Behold: 20+ guaranteed fantasy points.
What a remarkable season it has been for the Arizona Cardinals. For a while, they were the bottom of the league, hanging out with the deformed and crippled teams, such as Detroit, Cincinnati, and Cleveland. In the past, they could always be relied on in the last week of the regular season if they were 3-12 going against an 8-8 team with playoff hopes. Arizona came into existence because they crush hopes and dreams.
This season, they're the playoff contenders. So far, no one else has been playing as the underdog to knock these guys out. They have an old man taking snaps behind the center, and this is the best he's looked since the 1999 Super Bowl. Of course, I'm talking about Kurt Warner; the one true underdog.
He was bagging groceries after the Green Bay Packers first signed him, then told him to bugger off. Now, after given another chance by the St. Louis Rams, Warner has one championship under his belt, along with a number of other awards. Working through so many arena league and Canadian football teams, he has worked his way to the top. Completing 67% of his passes for over 4,500 yards, the Arizona Cardinals have never looked so dangerous before.
The ground game includes a Hall Of Fame hopeful, and a rookie at halfback. Edgerrin James was a star for the Indianapolis Colts in the early 2000's, but he was traded to Arizona two years ago after they decided to draft a new running back. Marshall Faulk, former teammate of Warner, can empathize with that. James doesn't pile up the stats like he used to, and he has recently asked to be traded away if his job only consisted that of an offensive lineman. Rookie Tim Hightower out of the University of Richmond has been getting the touchdowns instead of Edge this season. Only rushing for 399 yards, Hightower was able to reach the end zone 10 times during the regular season.
Also, if you have yet to fly with United Fitzgerald or Boldin Airways:
That's all you need to know, really.
Fitzgerald: 96 receptions, 1,431 yards, 12 touchdowns
Boldin: 89 receptions, 1,038 yards, 11 touchdowns
Compared to the other three teams, Arizona has the worst defense:
POINTS ALLOWED: 26.6 per game (28th)
TOTAL YARDS ALLOWED: 331.5 per game (19th)
PASSING YARDS ALLOWED: 221.2 per game (22nd)
RUSHING YARDS ALLOWED: 110.2 per game (16th)
Yuck. There's no wonder that they lost seven games this season, but they locked up the division early in the season, so there was no need to stretch things out and go for the number one seed in the NFC. Despite those numbers, they have a strong defense, and can't shut down offenses at will. They have already taken care of Atlanta and Carolina, so there is no reason why they shouldn't be prepared for Philadelphia on Sunday. Also, watch out for this guy--Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. He's a rook, and even though he comes from Tennessee State, he has the talent of that his cousin, Antonio Cromartie of the San Diego Chargers. He is a late-arrival as far as playing time and positioning, but he is playing like a stud.
Tomorrow, I will post my predictions for both the AFC and NFC Championships. In the meantime, enjoy your weekend full of college hoops and such. Syracuse, if you can read this:
I hate you.
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