have shown our family for many years," Karandzieff said. "I'm a Rams season-ticket holder, but the Cardinals were my first team and we'll always be friends to the Bidwills. It's nice to have a team to ROOT for in the big game."