Contender or Pretender: Are the Arizona Cardinals for Real?

The Arizona Cardinals?  Really?  Are the Arizona Cardinals this year's New York Giants?

After winning one of the worst divisions in the NFL and backing into the playoffs, the Cardinals have knocked off two of the winningest teams in the NFC.  How is this possible?

Two words.  Ken Whisenhunt.  

This man and his coaching staff deserve all the credit for Arizona's playoff success.  The Cardinals looked like a one-dimensional team and after the Philadelphia Eagles' defense showed the rest of the league how to attack Arizona's offense, it looked like the table was set for the Cardinals to be one-and-done.  

What does Whisenhunt do?  

He takes Edgerrin James off of the shelf and gives the Atlanta Falcons a taste of the running attack.  This left the Falcons defense guessing and when you do that, you hesitate, and the next thing you know, there is Larry Fitzgerald getting a step on your secondary and BOOM! Six points.

Next came the Carolina Panthers who had not lost a home game all year.  Mind you, the Arizona Cardinals had not won a game in the Eastern time zone all season and had not scored a first quarter touchdown in the East either.  

Then the Panthers take the opening kickoff back to midfield and Jake Delhomme leads them to the end zone with little to no resistance.  It looks like the Arizona defense, suspect all season long, is in for a long day.  

How does Whisenhunt respond?  

By having a game plan ready that included something that he had picked up on film about Jake Delhomme's delivery that was tipping the Arizona secondary as to where he was going to deliver the ball.  

I do not want to take anything away from the individual performances of Rolle, Rodgers-Cromartie, Hood, and the boys because they probably played the best game of their careers.  It was the coaches however that put them into position to make those plays.

So here is my question to you sports fans.  Contenders or Pretenders?  Are the Arizona Cardinals for real?  Have they found that special something that makes up the most unlikely of championship runs possible? Please help. I got to know.