As he walked off the field in St. Louis, where he used to be as big as any professional athlete that played in that city, Kurt Warner turned nostalgic.

His Cardinals had just crushed the Rams, 34-13, after rolling up 500-plus yards, and now the old quarterback was thinking about his former team — a.k.a. The Greatest Show on Turf” — and how it reminded him of these young kids that surround him.

“It does feel a little bit like that,” Warner said. “We’ve got a long ways to go to get where we were with the Rams in those three seasons, but there are times when there’s glimpses that remind me of what we did.”

He’s right, it’s premature to compare the offenses — after all, the Rams won one Super Bowl and almost another — but it’s quite obvious the Cards are building something special with the Warner-Anquan Boldin-Larry Fitzgerald troika.

This Arizona receiving corps — which heads into Monday night's game against the 49ers — has a chance to be every bit as good as the Isaac Bruce-Torry Holt tandem that terrorized defenses with Warner from 1999 to 2001.

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Boldin and Fitzgerald comprise the NFL's best tandem, and when you throw Steve Breaston in there, it’s a three-headed nightmare for cornerbacks across the league. The Cards are averaging a league-best 29.3 points per game, they’ve won three games by 20-plus points (a rarity in the parity-driven NFL) and the “BFB Three” has combined for 130 receptions, 1,759 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Projected over a full season, you’re talking about 3,500-plus yards and 28 touchdowns for three players.

Remember, this is the NFL, not the Arena League. Those are crazy numbers. Sure, the Cards have the benefit of being in the horrendous NFC West — clothespins on noses, please — but there’s no denying that Boldin and Fitzgerald are the premier duo.

• Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne? In 2006, they became the first duo in history to each catch 75 passes for 1,000 yards in three straight seasons, but their time has passed.
• Greg Jennings and Donald Driver? Sorry, Cheeseheads, but Driver isn’t what he used to be.
• Randy Moss and Wes Welker? Four words: Tom. Brady. Knee. Gone.
• Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal? Someday, maybe.
• Steve Smith and Muhsin Muhammad? No way. Muhammad hasn’t been an impact receiver since ’04.
• Terrell Owens and Roy Williams? Only in Jerry Jones’ dreams.

In terms of pure talent, Boldin and Fitzgerald are the best. They’re not what we want our receivers to be — don’t we all want track stars with inhuman 40 times? — but they’re big and tough and graceful. And they have suction-cup hands.

They also have two more important things: A triggerman who can get them the ball and a coaching staff that knows how to design a potent passing offense. That, in itself, is a story.

Ken Whisenhunt cut his coaching teeth in Pittsburgh, where everything was predicated on a meat-and-potatoes rushing attack. One of his first hires was Steelers offensive line coach Russ Grimm, the old Hog. Everybody assumed their offense would be three yards and a cloud of sand (they play in the desert; get it?), but Whisenhunt adapted his style to the personnel. He also hired a bright young coach named Todd Haley, who has assumed the play-calling duties.

Now they’re throwing the ball all over the place, with Warner enjoying a renaissance in the twilight of his career.

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And they’re doing it without a dynamic threat at running back. Edgerrin James is used up, leading to the promotion of rookie Tim Hightower, a surprise starter last week in St. Louis. Hightower has some burst, so maybe he can provide a facsimile of what Bruce and Holt used to have in Marshall Faulk.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s pause for a reality check. Boldin and Fitzgerald need more time together, and more monster seasons, before we can put them up there with some of the great duos in recent memory. They’ve had only one season in which they both topped the 1,000-yard mark (2005), so let’s hold the comparisons to Cris Carter/Randy Moss, Mark Clayton/Mark Duper, Art Monk/Gary Clark, Jerry Rice/John Taylor, and so on.

There’s also the matter of Boldin’s contract situation. Fitzgerald received a new deal last offseason (four years, $40 million), and now Boldin wants his. Can’t blame him. It would be a shame to split them up, but the economic realities of the league often ruin the opportunity to see something special grow. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

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