Wow, Arizona moves on with a resounding victory over the #2 seed Carolina Panthers. Congratulations to former Steelers coaches Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm. They have achieved lots in their first two years and are just one win away from a potential Super Bowl berth.
Not like you say? Probably not, but it's also not a stretch at all. Why? Because as the #4 seed, theres a very legitimate possibility that the Cardinals could be hosting next week's NFC Championship game. That would happen if the Eagles took down the Giants in the Meadowlands Sunday afternoon.
Not going to spend much time explaining why I think that's exactly going to happen, but I do. Both road teams won during the regular season; McNabb's no stranger to big games; but most importantly to me, New York doesn't have enough offensive firepower to repeat as champs. I personally think their run is short lived and will end tomorrow against the Eagles. There's just nobody on the Giants that can scare Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson. With no Plaxico Burress to worry about, matchup problems disappear and the Eagles can do what they like to do best: blitz with abandon while leaving their excellent CBs alone 1-on-1. That's not risky against the Giants with no Plax.
Well what about Brandon Jacobs you might say? I don't know. I don't think he's enough to win a game against that Eagles defense. Manning has to have targets in the passing game for it work and I don't see where the Giants have an edge in any match up on the outside.
We'll see what happens, but if the Eagles were in fact to win, Arizona would host them next Sunday. Being that AZ is one of the more dangerous home teams in the entire league, it's not at all inconceivable to imagine the Arizona Cardinals playing in their first Super Bowl in who knows how long, but roughly 60 years ago when the franchise wasn't even in Arizona.
And to round out the speculation, how about mentioning it still being possible that Whisenhunt and Tomlin lead their respective teams to the Super Bowl.Wild huh? Long ways to go, and it begins with this early NFC game between the two longtime divisional rivals along the eastern seaboard. The craziness could continue with a Philly 'upset' before the Steelers and Chargers cap off the so far memorable weekend later that evening in Pittsburgh.
Let's start with this for now.