This is the most exciting game of the day. The NFC Championship Game features the two best teams in the Conference in 2009 and two of the best QBs in the game: Drew Brees and Brett Favre.
The Vikings, after stumbling down the stretch and backing in to the No.2 seed, dismantled the red hot Cowboys 34-3 in the Divisional Round.
The Saints, after losing their final three games of the regular season, came out roaring in the Divisional Round and demolished the Cardinals 45-14.
Onto this matchup:
When the Vikings have the ball, they’ll look to keep things balanced on offense. The Saints are especially effective when they can turn opposing offenses one dimensional, so look for Minnesota to mix RB Adrian Peterson in early and often.
New Orleans is vulnerable on the ground and we see No. 28 picking up big chunks of yards all day.
In order to limit Peterson’s effectiveness, New Orleans will be forced to bring a Safety into the box.
At that point, expect Favre to take to the air.
His primary targets will once again be WR Sindey Rice and Percy Harvin, both of whom should have strong games against the Saints secondary.
Harvin will be targeted primarily on short crossing routes and screens while Rice, whose developed into a top threat in 2009, will give the Saints smaller DBs fits all afternoon.
Coming off a three TD game vs. Dallas, look for at least one in this contest.
In the red zone, keep an eye on TE Visanthe Shiancoe. No. 4 loves to look his way near the goal line and the duo will hook up for a short score here.
When the Saints have the ball, Drew Brees will come out firing. When this team is hitting on all cylinders, as they were in their win over Arizona, he’s spreading the ball around to multiple receivers and picking up yards in bunches.
He’ll need to do so this week.
Facing the Vikings front four, look for New Orleans to incorporate a quick passing game to neutralize Frazier’s aggressive blitzing attack and keep Jared Allen and Co. off of Brees.
Using that attack, Brees should have a lot of success locating Colston, Henderson, Shockey and Bush on slants and quick outs. And once he gets into a rhythm, expect a few shots deep.
When they turn to the run, it’ll only be to eat up clock and wear down the Vikings D late in the game (provided they have a lead). The Vikings run defense is strong and New Orleans will find picking up yards on the ground hard to come by.
On top of that, RB Pierre Thomas, their best back, has been injured for much of the year and comes into this game with a leg injury.
While Reggie Bush enjoyed a breakout game on the ground vs. the Cards, it won’t happen this week. Instead, he’ll find most of his success as a receiver.
As the clock strikes 0:00, look for the Vikings, currently 3.5 point underdogs, to go into New Orleans and win 31-27. The one scenario which would doom the Vikings is to get into a situation where everyone knows Favre has to pass, i.e. get down by 10 points or more.
In those situations, he’s been known to make poor decisions and the Saints are one of the most opportunistic defenses in the league.
But we don’t see that happening.
We see a close game into the 4th quarter until the Vikings ground game and defense prove too much.
