Photo: Tom Mihalek/AP
Here at Fanster, we’ve watched a lot of Cardinal football. A lot. And quite frankly, the disbelief of actually being able to use the words Arizona Cardinals and NFC Championship game in the same sentence seem unreal, and almost dirty to be honest. THE ARIZONA CARDINALS ARE ONE GAME AWAY FROM THE FREAKING SUPER BOWL!!! To quote Chainsaw from the award-winning film Summer School, “tension breaker…had to be done.”
We’ve told you what the experts think, and who they are picking to win. Now, we unleash our own picks. (Note: Fanster is a Phoenix sports website, run by Phoenix sports fans). There, that should cover what you’re about to read.
Greg Esposito’s pick
My prediction?…..PAIN
That’s right. I’m predicting pain for this game. I’m just not quite sure for which team’s fan base. Yes, I am a fence sitter. Everything in my heart says the Cardinals. But something in my head says “the Eagles have been here before.” Then my heart suddenly remembers, “yeah, they’ve been here before four times in the last seven years and have one Super Bowl appearance to show for it.” It’s tough to shake thoughts of the way the Eagles carved the Red Birds on Thanksgiving, (lame pun, I know) but this Cardinals team has looked special in the last two weeks. The game comes down to one simple thing. Has Russ Grimm better prepared his offensive line to face the ingenious blitzing schemes of Jim Johnson? If the answer is yes, and Kurt Warner can stay on his feet, the Cardinals will be in business. If not, then here comes the “same ol’ Cards” from November.
In the end I’m a hopeless romantic. My 20+ year love affair with the Cardinals leads me to believe the Cardinals will win this game 31-24 on Sunday.
Matt Blake’s pick
Let’s face it everyone, the Cardinals are not the same team that they were back in the regular season…Yet, the national media is still giving the Cardinals no love. Perhaps they don’t believe that Edge can continue to rack up consistent yards for the third straight game. Perhaps they think that the defense’s utterly astounding play cannot be three-peated. Perhaps they have failed to note that Anquan Boldin is actually going to be playing this game…making the offense even more formidable. Or…perhaps they have just failed to actually watch this team, because if they did, they would see a team that’s chemistry has clicked at just the right time. And lucking into a NFC Championship home game certainly helps…a ton. The Cardinals will eat the Eagles alive, and the national media will be shell shocked with the Cinderella story that is the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals are headed to Tampa after they take this one 34-21.
Vince Marotta’s pick
My prediction? Pa–crap, Greg already used that joke. The Arizona Cardinals, quite simply, are playing better, more complete football on both sides of the ball than any other team left standing. Their offense has actually slowed down a bit in the passing game, but picked up the dimension of a running game. Their defense, which had been exploited at many times this season, is playing smart, disciplined football. And did I mention, they’ve caused 9 turnovers in two games?
Forgive me going all Bill Simmons on you here, but the Cardinals are basically the football version of Daniel LaRusso of The Karate Kid. The NFL playoffs are football’s version of the All-Valley Under 18 Karate Championships. The Cardinals “snuck” their way into the playoffs by winning a bad division. Daniel-san “snuck” into the All-Valley tournament when Mr. Miyagi stole a black belt conveniently left in an open gym bag right next to the registration table. The Cardinals shocked the league by defeating Atlanta and Carolina in the first two rounds of the playoffs, looking like savvy postseason veterans in the process. LaRusso shocked onlookers when he won his first few matches, including one against a Cobra Kai who had an uncanny resemblance to Lamar Litrell, the limp-wristed javelin thrower from Revenge of the Nerds.
You get the idea, LaRusso continues to defeat opponents, like Tommy and Dutch, who feel that they are better than him, based on the near-death beatings they’ve dropped on him during the school year. Don’t you get the feeling that the Falcons and the Panthers feel like they’re better than the Cardinals too? The Falcons are Tommy, and the Panthers are Dutch. Next up, Bobby Brown, err, I mean Philadelphia. We know how The Karate Kid ends. And we can’t stray from the story, now can we? Cardinals pull out the crane technique on the Eagles, 28-20.
