After years of being the “sexy pick” of the NFC West, Ken Wisenhunt's Arizona Cardinals finally lived up to the hype this season by beating up on the mediocre teams in their division and winning the NFC Championship.
Kurt Warner beat out Matt Leinart for the starting job in the preseason and had a near MVP-level performance for the year, totaling over 4500 yards with 30 touchdowns. For a 37-year old quarterback who is supposed to be the decline, that’s mighty impressive. Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, and Steve Breaston each had over 1,000 receiving yards, making their case for the best receiver corps in the NFL. Fitzgerald has been a freak in the post-season, but Boldin has been hampered buy a hamstring problem which resulted in a lot of time on the sidelines and an altercation with O-Coordinator Todd Haley. The Cards boasted the league’s worst running attack with a rotating cast of veteran Edgerrin James, rookie Tim Hightower and fourth year man J.J. Arrington never establishing any rhythm. James has come on late to provide a decent balance to the offense, due to his fresh legs and professional attitude. The defense had been suspect for much of the year, never being able to consistently hold up against the run, despite the play of Pro Bowler Adrian Wilson. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Antrel Rolle form a talented and youthful cornerback tandem and their play has only improved down the stretch.
Arizona went 6-0 against their West rivals and 3-7 against the rest of the league, which included the rough n’ tumble NFC East (where they went 1-3) and the uber-competitive AFC East (going 2-2). They clinched the division early and seemed content to just cruise into the playoffs, losing four of their last six contests. In their three post-season outings against the Falcons, Panthers, and Eagles they were never favored, always thought to be overmatched. They outworked the Falcons and forced Matt Ryan into uncharacteristic mistakes. Carolina’s Jake Delhomme had one of the worst games of his career as the Cardinals destroyed the Panthers. The Eagles grabbed a lead in the fourth quarter, but the Cardinals proved they belonged in the Super Bowl with an outstanding drive to regain the lead and win the NFC title. The Arizona defense has been the biggest surprise coming out of these three victories as they have completely shut down their opponent’s running game.
Wisenhunt has done a tremndous job in leading this team in only his second year as head coach. Now Arizona's path leads away from the bargain basement of the NFL to the penthouse in Tampa Bay where they will meet one of the league’s most historic franchises in the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Check back soon for part two of my Super Bowl Opening Drive where I take a look at the Steelers!
