Pinch me, I must be dreaming

The last time I wrote about football, the Jets had choked away their chance to get into the playoffs, and the Cardinals were in free fall. It seemed that as soon as the Cardinals clinched their division, they lost all focus and desire. They were manhandled by Philadelphia on Thanksgiving night, obliterated by the Vikings at home, and embarassed at New England in a snowstorm, 47-7. Despite winning their last regular season game over Seattle to finish 6-0 against their division foes, the Cardinals were generally regarded as the worst of all the playoff teams, and perhaps one of the worst ever. Every so-called expert predicted they would be one and done.

The first round game was at home a week ago today in University of Phoenix Stadium against Atlanta. The Falcons had a fierce running game, led by Michael Turner, the league leader in rushing, and a hot rookie at quarterback, Matt Ryan. And then a funny thing happened. The home crowd was raucous, the Cards found a running game behind Edgerrin James, the defense stifled the Atlanta ground attack and harassed Ryan all day, Kurt Warner played mistake-free football, and both "all-world" wide receivers, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, scored touchdowns. The Cardinals pulled off the upset and sent Atlanta packing. The Valley, as we call ourselves here in the metro Phoenix area, went nuts.

The euphoria was to be short-lived, however, as next up was the Carolina Panthers. Again, the national experts, like Colin Cowherd, extolled the virtues of the Panthers, and gave the Cards no chance. The Cardinals, after all, had been 0-5 on the East Coast, and had been blown out in every game except one, which incidentally was against Carolina. The experts predicted a blowout. Well, they were right about that part.

Carolina got off to a strong start last night, going down the field on their first possession and scoring with ease. It looked like it was going to be a long night. But, on the next possession, the Cardinals forced a fumble when the ball was stripped out of Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme's hands. Two plays later, Edgerrin James scored, and the game was tied.

Now, if you were told that after that play, one of the teams would intercept the other five times, and race out to a 27-7 halftime lead, you would bet that team was the Panthers, wouldn't you? And you would be wrong. Playing what was probably their best half of football in their entire history, the Cardinals destroyed the Panthers on defense, and dominated them on offense. By the time halftime came, the local fans were booing and the game was pretty much over. The defense held tight in the second half, and other than a meaningless touchdown in the final minute, Carolina was totally blanked. It will probably go down as one of the five or so biggest upsets in NFL playoff history. Final score: 33-13, Arizona.

And that brings us to today. The Philadelphia Eagles beat the big bad New York Giants in Giants Stadium, and so next Sunday, the NFC Conference game will be played in Glendale, AZ, where the home-team Cardinals will host the visiting Eagles in what, I suppose, will be dubbed the Battle of the Birds. Are you kidding me, or what? Two weeks ago, the national media had buried the Cardinals, and now they're hosting the NFC Championship? What in the world?

If you watch the Cardinals on a regular basis, like I have this season, you realize that the inexplicable part is how they managed to get so manhandled in so many games. As they have proven the last two weeks, they are a good team. When Kurt Warner is on, he is a future Hall of Famer, and if he can lead the Cards to a championship this year, he should be a lock for the Hall. Larry Fitzgerald is the best wide receiver in football, and Anquan Boldin (who didn't even play last night) just might be the second best. Edgerrin James is a proven future Hall of Fame running back, who has managed to play his way back into the game plan and be a factor in the two playoff wins so far. But it's the defense which has led the way. Ridiculed and overlooked at the start of the playoffs, they have dominated Atlanta and Carolina, the two best teams from the league's best division, the AFC South. Veterans like Darnel Docket, Antrelle Rolle, and Adrian Wilson have been outstanding. Rookie Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie has gotten better by the game, and he has had two momentum-changing interceptions in the two playoff wins. This is is a team with a chip on their shoulder, angry about the national lack of respect, and playing like they have something to prove. Clearly, they have proven it.

Next week's game is for the Super Bowl. The Cardinals, of course, have never been there. Actually, for that matter, they've never played in a conference championship game. The only championship they have ever won was long before the merger, back in 1947, two cities ago, when they played in Chicago. Ancient history.

The city of Phoenix is going to be jacked up all week. There will be an air of excitement like this town has never experienced, not even when the Diamondbacks won the World Series. This is all new for us, and we are loving every minute of it. I can't wait til next Sunday. Go Cardinals.