When I first read this topic I had to think long and hard about this question. It's a difficult topic for me because I don't consider myself a bandwagon fan.  I have my teams and players I support or think highly about. I have teams and players that I am not high on. Those opinions are formed over a body of work. Once I've come to those conclusions it’s hard to sway me with a good game here or a bad game there.

The other thing that makes this hard is that there really isn't a dominant team in the NFL this season. Only the Tennessee Titans remain unbeaten at 5-0. In 2007 the Patriots went 16-0, the Colts started 7-0, the Cowboys started 10-1, and the Packers started 10-1. We knew who the first round byes were going to belong to after 12 games. This year there are 21 teams that are .500 or better and the largest lead in a division is two games. With the exception of the Bengals and Lions almost everyone is still in the thick of the race for a division title or wildcard.

There have been a lot of upsets in 2008. The Browns upset the heavily favored Giants. The Dolphins looked set by beating the Brady-less Patriots and Chargers, before losing to 0-4 Houston. The Rams were able to travel to Washington and upset the heavily favored Redskins. There just hasn't been enough consistency to get a good read on the NFL this early in the season. This may be a year where 10-6 or 11-5 earns a team a first round bye. You could be on just about any team’s bandwagon right now.

There were a number of ways I could have gone with this. The easy thing would have been to write about my favorite player's team, Brett Favre and the New York Jets. I could have gone with the Packers seeing they have been my favorite team since I began watching football almost 20 years ago. I could have gone with the Tennessee Titans and their 5-0 start. All would have been very easy to make cases for.

However, I am going to a place where there hasn't been a lot to get excited about in recent years. I am going to a franchise that last won 10 games in 1976. I'm going to a place that has a terrible history and the little bit of good history they have was in a different city. I'm going to a place that is so terrible that they don't have a band or a wagon. That place is the Arizona Cardinals.

The Arizona Cardinals are not exactly the NFL's elite. They are the oldest professional American football club in the United States. They were formed in 1898 as the Morgan Athletic Club in Chicago. They have been the Racine Cardinals, Chicago Cardinals, St. Louis Cardinals, and in 1988 became the Phoenix Cardinals. In 1994 they ceased being Phoenix and became Arizona.

That's probably the accomplishment the Cardinals can be most proud of. They have been around the longest. Despite those frequent flyer miles and that long NFL history the one thing that has been constant is poor play. The Cardinals won only one NFL Championship game in 1947 and have a franchise regular season record of 468-669-39 or a .412 winning percentage. Their all time playoff record is 2-5. In the 80 plus years of NFL action they have made the playoffs just six times. To put that into perspective the New England Patriots have won six division titles in the last seven years.

However, this year I believe things will be different. This year I believe the Arizona Cardinals will win the NFC West, which would be their first division title since 1975 when they were the St. Louis Cardinals and Dan Dierdorf was pass blocking for Jim Hart.

Let me start by saying I've been on this team's bandwagon since I did my division previews in the offseason. I picked the Arizona Cardinals to win the NFC West with a 9-7 record. I was taking heat from Seattle fans and San Francisco fans for a good portion of the summer. If this early season success keeps up I will be exonerated. Here are five reasons why I believe that prediction will come true:

1) Kurt Warner is Back - Everyone knows that Kurt Warner had some great years with the Rams, which began when he became their starter in 1999. He won the regular season MVP award in 1999 and 2001 with them.  He threw for 12,612 yards, 98 touchdowns, and 53 interceptions in that span. It was one of the best individual three year stretches in NFL history. Furthermore, his 93.8 career QB rating is the fourth best in NFL history trailing only Tony Romo, Steve Young, and Peyton Manning.

From 1999-2001 the Rams went 35-8 in the regular season with him as their quarterback, compiled a 5-1 record in the playoffs, appeared in two Super Bowls, winning his only Super Bowl in 1999 in which he was the MVP of the Super Bowl.  The Super Bowl the Rams lost was a 20-17 defeat at the hands of the New England Patriots.

The problem has been that up until last season he hadn't played like that guy from 1999-2001. The most touchdowns he had in a season since 2001 was 11 in 2005 with the Cardinals. The most yards he accumulated was 2,713 in the same season. His record as a starter from 2002-2006 was 8-23. The most games he stared in one season was 10 games which also happened in 2005. The last time he quarterbacked in a playoff game was the 2001 season. When the Cardinals drafted Matt Leinart it appeared Warner was going to leave the NFL as a backup and mentor.

That changed in 2007 when he had a rebirth. Matt Leinart went down with a season ending injury and Warner was allowed to be the full time starter. He responded with 3,417 yards passing, 27 touchdowns, 17 interceptions, a 89.8 QB rating in only 11 starts. He helped lead them to an 8-8 season. While that creates a panic in Indianapolis or New England that creates a parade in Arizona. Hopes were high that maybe the losing was about to come to an end.

He has carried that into this season. Leinart played poorly in preseason and Warner won the job. Warner ranks second in passing yards with 1,708, fourth in touchdown passes with 12, fifth in QB ranking at 102.8, and has only five interceptions. His 70.0 completion percentage is third in the NFL. If he can keep this up he will be a Pro Bowler. If the Cardinals keep up their winning ways he could enter the conversation for MVP of the NFL.

The NFL is a Quarterback's league. With a 37-year-old quarterback that is playing his best ball since 2001, has won playoff games, and won a Super Bowl the Cardinals have the type of player that can propel them to a division title. His leadership alone brings a lot to the table. If he can continue his stellar play the Cardinals will continue to win football games. He is their MVP and a big reason the Cardinals are 4-2 early on the season.

2) Larry Fitzgerald - Every quarterback needs a weapon that he can go to for clutch plays. Larry Fitzgerald is among the best receivers in the NFL. His 36 receptions rank fifth in the NFL, his 546 yards receiving ranks third, and his five receiving touchdowns is tied for the NFL lead with his teammate Boldin, Chambers, and TO.   At 6'3" and 225 pounds he can make tough catches over the middle, but he has the speed to go deep and the jumping ability to go up for catches. His amazing acrobatic catch on a 4th quarter Warner bomb accounted for 30 yards and led to a touchdown that was huge in their victory over Dallas.

The Cardinals have a lot of good offensive weapons. Anquan Boldin is among the league’s best as well when he is healthy. Getting him back will help this offense even more. Steve Breaston has been huge in relief. He has 24 catches for 301 yards in his last three games. Edgerrin James gives them tough yards on the ground. Tim Hightower has five rushing touchdowns this season. The Cardinals have a lot of weapons that have helped them rank second in points per game and sixth in yards per game. But no one has been more important at the non-quarterback skill positions than Fitzgerald. He gives that offense a dimension that keeps defensive coordinators up late at night and will allow the Cardinals to continue putting points up on the board and winning football games.

3) An improving defense - Don't laugh before you read this point. I understand the Cardinals don't rank well defensively. They are 15th in yards allowed, 18th in pass yards allowed, and 12th in rush yards allowed. That isn't ‘85 Bear-like, but it isn't bad. They rank second in sacks with 18.

People will point to the 24 points per game, which ranks 21st in the NFL, 106.5 QB rating allowed to opposing quarterbacks, and league high 12 touchdown passes allowed. Don't allow one bad game against the Jets and future Hall of Famer Brett Favre to cloud your judgment with this defense.

Against the Jets the Cardinals played as badly as any team has played this year against any opponent, particularly in the second quarter allowing 34 points. A large part of that was caused by seven Arizona turnovers. It was a complete team meltdown. If you take out the 56 points and six touchdowns allowed the Cardinals D doesn't look as bad. They are allowing only 17.6 points per game in their other five games, which would rank seventh in the NFL. Six touchdown passes allowed in five games is not too bad either.

This has been a very good defense that allowed 13 points to San Fran, 10 points to Miami, 17 points to Buffalo, and 24 points to both Washington and Dallas. The defense is much improved and allowing this team to stay competitive.
 
That's the biggest difference with the Cardinals in 2008. The last three seasons they finished 24th (‘07), 27th (‘06), and 29th (‘05) in points allowed. This year they are getting stops and pressuring the quarterback, which is allowing their offense to be in better spots and be even more effective. The Cardinals offense doesn't need a lot of help, but it needs some. The Cardinals will continue to win games if the defense stays at its current level, minus the Jets game.

4) Ken Whisenhunt - It appears the Cardinals have finally found someone that has changed the culture in the Desert. The Cardinals are finding ways to win games rather than lose them. That was evident against Dallas in the 30-24 OT win. The Cardinals called timeout and proceeded to block a field goal. Dallas got another shot, hit the 52-yard attempt, and sent the game to OT. The 1988-2007 Phoenix / Arizona Cardinals found a way to lose that game. This team played hard, believed in themselves, and became the first ever NFL team to win an OT game on a blocked punt.

Ken Whisenhunt deserves a lot of credit for that. He brought a toughness and tradition from the Pittsburgh Steelers and has infused that into this team that has a tradition of being laughable losers in previous years. Even though they only went 8-8 last year you saw flashes of this years solid play when they beat Seattle, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland, all of whom won 10 games last season. That is one reason I picked them to progress this year and win the division. It wasn't the eight wins, it was some of the teams they were able to beat. You could see this team was becoming competitive. This year they are finding ways to win tough games as well without having the stupid losses like they did last year, in particular two bad losses to San Francisco.

5) Schedule / Strength of Division - This is key. The Cardinals still have four games against Seattle and St. Louis. They also have a game against the 49ers. If they don't go 4-1 or better in those games something is wrong. They also draw New England and Minnesota who have looked very average at times this year. Arizona's remaining schedule has a combined record of 23-31 and only three teams with plus .500 records.

Let's say they play .500 ball the rest of the way (5-5), which would give them a 9-7 record. The Rams and Seahawks would have to go 8-3 to equal that mark. The 49ers would have to go 7-3. Does anyone see that as being likely? I certainly don't. I would be surprised if those other three teams made it to six or seven wins the way they are playing.

By having a two game lead in the division and playing in a division with teams that have looked very unimpressive this year the Cardinals have a nice margin for error. They don't have to go 10-2 to make the playoffs. They don't have to worry like Dallas does that if they don't go 12-4 or better their fan base will be unhappy.

Arizona fans would be doing cartwheels with a 9-7 record, NFC West title, and a home field playoff game. If the Cardinals were in the NFC East they would be tied for second place. In the NFC West they have a two game lead. That advantage can not be overstated.

That doesn't mean I think the Cardinals are the favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. I said I was on their bandwagon, not that I was checking into the insane asylum. Winning a Super Bowl is usually a process and most teams don't win the whole thing their first year in the playoffs.  To label the Cardinals a Super Bowl favorite this early in the season would be a bit much.

I think the team that emerges from the NFC East has to be the favorite in the NFC this season. I think the team that emerges from the NFC South will be a formidable opponent. Carolina, New Orleans, and Tampa Bay have all been in the playoffs in recent years. A team like Chicago or Green Bay that has previous playoff experience could emerge. But none of those teams are the clear front runners yet and the Cardinals can no longer be overlooked. I believe they will be a contender in the NFC West and with a home playoff game they could possibly contend in the NFC if they continue to progress.

Contender and Cardinals are something NFL fans haven't said together since the Don "Air" Coryell days in the 1970s when the team resided in St. Louis. With Warner, Fitzgerald, and a revamped defense the Cardinals finally have the pieces to contend in the NFL. They are finally respectable.

While it has been a very frustrating time for the few people that still call themselves Cardinal fans, Arizona can take pride in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Laughing stocks of the AL for the last 10 years the Rays have finally put themselves on the map and are within reach of the World Series. Last year that would have been unthinkable. Maybe 2008 is the year the first shall be last and the last shall be first. Maybe 2008 is the year of the Cardinals.