After Tim Hightower took the handoff and broke off a 70 yard touchdown run on the first play of the game on Saturday, you could almost hear the wheels turning in people’s heads.

The Saints, losers of three in a row entering Saturday’s Divisional playoff game, were about to fall victims to “Big Mo.”

But almost immediately after Hightower crossed the goal line, New Orleans reminded us of how good it was for most of the season. Drew Brees marched the Saints down to the 1-yard line on the ensuing possession and Lynell Hamilton capped the drive off with a 1-yard touchdown run. Then the Saints added a touchdown, then another, then two more before half to take a 35-14 lead.

All of a sudden, “Big Mo” was looking for a backdoor out of the Superdome to save himself from further embarrassment. The Saints added 10 more points in the second half to trounce Arizona 45-14 and set up a date with either the Cowboys or Vikings in the NFC Championship Game.

Momentum can be a crucial factor in sports. But talent, preparation and execution will win out every time. People forgot how explosive Sean Payton’s offense could be and how opportunistic Gregg Williams’ defense could be with a full complement of players. Save for Charles Grant, the Saints were almost completely healthy on the defensive side of the ball and it showed today, as they harassed Kurt Warner and held a Cardinal offense that scored 51 points last Sunday to just 14 on Saturday. They also forced two critical turnovers and could have added one more to that tally had the refs not called a cheap roughing the passer call after Darren Sharper intercepted Warner in the second quarter.

Even though they had lost their previous three games, don’t forget that Payton and his coaching staff had two weeks to prepare for the Cardinals. Teams with the top two seeds in the playoffs don’t just get an off week to rest up – they also get two full weeks to study their opponents’ weaknesses. The Saints proved today how valuable it is for teams to earn the No. 1 seed in the postseason.

Granted, New Orleans won’t be as fortunate to face a defense as bad as the one that took the field for the Cardinals over the past two weeks. But if Payton’s offense is clicking as well as it was today, then either the Cowboys or Vikings are going to have their hands full next Sunday.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

This season hasn’t necessarily been kind to Reggie Bush. On his way to rushing for only 390 yards (his lowest of his career) and 335 passing yards (his lowest of his career), he was criticized for his lack of toughness and one-dimensional style of play.

On Saturday, Bush reminded everyone why some considered him the best athlete coming out of the 2006 NFL Draft. He rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown on just five carries, caught four passes for 24 yards and returned an 83-yard punt for a score in the Saints’ 45-14 rout of the Cardinals in the Divisional playoffs.

Bush ran with the kind of determination and toughness that he lacked all season. He was explosive, made spectacular cuts on the fast Superdome surface and took advantage of yet another brutal tacking effort by Arizona’s defense. He also ran north and south instead of trying to dance around at the line of scrimmage. There haven’t been too many times where I’ve seen Bush put his head down and run through a tackle like he did today.

When a team racks up 45 points and 418 yards of total offense, more than one player contributed in the success. Drew Brees completed 23 of 32 passes for 247 yards and threw for three touchdowns, while Pierre Thomas rushed for 52 yards on 13 carries and Marques Colston hauled in six passes for 83 yards and a touchdown. Devery Henderson also chipped in 80 receiving yards and a touchdown on four catches, while Jeremy Shockey caught three passes for 36 yards and a touchdown.

But nobody ignited the Saints’ offense more than Bush. The move he made on an Arizona defender on his 46-yard touchdown run was sick and the burst he exhibited on his 83-yard punt return was impressive. He may not be able to consistently run between the tackles, but he proved his worth today.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

According to Adam Schefter via his Twitter page, the Cardinals don’t expect wideout Anquan Boldin (ankle/knee) to play against the Saints on Saturday.

As crazy as it sounds, Arizona might be better off.

The mere thought that the Cardinals are better without Boldin in the lineup sounds ridiculous. He’s an underrated playmaker that makes teams pay for double-teaming Larry Fitzgerald. He has the size and speed to win one-on-one matchups with a defender of any size and he’s a load to bring down in open space. Of course the Cardinals are better with him.

That said, over the last two seasons the Cards are 6-1 when Boldin didn’t play. And as the Wall Street Journal points out, they’ve averaged 33.9 points per game without him in the lineup, compared to the 24.5 PPG and 17-13 record with him. They also racked up 41 points in the one regular season game (vs. the Bears) that he missed this season and 51 points last week against the Packers, so the numbers would indicate that they’re better off without him.

But this is one of those times when numbers can be misleading. Arizona has survived without Boldin because they have an abundance of depth at the wideout position. Steve Breaston has shown the ability to be a playmaker when he starts and Early Doucet showed last week that he could be a star in the making. Fitzgerald aids both receivers by commanding double-teams, and having a quarterback in Kurt Warner that can deliver the ball in a timely manner so his wideouts can make the catch in stride and pick up yards after the catch is critical as well.

Can the Cardinals win without Boldin? Absolutely – and they’ve proven it. But are they better? That’s debatable. The numbers would suggest that they are, but teams are always better when they have their full complement of weapons, especially during the postseason.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

To get you ready for the Ravens-Colts’ Divisional Round battle in Indy this Saturday, here’s a preview of the game via a mock dialogue between two fans.

Colts Fan: If you think the Colts are going to be as disinterested in playing the Ravens as the Patriots were last week, then you’re delusional.

Ravens Fan: Oh, I see – the Patriots lost, but the Ravens didn’t win. Do I have that right? Face it, the better team won last weekend in Foxboro. We came prepared to play and they couldn’t match our intensity. And if I were you, I’d be highly concerned that the Colts haven’t played in three weeks.

Colt Fan: No, the starters haven’t played in three weeks – there’s a difference. But Peyton Manning, ahem, the MVP this year, will be ready to go as always. And if anyone should be concerned, it should be Baltimore’s pass defense.

Raven Fan: Have you even been watching lately? The Ravens are tied for eighth in passing yards allowed per game with 207.3. Our total defense ranks third in the NFL and we’re allowing just 16.3 points per game. Plus, we almost beat you in the regular season.

Colt Fan: There’s no prize for “almost,” my friend. Plus, that game was in Baltimore; now you have to travel to Indy this time. Had Jim Caldwell not pulled the starters in the second half against the Jets, we would have easily gone undefeated at home this season.

Raven Fan: Now who’s talking about whoulda, coulda, shouldas? Speaking of Caldwell pulling the starters, that same philosophy has hurt the Colts in the past. Bill Polian insists that momentum means nothing for teams heading into the playoffs but he must be trying to block out all the times that his team has choked after resting starters before.

Read the rest of this entry »

To get you ready for the Cardinals-Saints’ Divisional Round tilt in the “Big Easy” this Saturday, here’s a preview of the game via a mock dialogue between an Arizona and a New Orleans fan.

Saint Fan: I bet Sean Payton couldn’t sleep after watching the Packers rip apart the Cardinals’ defense last Sunday! Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones and Jermichael Finley lit you guys up and we have similar weapons in Marques Colston, Jeremy Shockey, Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem. I can’t wait to see what that group will do against Arizona’s brutal secondary this Saturday!

Cardinal Fan: Last week was an anomaly – the Cards’ defense won’t play that bad two weeks in a row. Ken Whisenhunt and his staff have already dissected what went wrong and are working to correct the problem. Besides, tackling was the main issue last week, which is correctable.

Saint Fan: Payton just won coach of the year and is one of the brightest offensive minds in football. If Mike McCarthy figured out how to rack up 40-plus points on Arizona, then Payton might double that.

Cardinal Fan: This isn’t the regular season – it’s the playoffs.

Saint Fan: Wow, you’re just figuring this out now?

Cardinal Fan: Hear me out; Whisenhunt is 4-1 in the postseason as the Cardinals’ head coach. He has already been to the Super Bowl and thus knows what it takes to get there. There’s no doubt Payton is a great coach, but there’s a lot more at stake for him this weekend with the Saints being the No. 1 seed and expected to reach the Super Bowl after running through the competition for most of the season.

Saint Fan: Yeah, but let’s give defensive coordinator Gregg Williams his due. His aggressive style has changed how the Saints run their defense and he deserves just as much credit for our team’s success this year as Payton does.

Cardinal Fan: Oh, you mean the same Gregg Williams-led defense that can’t stop the run? Once we establish the ground game with Beanie Wells, Kurt Warner is going to pick your fading defense apart with his precision passing. Plus, once we get inside the red zone we’re nearly unstoppable. We’ve scored touchdowns on 70.4 percent of our trips inside our opponents’ 20-yard line, which is the best in the league.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Saints’ Sean Payton has been named NFL Coach of the Year by the Sporting News.

For the second time in his four seasons as leader of the New Orleans Saints, Sean Payton is Sporting News Coach of the Year.

After two years of the Saints not making the playoffs since they advanced to the NFC championship game after the 2006 season, Payton guided them to a 13-3 record. The five-game turnaround from 2008 took New Orleans from worst to first place in the NFC South.

If Payton could split the award in half, I’m sure he’d give part of the honor to defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. The Saints’ defense has really struggled down the stretch, but most of that can be attributed to injuries on all three levels. For the most part, Williams has done a remarkable job turning the Saints’ defense into a unit that can (along with the offense’s help, of course) contend for a Super Bowl.

I’m looking forward to seeing how Payton fares in his second postseason stint. His offensive schemes are excellent and he knows how to attack an opponent’s weaknesses. However, he couldn’t figure out the Cowboys in the regular season this year and the Bears in the postseason in 2006, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens if New Orleans meets Dallas again next week.

Photo from fOTOGLIF