Not the Same Old Cardinals

Warner passed for 271 yards and two touchdowns, and limited himself to one interception that Atlanta used to score. But Arizona needed something extra, something that summoned power and served to calm a neophyte playoff team. That something was James, whose contribution (16 carries for 73 yards) was a bit of a stunner. On Thursday night, James was brutally candid in a conversation about his future with the Cardinals. He acknowledged Saturday's playoff game would probably have been his last in Arizona if it had been a loss. He hates the way he has been used (only 11 carries during one eight-game stretch) and feels he's got plenty in the tank, though he's 30 years old with more mileage than an '88 Volvo.

James, though he was gone from Indianapolis by the time the Colts won a Super Bowl, should nonetheless wind up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, seeing as one more season will likely allow him to wind up seventh on the all-time NFL rushing list. Already, James is 11th overall and seventh all-time in 100-yard rushing games. That résumé, though, was built in Indy.

This, however, could be a pretty nice final entry on that document. On Arizona's second series, James carried for six yards, then nine yards, then five more. On what appeared to be a fourth consecutive carry, James ducked into the line and flipped the ball back to Warner, who fired deep to Fitzgerald, who made a catch straight out of the Lynn Swann scrapbook for a 7-0 Cardinals lead.

And late in the third quarter, after losing the lead, the Cardinals were back up, 21-17, when James ran four times and caught a pass during the 14-play, 76-yard touchdown drive that gave them some breathing room at 28-17.

James wasn't about to back off his stance after the game. "It's no secret to what kind of runner I am," he said. "Finally, I was put in a position to actually do that. If my number is called, I'm going to come up big."

James's confidence extends beyond just himself. Of the Cardinals, who have the best trio of receivers (Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Steve Breaston) and a future Hall of Fame quarterback, James said: "We have all the talent in the world right here. We're supposed to win."

Still, the Cardinals can be alarmingly mediocre on both sides of the ball, which seemed to be the case when the defense looked rather helpless as the Falcons turned a 14-3 deficit into a 17-14 lead by putting together three drives that consumed 34 plays while the Cardinals were running just six.

But the Cardinals regained control by doing something we've come to associate with the Giants or Patriots in the postseason, certainly not the Cardinals. "A lot of people, coming into this game," Coach Ken Whisenhunt said, "said that we were the worst playoff team to ever get in . . . and I think we rallied around that."