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.

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Arizona Cardinals (10-6, 6-2 away) at New Orleans Saints (13-3, 6-2 home)
Kickoff: 4:30PM ET
Odds: Saints –7

Prediction:
The Saints have plenty to be concerned with entering this game, none bigger than the fact that they’ve stumbled into the playoffs by losing their last three regular season games. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have the momentum after beating the Packers last week and the more recent postseason experience after earning a trip to the Super Bowl last season.

That said, people tend to forget how good New Orleans was in the regular season. And now that they’re at full health, we’re going to see a different Saints team this Saturday then we did in the final three weeks of the season. Defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis appears healthy, which will help NO stop Beanie Wells and Arizona’s running game. With Ellis in the lineup, the Saints are a different team and one that can force opponents to be one-dimensional. Kurt Warner is excellent at making reads and getting the ball out of his hand quickly, but he and the rest of the Cardinals’ offense will have a harder time scoring in the red zone than they’re used to. New Orleans has the second best red zone defense in the league and safety Darren Sharper has shined when the Saints have their backs against their own goal line.

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Brett Favre is a little peeved that the media misconstrued what he said in a press conference on Wednesday and made it seem like he was guaranteeing a win on Sunday vs. the Cowboys.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports: Brett Favre wasn’t pleased to be informed that he supposedly had guaranteed a Vikings playoff victory Sunday over Dallas earlier this week.

“First of all I’m not guaranteeing anything, and the last thing I ever want to do is be bulletin-board material,” Favre said Thursday.

On Wednesday, Favre said: “Honestly, I see us sitting here next week having this press conference again. If that doesn’t happen, to me it will be a shock.” Favre said all he was trying to do was make it clear he has confidence in himself and his teammates.

“You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” he said. “I just have always been honest. And I probably should be more confident throughout my career. I’ve always kind of kept that to myself.”

Looks like that damn media is trying to dig up something that’s not there. Could he have chosen his words a little more carefully on Wednesday? Yeah, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with what he said. As he noted, he was just trying to show confidence in himself and his teammates. Besides, he’s 0-3 against the Cowboys in the playoffs so why would he be foolish enough to guarantee anything?

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The Minnesota Vikings didn’t just sign Brett Favre in the offseason: They jumped through every hoop and hopped every hurdle in front of them in order to acquire the ageless one, including alienating Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson in the process. (And while I can’t prove it, I also fully believe that Brad Childress sold his soul in order to sign Favre as well.)

That’s why if the Vikings lose this Sunday to the Dallas Cowboys, signing Favre would have arguably been a waste. A team like Minnesota doesn’t subject itself the way it did this offseason to sign a 40-year old quarterback to lose in the second round of the playoffs. It signs a 40-year old drama queen because he’s worth it and to ensure that the team is going to have a shot at winning the Super Bowl.

Okay, so there are no sure things in pro football. Signing Favre didn’t guarantee anything for the Vikings, but they knew that they were a legit passing attack away from being a Super Bowl contender and so far, suffering through Favre’s drama this offseason has been worth it.

But if they lose this weekend, then they would have accomplished nothing. Favre isn’t going to play forever (uh, I think) and the Vikings’ window of opportunity to win a Super Bowl has been shrinking since Week 1. If they lose to the Cowboys, then the Vikes will have won precisely the same amount of playoff games with Tarvaris Jackson under center last year: Zero.

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According to the Arizona Cardinals’ official website, wideout Anquan Boldin was held out of practice on Tuesday but is optimistic that he will play against the Saints on Saturday.

The Cardinals got through an admittedly sluggish first day back on the practice field, no surprise since it’s been such a short time since they last played. Because it’s Tuesday, the Cards aren’t required to discuss injuries or file and injury report, leaving some things in the dark until tomorrow’s initial official injury update. But Anquan Boldin did say he felt “a lot better,” reported that he was able to move around more (although he didn’t practice) and he is “definitely” optimistic he will have a chance to play Saturday against the Saints.

With the way Early Doucet played against the Packers, it didn’t matter that Boldin wasn’t on the field last Sunday. But at this time of year, teams need all of their weapons and Boldin is a game-changer when healthy.

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To alter a phrase from Denny Green: The Jets are who we think they are. They have the best defense in the NFL and can run the ball with Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene behind a solid offensive line.

That’s it. They play good defense and rely on their great running game to win. And as they get ready to take on the red-hot Chargers in San Diego this weekend, the Jets should remind themselves what their strengths are because their strengths match up very well with their Divisional Round opponent.

The Chargers can flat out throw the ball. They rank fifth in the NFL with 271.1 passing yards per game and have averaged 28.4 points per contest. Philip Rivers has played at a MVP-type level all season and he has a bevy of weapons at his disposal in Antonio Gates, Vincent Jackson and Darren Sproles.

However, the Jets have the top pass defense in the league and have limited opponents to just 153.7 passing yards per game. Cornerback Darrelle Revis has emerged as a lockdown corner and will no doubt keep Jackson at bay in one-on-one coverage. Rex Ryan’s defense excels at being aggressive and taking away opponents’ best weapons so if there were any team that could limit what the Bolts’ passing attack can do, it would be Jets.

Another thing to consider is that behind Jones and Greene, the Jets have the best running game in the league. Meanwhile, the Chargers have allowed over 110 rushing yards per game this season and could struggle containing New York’s ground attack.

The Jets won despite of rookie Mark Sanchez – not because of him. So if they can control this game from the ground and limit how effective Rivers is in the passing game, then the Jets’ solid season will continue past this weekend.

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If Brett Favre watched how the Cowboys’ defense dismantled Donovan McNabb and the Eagles’ offense last Saturday, then he probably didn’t get much sleep that night.

For as good as the Vikings’ offense has been this season, the offensive line hasn’t played well in weeks. That doesn’t bode well for Minnesota given that its O-line has the unenviable task of trying to slow down a Dallas pass-rush that has emerged as a dangerous unit over the last month of the season.

In the Cowboys’ 34-14 trouncing of the Eagles last Saturday, DeMarcus Ware sacked McNabb twice and harassed him on several other occasions. It was Ware’s fourth multi-sack game of the season and it no doubt sent a message to Brad Childress that he better figure out a way to protect his quarterback this weekend.

One way to slow down an aggressive pass rush is to run the ball straight at it. Fortunately for the Vikings, they have a back in Adrian Peterson that excels running between the tackles and attacking the edge of a defense. But the problem is that Childress got away from his balanced attack over the course of the season and the Vikings suffered a little down the stretch. If Minnesota believes it can beat Dallas by throwing the ball early and often, then a second-round knockout is inevitable for the Vikings.

It’ll be interesting to see if Childress commits to running the ball with AP this weekend in order to attack the Cowboys’ excellent pass-rush. If he doesn’t, then he and Favre might be in store for a long day.

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