NFC Title Game Is for the Birds

Lets take things back to late November.  If I were to tell you that the Philadelphia Eagles would be in the NFC Championship game what would you tell me? I bet some "die-hards" would say "Hell yea man, Super Bowl!!" and others would say "Yea right man we just tied Cincinnati. It's time to look for a new coach, and we can also trade McNabb." 

What if then I were to tell you that not only would the Eagles make it to the NFC Championship, but they would play the Arizona Cardinals? Your response would be something like "put the pipe down."  Well Eagles fans, that pipe dream just came true, and now your Eagles are yet again within one game of the Super Bowl. But to me, the big question is: Will they break your heart again?

Should the Eagles look at themselves today and say that they are the team to beat in the NFC title game? Were they lucky? Will they overlook Arizona? Yep, I think they very well could, just ask the Carolina Panthers...they did.

The Panthers did not lose one home game during the regular season, setting themselves up to have the perfect chance to make it to Tampa, and Jake Delhomme threw it away (5 INT).  So, this is the question that I now ask myself: Did Arizona really outright win that game, or did the Panthers hand it to them? I say any team that turns the ball over five times is bound to lose, no matter who you are or who you're playing against. Thus the Eagles will now travel to Arizona, giving Philadelphia fans a glimmer of hope (yet again) that only the Phillies were actually able to deliver on.

The Case For The Eagles:

The defense is back. That much is obvious. They stopped the run all day Sunday and only gave up field goals when the Giants stormed into their end of the field. Kudos to Jim Johnson for calling—yet again—another wonderful game plan; exposing the Giants for what they had become (a gunshot wound away from golfing). The only question that really comes to mind now is how well the offense will play, and if Brian Westbrook will be a major factor in this game. If the Eagles are going to win, they will need him to be.  The second question is: How long will Andy Reid stick to the run?

The Case For The Cardinals:

Larry Fitzgerald has established himself has the next Jerry Rice. He may not be the biggest receiver—or the fastest—but he is the best possession receiver in the game, hands down. He simply came out and dissected the Panthers' secondary in a dominating performance that really pumped up the team. Tim Hightower and Edgerrin James both had decent performances on the ground, showing people that the Cardinals can run the ball. But the big question is this: Which Kurt Warner is going to show up to this game?  Will it be the fumble-prone, terrible-throw Old Man Warner, or the shades-of-St.-Louis Warner we have seen in the postseason so far? Not to mention the defense has had some help (i.e. Matt Ryan's snap count, and Jake Delhomme throwing it right to them).

In the end:

Either way, it's great to see the Eagles and the Cardinals in the NFC Championship because no one gave either team a chance to make it this far.  Yet again, it shows that on any given Sunday, anyone could and can win. The question now is, who will represent the NFC in Tampa? Lets just hope the Eagles don't overlook the Cards like everyone else has (Philadelphia media is already starting to) because Eagle fans everywhere remember the pain of Tampa, Carolina, and St. Louis...