So, by a show of hands, who had the Arizona Cardinals sitting atop the NFC West alone after the first three weeks of play?
If any of you are bold enough to claim that you did, I'm bold enough to claim that your full of it.
But with Arizona's (3-0) public spanking of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings' jaw-dropping upset over the San Francisco 49ers (2-1), the Cardinals are now the kings of the NFC west castle.
And if you look at their upcoming schedule, it could remain that way for a while.
The Cardinals' next four games are as follows: Miami at home, St. Louis on the road, Buffalo at home and Minnesota on the road.
I'm not saying any of these games are exactly slam dunks with the parity the NFL has showcased this year. But when you consider the caliber of opponents the Cardinals have defeated the last two games, I think it will be marginally shocking if they weren't resting at 7-0 come Week 8.
Following the conclusion of Week 8, Cardinals fans will have a much better grasp on Arizona's true chances to win the division with the Niners rolling into town. Win or lose though, it will be interesting to see how Arizona reacts with their defense getting arguably their two stiffest challenges of 2012 directly after (Green Bay and Atlanta on the road).
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Back in this time that we call the present, we finally know that the 49ers are in fact human. And with that revelation, it's looking more and more like this division is no longer a given.
To continue the Cardinals conversation, head on over to Revenge of the Birds.