(My Sportsbook) - A run like the one the Arizona Cardinals are on contains many factors, a host of key ingredients. If those components were listed in order of importance, the element of trust would be on top.

Trust is the one thing that has separated the Cardinals from a host of teams. Take the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, for example, two preseason favorites that were undone by in-house fighting and off-the-field antics that ended their seasons early.

Both clubs will be watching the Super Bowl from home come February. They will be watching the Arizona Cardinals.

"I want to say Arizona Cardinals and Super Bowl in the same sentence," said quarterback Kurt Warner after Sunday's big win over Philadelphia in the NFC Championship. "Because I like the way that sounds. Arizona Cardinals in the Super Bowl, how about it?"

If anyone epitomizes trust, it is Warner. Quick to thank God after every postgame, Warner puts his faith in religion. However, he also put a lot of trust into a 25-year wide receiver who was playing in the postseason for the first time. Warner and the rest of the Cardinals put their trust in Larry Fitzgerald.

And it got them to Tampa.

"I think the biggest steps we've made is that our quarterbacks trust Larry," said head coach Ken Whisenhunt after his team won the NFC championship for the first time in franchise history. "In some situations, what we have to do is throw the ball up to him, because he's pretty darn consistent in making those plays."

Warner never questioned Fitzgerald's ability. Instead, he relied on the simple thought that if he put the ball up anywhere in Fitzgerald's vicinity, the talented wideout would pull the ball in. As the Cardinals prepare to write the last chapter of their amazing story, they do so knowing they have a partnership that three teams have failed to stop.

Warner has thrown for eight touchdown passes in three playoff games this year, five of them to Fitzgerald. The duo hooked up for three scores in the first half of Sunday's 33-25 victory over the Eagles, helping stake the Cardinals to a 24-6 lead. By halftime, Warner had already thrown for 203 yards on 14-of-17 passing. That included a 62-yard scoring bomb to Fitzgerald that helped the All-Pro receiver rack up 113 first-half yards on six catches.

Even when the Eagles battled back in the second half and took a one-point lead, Warner and Fitzgerald never lost confidence. On what turned out to be a 14-play, 72-yard game-winning drive, they hooked up three times on a march that ended with Warner finding Tim Hightower for an eight-yard scoring strike with just under three minutes to go, lifting the Cards to their first-ever Super Bowl appearance.

Arizona could have given up when the Eagles stormed back from an 18-point deficit to take the lead. After all, everybody else was likely counting the Cardinals out, as they have done all postseason.

From postseason hero in St. Louis to castoff in New York with the Giants to backup in Arizona, Warner is the poster child for the Cardinals' resiliency.

"When everybody counted me out, when everybody told us every single week, 'Well okay, the Cardinals don't have a chance against Atlanta, they definitely don't have a chance against Carolina, they really don't have a chance against Philadelphia and then to accomplish that, I think is really, really special," said Warner.

"We had our struggles this year and I don't think anybody really knew what to expect coming into the playoffs, but I saw a bunch of guys band together and believe in one another and really do something that nobody expected us to do," he continued.

FITZGERALD PUTTING UP NUMBERS

There is no doubt that Warner and Fitzgerald have formed a bond that makes a quarterback-wide receiver duo successful. Warner has been to the promised land, and it is obvious he wants his teammates to experience what he did with the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV. Warner also knows that if the Cardinals are to win their first-ever Super Bowl championship, he will need to get the ball to Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald's numbers so far have been eye-popping. In three postseason games, the 25-year-old has amassed 419 yards on 23 receptions. His receiving yardage total has already surpassed the NFL record of 409 yards that Jerry Rice posted in the 1988 postseason, and Fitzgerald still has one game to go.

Fitzgerald's yardage is also the most ever by a player in his first three playoff games, more than the 391 yards Anthony Carter had in 1987 with Minnesota. He is a big reason the Cards are the first-ever fourth seed from the NFC to reach the Super Bowl.

It has helped Fitzgerald that he has a quarterback like Warner throwing to him. The former Arena Bowl and NFL Europe afterthought is just the second signal-caller in league history to take two different teams into the Super Bowl. Warner is also 3-0 all-time in conference championship games, as he also took the Rams to the Super Bowl twice.

Despite his success, Fitzgerald knows he hasn't accomplished anything yet. After Sunday's win, he was very adamant in saying Arizona has one more game left to go. His stern demeanor was only broken when he received a hug from behind from a smiling, bible-carrying Warner.

NOT EVERYTHING PEACHY

Despite coming off the biggest win in franchise history, Whisenhunt still had to spend time on Monday answering questions about wide receiver Anquan Boldin.

It all started in the fourth quarter, when television cameras saw Boldin engaged in a shouting match with offensive coordinator Todd Haley. Boldin, who made just four catches for 34 yards, was apparently upset with how little he was being used late in the game.

Things didn't get better after the game. While the Cards were celebrating their victory in front of the home crowd, Boldin was slipping into the locker room, according to reports. When the festivities made their way to that location, Boldin bolted for the exit.

Whisenhunt tried to make it clear at his Monday press conference that he doesn't think it is an issue.

"You know that's a normal thing that happens," he said. "It happened in the first quarter with Todd and Kurt (Warner) on the sideline. It happened with a couple of defensive players and our defensive coaches. It's an emotional game. (Sunday's) game was one of the most emotional you'll ever play in, the conference championship. Those things happen, but what we've been able to do this year is move on and play."

Warner agreed with his head coach on Monday, saying he doesn't think there will be any fallout from the event.

"I talked to (Boldin) after the game, I texted him after the game too," said the two-time MVP. "I don't think there's any issue there, but obviously if I think there is, then we'll definitely look into it. But I don't foresee anything being a problem."

It's an unfortunate event for a warrior like Boldin. His season began in turmoil, as he was upset with his contract, especially after the big deal that Fitzgerald got.

Things got so bad that Boldin even at one point asked to be traded. That didn't happen, but Boldin didn't sulk. Instead, he put together a Pro Bowl season, returned to action just three weeks after suffering a serious facial injury versus the New York Jets in Week 4, and returned to face the Eagles despite a hamstring ailment.

With his latest actions, Boldin will almost surely be gone at season's end. Considering how successful this postseason has been for Arizona, it is a surprise that he isn't even the first Cardinal to punch his ticket out of town at season's end.

Running back Edgerrin James, who ran for 73 yards on 16 carries versus Philadelphia and has totaled 203 yards and a score over three games in a postseason rejuvenation, already said earlier in the playoffs that he doesn't see himself finishing out his contract with Arizona that still has one year remaining.

Upset about losing his starting role to Hightower earlier in the season, James is also likely gone after the Super Bowl.

WHISENHUNT TO FACE OLD CLUB

As the media begins to dig around for stories over the two-week layoff before Super Bowl XLIII, they got one handed to them on a platter. Whisenhunt, of course, will be facing his old team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in Tampa onFebruary 1.

"Did you expect anything different? When we actually won the game, how could it not have been the Steelers?," Whisenhunt said on Monday. "That is what I expected, so it's just a shame there won't be many storylines this week because of these two matchups."

In his second year as head coach of Arizona, Whisenhunt spent three years as the Steelers' tight ends coach from 2001-03 before spending the next three campaigns as the team's offensive coordinator. He was Pittsburgh's offensive coordinator when the team won Super Bowl XL.

Whisenhunt was thought to be a successor for the Steelers head coaching job when Bill Cowher retired two seasons ago. However, he took the Arizona job about a week before the Steelers went outside of the organization and hired former Minnesota defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin as their head coach.

Whisenhunt said on Monday that he felt he had a good opportunity in Arizona and had to make a decision of either taking the Cardinals job or waiting to see what would happen in Pittsburgh. Still, he has no ill feelings at all towards the Steelers.

"There is obviously a strong place in my heart for a lot of the people...with that organization," said Whisenhunt. "A big part of the reason why I'm here is because of my opportunity to work with that team."

The Steelers will also see another familiar face across the sidelines in Arizona assistant head coach and offensive line coach Russ Grimm. Also thought to be a candidate in Pittsburgh to replace Cowher, Grimm was hired by Whisenhunt in late January of 2007.

Whisenhunt said he doesn't know if his prior relationship with the Steelers is an advantage or not, adding that Pittsburgh is not the same team it was two years ago.

The two teams have met just once since Whisenhunt took over in Arizona, with the Cardinals notching a 21-14 home win in 2007.