In that game , Kurt Warner, who’s supposedly contemplating retirement at the end of the season, completed 29 of 33 passes for 379 yards and 5 TDs. The defense on the other hand took quite a licking but made enough plays – and the big play to finish the game – to advance to round two.
The Saints are coming off a well deserved bye week after winning the NFC with a 13-3 record. However, they stumbled to the finish gate of the regular season with three straight losses and there’s some cause for concern.
How we see this breaking down:
When the Cardinals are on offense, they’ll follow a similar blueprint to their game plan against the Packers. They’ll spread the Saints defense out and Warner will execute a high percentage passing game against the Saints secondary.
The Saints D, which really struggled down the stretch, lost another key player on the defensive line, DE Charles Grant, and this loss will make getting pressure on Warner that much harder.
Arizona should have WR Anquan Boldin, in addition to Larry Fitgerald and Steve Breaston, back in the lineup, and that will give Warner even more weapons to dissect the Saints D.
Once the passing game is working and Warner and Co. are in a rhythm, expect Beanie Wells to make his presence felt. He had another strong game against the Packers with 91 yards on 14 carries. He’s running tough and will pick up good yardage on the ground.
When the Saints are on offense, they’ll also attack through the air. When Drew Brees has been on at home this year, there’s been no one better in the game. The pressure he places on opposing offenses by marching up and down the field has been key to the Saints winning so many games.
He’ll likely find a great deal of success this week against a Cardinals secondary which while talented, is vulnerable to the passing game. Cromartie-Rodgers should be effective against Colston, but the other receivers, Henderson, Meachem, etc., should all be able to pick up significant yards against the rest of the secondary.
One of the issues towards the end of the season was the Saints inability to rush the ball. While Pierre Thomas should be back healthy, he’s been largely ineffective this year and the running game as a whole has been inconsistent.
It should find some success this week, because we don’t see Arizona cheating S Adrian Wilson close to the line, but the Cardinal Linebackers possess enough speed to keep Thomas, Bell or Bush from getting untracked.
It’s difficult to ignore the sluggish way that the Saints finished the season. Many people can say they wrote off the last few games after suffering their first defeat to the Cowboys, but we don’t see it that way.
They gave it their all in their loss to the Bucs and were beaten by the more physical team. The close games (albeit mostly wins) late in the season also suggest the rest of the league adjusted to them.
The Cardinals are battle tested and have been here before and became a force to be reckoned with on the road this year.
And they’ll be a force again in the divisional round.
The 7-point spread, which the Saints are currently at, is too high.
Not only will the Cardinals cover, they’ll win outright.
Expect a 37-31 victory for Kurt Warner and Co. and a return trip to the NFC Championship Game.
