Warner impressive, throbbing elbow and all

It wasn’t exactly Willis Reed limping onto the court for the New York Knicks, but it was still impressive. Heck, the Cardinals even pulled former Redskins backup Tim Hasselbeck off TV to get ready for Warner to sit this one out. Warner had no reason to play and has nothing left to prove.

But playing hurt is a right of passage, even for the quarterbacks. As a player, you know when you can’t go on Sunday, but most of the time, with a little help from modern medicine, mainly pain pills and injections, you play. You know during the week if you can go or not. Sure, you give the media a reason to believe you won’t be out there, but come Sunday morning, even if someone has to help you get into those pads, you run onto the field with no regard for your body. By Sunday night, that injury, thanks to violent collisions, is throbbing. What used to be a swollen ankle, elbow, or knee, is now the size of a volleyball. You find yourself downing one beer and using the next one to ice a part of your body. It is brutal.

As for Warner, he is a 37-year-old quarterback who was once one of the best. His elbow ligaments probably looked like shredded meat. But, he was out there on Sunday, wearing a brace resembling a piece of armor from the movie “Gladiator.” He handed off with is right hand and gunned one play after another into the teeth of the Redskins cover-2, making some bad throws, but more often than not, threading the needle. His uniform was dirty, his elbow had to be throbbing, and yet, after all of this, they lost.

Days like Sunday make you respect these guys for what they are: tough. However, it is also days like Sunday when you feel perfectly good watching it from the comfort of your own living room, drinking a beer, and getting ready for the late game.

Former Redskins safety Matt Bowen, a seven-year NFL veteran, contributes a weekly column to The Examiner during the NFL season.