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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 5:24 a.m., Sunday, November 9, 2008

NFL: 49ers say Cardinals playing with confidence

By Daniel Brown
San Jose Mercury News

If the movie title wasn't already taken, "300" would be a good name for the Kurt Warner story.

The Arizona Cardinals maestro has 45 career 300-yard passing games. That's impressive, considering he has played in only 101.

It means Warner posts a 300-yard game 44.6 percent of the time, by far the highest percentage among prolific passers.

Dan Marino (63 career 300-yard games) did it 26 percent of the time, Brett Favre (55) checks in at 20.8 percent, Dan Fouts (51) at 28.2 percent, Warren Moon (49) at 23.6 and Peyton Manning (44) at 26.2.

Warner will try to boost his total against a suspect 49ers defense Monday night. Just the 49ers' luck: Warner is red hot and coming off a 342-yard performance against the St. Louis Rams.

"I can say it in one word: confidence," 49ers Coach Mike Singletary said. "Arizona is playing with confidence. Kurt Warner is doing a good job finding receivers. The wideouts have always been a challenge. Everything seems to be going right for them. That's what I see when I look at them."

Warner, 37, is in the mix for a third MVP award, having won the honor in 1999 and 2001. This season, he leads the NFL in completion percentage (69.9) and ranks second in passer rating (104.2) and third in passing yards (2,431) and touchdown passes (16).

Though he is a Warner fan, Arizona Coach Ken Whisenhunt is wary of giving too much credit to one player.

"Our offensive line has been doing a very good job of protecting him, as well as our backs and our tight ends," Whisenhunt said. "I think our receivers have done a great job of getting open and presenting opportunities for Kurt. I think it's really been a team effort. I know Kurt feels that way about it."

Warner has 15 300-yard games since coming to Arizona. That's the second-highest total in franchise history, behind Neil Lomax (19).

—The 49ers promoted receiver Dominique Zeigler from the practice squad. Zeigler, who joined the team as a rookie free agent out of Baylor last season, replaces tackle Kirk Barton on the 53-man roster.

—Tight end Delanie Walker (elbow) is listed as probable on the injury report.n In his past five games against the Cardinals, 49ers running back Frank Gore has 405 rushing yards, 292 receiving yards and eight rushing touchdowns.

—Justin Smith will make his 116th consecutive start. That tops all NFL defensive ends by a wide margin. The next closest is the Washington Redskins' Andre Carter (55).

—Patrick Willis leads NFL linebackers with eight passes defensed, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. That's two more than the Philadelphia Eagles' Omar Gaither has.

—This marks the 26th consecutive sellout for the Cardinals, starting when the University of Phoenix Stadium opened its doors in 2006. In 18 seasons at Sun Devil Stadium, only 12 games sold out in time to be televised locally.

—Since last season, Arizona is 9-2 at home. Only New England (11-2) and Tampa Bay (10-2) are better during that stretch.

—Jordin Sparks, a former "American Idol" winner and a resident of Glendale, Ariz., will sing the national anthem.