The Saints decided to rest alot of their players for the playoffs and let the back-ups earn their checks for once.  The result was predictable.  Drew Brees completed 4 of 5 passes for 46 yards before taking the rest of the day off.  Jamie Martin completed 16 of 24 passes for 208 yards with a TD and an INT, the interception was returned 18 yards for a TD by Chris Gamble.  Reggie Bush made a brief appearance and carried the ball 3 times for 20 yards (6.7 ypc) and a TD.  Jamal Branch had a busy day with 10 carries for 29 yards (2.9 ypc) and caught 5 passes for 14 yards and a TD.  Fred McAfee carried the ball 3 times for 12 yards (4.0 ypc) and a TD.  Devery Henderson played a little bit and caught 2 passes for 71 yards.  Jamal Jones added 3 receptions for 69 yards.

The defense played allright against the run as the Panthers carried the ball 33 times for 106 yards (3.2 ypc).  The Panthers sliced up the secondary of the Saints as they completed 23 of 27 passes for 207 net yards passing.

The Panthers won their first game in five weeks last week against the Falcons.  The Saints have won four of their last five games including a 30-7 beating of the Giants that sealed a firt round bye for the Saints.

The Panthers will start Jake Delhomme if the Redskins beat the Giants on Saturday Night.  If the Panthers are eliminated from the playoffs on Saturday Night the Panthers will likely start Chris Weinke against the Saints.  No matter which QB starts it’s very likely that the Panthers will prefer to run the football against the porous run defense of the Saints that has allowed 130.5 yards rushing and 5.1 yards per carry.  Both DeShaun Foster (818 yards rushing) and DeAngelo Williams (494 yards rushing) should both have good games against the Saints.  If Delhomme starts, look for the offense to be a tad more wide-open as Jake is a much better passer than Weinke is…even with a bad thumb.  Steve Smith (76 rec, 1,081 yards) could have a huge game if Delhomme plays.

The Saints will probably roll out a basic gameplan as this game really doesn’t mean much for them.  Deuce McAllister (1,057 yards rushing) and Reggie Bush (545 yards rushing) should split the carries against a Panthers defense that is allowing 111.7 yards rushing per game and 3.9 yards per carry.  Drew Brees (4,372 yards passing) will start this game and work on a few things before probably being replaced by Jamie Martin sometime in the second half.  Look for the Saints to get the ball to Reggie Bush (86 rec, 729 yards) and Marques Colston (70 rec, 1,038 yards) early in the game…and then to Devery Henderson and Terrance Copper late in the game.

This should be an interesting football game.  The Panthers won the first meeting 21-18 in Carolina.  I think this game could have a similar result with either team winning the game.

 

The New Orleans Saints have clinched the division and a first round bye in the playoffs.  The Saints have had a great season so far and it’s not impossible to think that the Bears could get knocked off in Chicago and give the Saints the NFC Championship in the SuperDome as long as they take care of business in their first playoff game.

The Saints won this game the old fashioned way….by running the football and playing GREAT defense.  The Giants carried the ball 18 times for 83 yards (4.6 ypc), but they had to give up on the run after the Saints jumped out to a lead on them.  The Giants had no chance throwing the ball against the Saints as they completed only 9 of 25 passes for 59 net yards passing.

Drew Brees only had to manage the game yesterday and it’s good that Saints had the running game going because Brees had an off game.  Brees completed only 13 of 32 passes for 132 yards and a TD.  Reggie Bush had his best game of the season running the ball as he carried it 20 times for 126 yards rushing (6.3 ypc) and a TD.  He also caught 2 passes for 23 yards. Deuce McAllister was busy too with 27 carries for 108 yards and a TD.  He also caught 2 passes for 14 yards.  Marques Colston led the way for the receiving corps with 4 catches for 37 yards and a TD.

The Saints improved to 10-5 on the season with this win and will try to secure a bye in the first round next week.

Both the Saints and Giants are coming off disappointing losses last week, the Saints lost 16-10 at home against the Redskins and the Giants fell 36-22 at home to the Eagles.

The Saints will probably come out throwing the football to open up their running game.  Drew Brees (4,240 yards passing) should find the Giants pass defense not to hard to deal with.  The Giants are allowing an average of 232.9 net yards passing per game so far this season!  Look for Marques Colston (66 rec, 1,001 yards), Devery Henderson (22.5 avg) and Terrance Copper to have good games.  Reggie Bush (84 rec, 706 yards receiving) should be able to exploit the average speed of the Giants’ linebackers.  The Saints won’t forget to run the ball because McAllister and Bush can help keep their defense off the field if they get a lead.

The Giants are going to run the ball alot at the Saints.  Tiki Barber (1,357 yards rushing) and Brandon Jacobs (398 yards rushing) should get a ton of yards against the Saints run defense which is allowing 133.9 yards per game rushing and 5.1 yards per carry so far this season.  After the Giants get the running game going and make no mistake they will….Manning will run some play-action passes with shots deep to Plaxico Burress and short to Jeremy Shockey and Tiki Barber out of the backfield.

The team that wins this game will be the one that wins the turnover battle, because these teams strengths match up with the other teams weakness.  It should be a high scoring football game.