The Arizona Cardinals playoff run thus far has been seemingly improbable. In the pre-game show of Arizona at Carolina, all 5 announcers chose Carolina over Arizona. Even with a large lead at halftime, all five again stuck to their guns and basically said the Cardinals will find a way to lose. Now, the once lowly Arizona Cardinals are a home victory away from securing a spot in the Super Bowl in Tampa Bay, Florida.  Once again, the Cardiac Cards will play the role as underdog to the visiting Philadelphia Eagles; who were also left for dead weeks ago with the benching of Donovan McNabb.

The question truly is, is this run for the Cardinals really that improbable? Most pundits around the country would say yes. There is a sense of disbelief even to this moment; by many sportswriters around the country that are basically willing to pencil in a Philadelphia Eagles trip to the Superbowl. However, the Cardinals are doing all the things that the detractors said they were not capable of during the season:

1. Stop The Run: During the regular season, the Cardinals ranked 19th in the NFL (110.3 YPG) against  the run. In the playoffs, against 2 of the top 3 running teams (Atlanta and Carolina) in the NFL they are only allowing 67.5 YPG. I think the primary reason for this is one person: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. His rise as a shutdown corner has allowed Safeties Antrel Rolle and Adrian Wilson to come closer to the line of scrimmage without the worry of getting burned by the deep ball.

2. Run The Ball: Ken Whisenhunt looks like a genius right now for benching Edgerrin James mid-season! Edge now has fresh legs and plenty of playoff experience to help control the clock when the Cardinals get ahead. Add in the mixture of Tim Hightower and J.J. Arrington and the Cards look pretty efficient at running back.

Kurt Warner is certain to see numerous blitz schemes by defensive mastermind Jim Johnson. The key to the game as always is to protect Warner so he can hit his receiving weapons down field. University of Phoenix Stadium is going to be deafening with 70,000 plus pent up Cardinals fans ready to explode!

Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals for the Superbowl, does it get any better than this?