The Arizona Cardinals appear to have all of the necessary pieces required to win a Super Bowl: a quarterback enjoying an MVP-caliber season, a strong running game, an incredible receiving corps and a well-rounded defense.
Taking all of that into consideration, it's easy to make the case that this year's 11-2 Cardinals team is more talented than the 2008 squad that went just 9-7 in the regular season but made an improbable run all the way to Super Bowl XLIII.
But does a certain member of that '08 team, former Cardinal Brandon Keith, think this year's Cards have what it takes to win it all?
"They do. You have talent. You have the coaching staff. You have a great rise of young players," Keith, who played offensive tackle for the Cards from 2008-11, told ABC15.
The Cardinals are the only team that rank in the top five in the NFL in total offense and defense. But do they have any glaring weaknesses?
"The main concern is the lack of experience for those talented young players ... That's the only thing that's holding this team back," Keith said.
In that way, this year's team is similar to the '08 squad, which relied on its veteran quarterback and Super Bowl XXXIV winner to guide it through uncharted waters.
"Even though we didn't have a lot of guys (with playoff experience), we had that one guy that was there, and that was Kurt Warner," Keith said. "He made everybody comfortable and said, 'Guys, you can really do this. I believe in you and I don't care what anybody else says.'
"When you hear a guy who was MVP of the game and MVP of the league tell you that, it made everybody feel special."
The Cards have plenty of young talent, but they also have veteran leadership in the form of quarterback Carson Palmer, along with wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who was a key piece of the Cards' 2008 NFC championship team.
As long as they continue to lean on that experience, Keith said this year's Cards have a chance to duplicate the success of his '08 team -- and perhaps go one step further to bring Arizona that elusive Super Bowl title.
"They have everything that you need and that you want to have that chance to be successful, so, definitely, they're up there," he said.
