The Cinderella story that is the Arizona Cardinals continue their dance as there are still pages to be written. And the Steelers keep adding to their historic legacy, as they now will be attending their seventh Super Bowl.
Besides the fact that Kurt Warner is the face of the AARP and has been collecting social security for about 10 years, he still is one hell of a quarterback. And he showed us that yesterday by picking apart the Philadelphia's secondary and also being able to find Larry Fitzgerald any time he wanted in the first half.
All Fitzgerald did against the Eagles on Sunday was break the receiving record in a post season game, held by Jerry Rice, by getting a whopping 419 yards. Amazing.
Larry Fitzgerald became the fourth man in NFL history to record three consecutive 100-yard receiving games and the first to do it in the same postseason. He also was the third player to have three TD receptions in an NFL/conference championship game and the first to do it in the opening half.
And the defense for the Cardinals, where has this come from, in two game the Cardinals defense has stopped arguably the best running tandem in the league in Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, and then stop Brian Westbrook, and hold Donovan McNabb at bay and pick him off as well. Could this defense really be the defense that stops the all mighty powerful Steelers?
The biggest surprise of this game for me was the progression of the offense. Everyone knew that the Cardinals offense was lethal, but down the stretch everyone wanted to know how this team that hasn't made the playoffs in a long time and has been a bottom feeder was going to react to the pressure of the playoffs. Well Steven Breaston, and an injured Anquan Boldin fused with Larry Fitzgerald and old man river [Warner] and took the Cardinals to the Super Bowl.
The Cardinals advanced to the first Super Bowl in franchise history. They are the first team with nine wins or fewer in the regular season to reach the Super Bowl in a non-strike season since the 1979 Los Angeles Rams.
Who would have thought that 20 weeks ago we would be talking about the Steelers and the Cardinals in the Super Bowl? Steelers were a favorite but the Cardinals were still that team that I picked every year and always disappointed, well not this year. Could this really be a story book ending for the Cardinals?
They remind me of the New York Giants of last year, for the fact that they have been the under dog all playoff long and no one saw them coming much like the Giants of '07-'08. Can they end the way they did?
The Steelers are the big bad wrecking crew and are already a six point favorite in Las Vegas and have the defense to back it up. Time will tell...
Is there still time for Cinderella to finish her last dance, or has the clock already struck midnight?
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