All Saints Day: Saints Run Over Cardinals, 45-14

Reggie Bush is who we thought he was! He is who he thought he was! And that’s why the Saints took the field! As SB Nation’s Saints blog Canal Street Chronicles explains, for one night at least, Drew Brees wasn’t New Orleans’ MVP:

But in a game where the Saints held the high-flying Cardinals to 14 points, it’s clear the Saints defense deserves some praise too. Canal Street Chronicles singled out Jabari Greer as playing especially well on Sunday:

SB Nation’s resident Cardinals blog, Revenge of the Birds, breaks down the game-turning moment from Saturday’s loss to the Saints, and what it means for the Cardinals:

Of course, if Kurt Warner returns next season, the Cardinals figure to stay in the mix for the NFC playoffs next season. For all things Cardinals, make sure to head on over to Revenge of the Birds as Arizona plots their offseason course.

For more, look up our Saints blog, Canal Street Chronicles, and our Cardinals blog, Revenge Of The Birds.

New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) - Reggie Bush accounted for 217 all-purpose yards and two scores, including an 83-yard punt return for a touchdown, highlighting New Orleans’ convincing 45-14 victory over reigning NFC-champion Arizona in a divisional playoff meeting at the Superdome.

As expected, Arizona has been officially listed as inactive for Saturday’s playoff game in New Orleans. Linebacker Gerald Hayes also will not play. As FanHouse’s Chris Burke points out, though, wide receivers Early Doucet and Steve Breaston were able to shoulder the load last week.

And of course, quarterback still has one of the best wideouts in the game, Larry Fitzgerald, at his disposal.

Teams spend all season trying to secure the best record they can; first to make the playoffs, then win their division, then secure a home-field game, and utlimately get that first-round playoff bye. It’s conventional wisdom around the league, you want that extra-week because it allows your team to heal. On the flip side, it also can get you out of sync, especially if you end the year on a sour note. So instead of guessing, Revenge Of The Birds looked at the numbers from recent history.

[UPDATE]: Looks like Anquan Boldin could use a bye, as he’s not expected to play this weekend for Arizona.

In a somewhat shocking development, the New Orleans Saints have brought back their star running back from recent history, Deuce McAllister. He’s been out of football for a year, so it’s hard to imagine how you would use a player who hasn’t suited up this season in a playoff game. How much can you trust the guy, even though he will be familiar with all the playcalls and schemes? Well, it probably says more about the injury situation at running back for the Saints than anything else.

Canal Street Chronicles:

As exciting as the Cardinals game against the Packers was last week, there has to be one very big area of concern for Arizona – pass defense. The Packers torched the Arizona secondary, Drew Brees and his army of weapons have been planning their attack all week. If Sean Payton needs any helpers about what to do, he should turn to Revenge Of The Birds, they nailed down the problem. Cornerback Bryant McFadden and the right-side of the secondary were a disaster.

Players know where to go when they want to talk directly to the fans. Jonathan Vilma, linebacker for the New Orleans Saints, decided to correspond with SB Nation’s Canal Street Chronicles by email. Vilma is one of the leaders of an opportunistic Saints defense and is ready for playoff action after having a bye last week. What could give the Saints the advantage this week, besides actual players, coaches, matchups – all that on-the-field-stuff? How about home-field advantage in the Superdome.

Also, Vilma promises that once the season is over, everybody will get to know what they say in the Drew Brees pre-game chant.

In an effort to get closer to the truth about what will happen this weekend during the NFL Divisional Round Playoffs, we talked to bloggers representing all eight teams still left in the chase. For each participant, we asked the same batch of questions. This is the preview for the Arizona and New Orleans clash.

4:30 PM ET, January 16, 2010

Superdome, New Orleans

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