Saturday, New Orleans hosts the Cards at the Superdome, a perfect venue for more passing records to be set. It sure is hard to doubt a team that put up 51 points against the NFL's #2 defense, but the guru does not believe a second straight NFC Championship game is in the Cards. (Get it?)
As previously mentioned, Warner torched the Packers' secondary, ranked 5th in the league, for 379 yards and 5 touchdowns. He completed 29 of 33 passes for a rating of 154.1, 2nd best in postseason history. He was sacked just once and didn't throw a single pick. He got some help from the Cardinals' suddenly lively backfield, who contributed 156 yards on the ground. These ridiculous stats came without star wide receiver Anquan Boldin, against a Green Bay defense ranked 2nd in total D, 5th in passing defense, and 1st in the rushing game. The Packers recorded 37 regular season sacks and picked off 30 passes, the most in the NFL. So yeah, the Cardinals offense is pretty good. But they have another formidable adversary to face, the Saints defense. New Orleans has 35 sacks and 26 interceptions of their own, against just 15 passing touchdowns. They should offer some resistance to Warner's crew, especially if Boldin does not play. (A link to the official NFL Injury Report can be found in the sidebar on the right, along with some other interesting websites.)
New Orleans' offense is among the most potent in league history, averaging over 40o yards per game. They are led by super-accurate passer (Click on that link.) Drew Brees, whose 18,298 passing yards over the past four seasons, including 5,069 in 2008, rank second to none. This aerial barrage is even more daunting than that of the Pack, who put up 422 passing yards of their own last week. New Orleans also earned the league's #6 rushing offense, averaging 4.5 YPC. The Cardinals rank 17th in the running game, yielding 112.8 yards per game and 4.5 YPC. With three members of the secondary listed on the Injury Report, Arizona is going to have a tough challenge slowing down the Saints' march.
The Saints started the season 13-0, but lost the final three games, causing many analysts to believe they aren't at the top of their game. You can be sure the players have heard this and that they want to silence the critics. Remember Brees is only the second QB, behind only Dan Marino, to pass for over 5,000 yards in a single season. Arizona let Green Bay throw for 422 yards and four touchdowns only a week ago. Since then the Cardinals have been roughed up, while the Saints have had extra time to rest and heal.
Prediction: NO 37 ARI 34
On Sunday, the NFC East Champion Dallas Cowboys will pay a visit to Minnesota to take on the Vikings. The media is excessively critical of the Cowboys' ability to win in December and January, but their recent play has seemed to silence the critics. Something you haven't heard, however, is that Minnesota has not won a home playoff game since the 2000 season. But the Vikings never had a leader quite like Brett Favre playing quarterback.
Dallas' passing offense is ranked 6th in the league, averaging 267.9 yards per game. They have thrown for 26 touchdowns and just 9 interceptions. Minnesota has recorded 48 sacks this year, tops in the NFL. Their pass rush is led by DE Jared Allen, whose 14.5 sacks put him just shy of Elvis Dumervil for the league lead. Surprisingly, this heavy pressure has not led to many turnovers. The Vikings have only tallied 11 interceptions, one of the lowest totals in the league. They conceded the 19th most yards this season (3,494) and allowed the eighth highest completion percentage (63.7). Dallas' three-pronged rushing attack is one of the NFL's most dominant, accumulating the seventh most yards (2,103) and the third highest YPC (4.8). The Vikings' run defense is one of the game's most fearsome, conceding just 87.1 yards per game, finishing behind only division rival Green Bay. They allow just 3.9 YPC, tying them with Pittsburgh and Cincinnati for 5th in the league. Their five touchdowns against ties them with the Packers for the NFL's lowest total.
Brett Favre has revitalized the passing attack in Minnesota, leading the Vikings to 259.8 yards per game through the air, up from 184.8 in 2008. Wide receiver Sidney Rice has broken out to become one of the game's elite. He caught 83 passes for 1,312 yards, fourth most in the league. Dallas' pass defense ranks one spot behind Minnesota at #20. They have recorded 42 sacks this season, including 11 from OLB DeMarcus Ware. They have forced the same 11 interceptions as the Vikings, but have yielded seven less aerial touchdowns. Minnesota relies on Pro Bowl RB Adrian Peterson, whose 18 rushing TD's were the most in the league. He ran for over 1,300 yards and averaged 4.4 YPC. He is what makes this offense go. Dallas has been stout against the run this season, allowing only 90.5 yards per game, fourth in the NFL. Opposing teams average just 4.0 YPC against the Cowboys and have only scored 7 rushing TD's.
These two teams look a lot alike. Both have playoff trouble and mediocre pass defenses. Both excel at rushing the passer and stopping the run. Both can get it done in the air or on the ground. Both have explosive offensive weapons in Minnesota's Percy Harvin and Dallas' Felix Jones. The guru gives the edge to Dallas for their recent success. They seemed to have peaked at the right time, for once.
Prediction: DAL 27 MIN 20
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