Who do the Cardinals think they are, the Giants?

Kurt Warner is washed up. So is Edge James. They have no defense. No offensive line. Their style of play will never work in the playoffs. They can't win without Boldin. They're horrible on the road, especially the East Coast. They backed into the playoffs anyway, the NFC West was less competitive than the Pac 10. All of these things have been said a million times about the Arizona Cardinals in the past couple weeks. And at the time, they all seemed very reasonable. I'm not saying I didn't say any of that stuff either because I'm sure I did.



Warner and the boys have done nothing but prove us all wrong this postseason with convincing wins against two awesome teams from the NFC South, the best division in football in terms of number of wins. In fact, the Cardinals victory in Charlotte this weekend over the Panthers was Carolina's first loss at home all year (and who says they can't travel?). Of course there's no doubt as to who the hottest team still alive right is now; the lovable Red Birds. After a hot start, locking up the division title ridiculously early, they limped into the playoffs playing probably their worst football of the season. They lost three of their final five regular season games being outscored 41-130 in a trio of "Ram-like" contests.

Right now, Arizona is doing it just like the Giants did last year. Every game they win is "just a fluke; they'll lose for sure when they play (insert NFC juggernaut here)." And the playoff Cardinals are actually a spitting image of the '07 playoff Giants. Like Eli did last year, Warner has handled the ball well, limiting his turnovers and letting his playmakers do the heavylifting. Larry Fitzgerald has looked an awful lot like Plaxico Burress did last year, making huge plays whenever his is numbered called (which is alot. 14 catches in 2 postseason games). The offensive line has played way beyond their talent level, paving the way for the well-rested Edgerin James and rookie Tim Hightower en route to 115.5 yards per game on the ground which is up from just 73.6 a game during the regular season. And how about that defense? The lethal combination of Dockett and Berry is starting to look an awful lot like Strahan and Umenyiora.

I think the Cardinals have what it takes to do what the Giants did last year. They have all the tools; not to mention they're going up against Philadelphia, the "NFC Championship Choke Artists" as Cole Hamels would put it. So, why not the Cardinals? What's stopping them from beating Pittsburgh or Baltimore in the Super Bowl?