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.