NFL Divisional Playoffs Preview: New Orleans vs. Arizona

The Arizona Cardinals escaped Sunday night with a 51-45 win over Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. The fact that Zona allowed 45 points at home doesn’t bode well for them as they square off against perhaps the most dynamic offense in the NFL this year.

New Orleans is well rested and eager to get these playoffs under-way. After a 13-0 start to their season, the Saints lost to a red-hot Dallas team that may have showed other teams how to slow down their high powered attack. Constant blitzes and pressure on Drew Brees led to many short drives and a few turnovers. Clearly the Cardinals defense isn’t as stout as the Cowboys, but they certainly have the capability of implementing the right scheme to throw off their offensive timing.

After Minnesota lost to the Bears in one of the early games during week 16, New Orleans locked up home field throughout the playoffs and decided to rest their starters. Like Indianapolis, we will all soon find out if this was the right thing to do as they take on a solid opponent in the divisional round of the playoffs.

From a gamblers perspective, the Saints have not covered 8 of their last 10 games, and will be hard pressed to do so against a Cardinals offense that’s led by one of the best quarterbacks of this generation. Despite all of the talk of retirement, Kurt Warner put together an awesome display of accuracy Sunday against the Packers as he only didn’t complete 4 passes the entire game. As good as New Orleans offense is, their defense is highly over-rated and struggles to make stops at critical times. The Saints “D” has given up over 20 points 12 times this season, and has allowed an average of 24 points per game over their last 5 games. If Arizona can get a couple of key turnovers, and use Dallas’ game plan regarding keeping pressure on Brees, they have a legitimate shot at taking this game on the road.

Tune in Saturday afternoon as the divisional rounds of the playoffs start with what will be a highly contested battle between the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals.

Related posts:

1. NFC Championship Preview: New Orleans Saints v. Minnesota Vikings
2. Super Bowl XLIV Preview: Indianapolis Colts v. New Orleans Saints
3. 2010 NFL Predictions: New Orleans Saints
4. 2010 NFL Predictions: Arizona Cardinals
5. NFC Divisional Playoffs: Dallas Cowboys v. Minnesota Vikings

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