BY JIM LANG
sportsnet.ca
The arrival of the NFC Divisional playoff games means the NFC's top teams in the regular season -- New Orleans and Minnesota -- are back in action after enjoying the bye week. The Saints and Cardinals are expected to light up the scoreboard with touchdown passes while the 'love him or hate him' Brett Favre is back in the post-season and faces a QB in Dallas who grew up idolizing the Vikes' gunslinger.
SPORTSNET.CA NFL guru Jim Lang breaks down the AFC Divisional playoff games in the NFL and offers up his key match ups and picks the winners.
Dallas Cowboys vs. Minnesota Vikings
(Sunday, 1 pm/ET: Mall of Americas Field)
America's Team versus America's Quarterback. Fox has the potential to have bigger ratings than the episode of Married With Children when my hero Al Bundy built a bathroom in his garage. This is also a showdown between two teams who believe that if they win, they will have the inside track to winning the NFC Championship.
Brett Favre has already come out and said he fully expects the Vikings to be playing next week. He even went as far to say he would be "shocked" if the Vikings lost to the Cowboys. I love the man’s confidence but that’s going to be a lot easier said than done. The moment the Cowboys walked into the Superdome and beat the previously undefeated Saints, they became a different team. I haven’t seen the Cowboys play with this much confidence and swagger since the halcyon days of Jimmy Johnson and the triplets. The Dallas Cowboys team that will step onto the turf at the Mall of Americas Stadium are more than capable of beating Favre and the Vikings.
The Vikings need to knock the Cowboys down a peg or two and put some doubt into their minds. Favre is the kind of quarterback that needs to play with emotion and fire to be effective. Feeding off of the crowd in the building formerly known as the Metrodome, Favre shouldn’t have any issues getting up for this game. Favre came back out of retirement because he felt the Vikings gave him the best chance to win the Super Bowl. The Dallas Cowboys would love nothing better than to stick it to the Vikings and ruin Favre’s Super Bowl dreams. If you’re getting the sense that I think this will be a violent and emotionally charged game, then you would be right.
Key match-up: Left tackle Bryan McKinnie vs. linebacker/rush end DeMarcus Ware
DeMarcus Ware is a man; just ask Eagles left tackle Jason Peters how tough it is to block him. When Ware comes off the ball he’s playing for keeps and McKinnie’s technique better be rock solid or old man Favre is going to take a pounding. Favre is a tough country boy from the bayou, but he’s also a 40-year-old quarterback playing in the NFL. He can only take so much physical abuse in the pocket before he becomes totally ineffective.
McKinnie had some issues with Julius Peppers near the end of the season and that created a firestorm of controversy in the Twin Cities when Brad Childress wanted to pull Favre from the game because he felt he was taking a beating. If the gigantic McKinnie can neutralize Ware, than Favre will have the time he needs to get the ball downfield to his playmakers: Sidney Rice, Percy Harvin and Vistanthe Shiancoe. Ware is one of the most dangerous pass rushers in the NFC and is well aware that if he can knock Favre out of the game, the Cowboys will win the game.
Key match-up: Vikings defensive end Jared Allen vs. Cowboys left tackle Flozell Adams
A mountain of a man, the 6'7, 340-pound Adams will be asked to keep Tony Romo's pretty face from getting assaulted by the self-proclaimed great American badass, Jared Allen. With his flowing mullet, Allen is a throwback to old school defensive ends like Jack Youngblood and Deacon Jones. Allen has a motor that never quits and comes at offensive tackles with a myriad of moves all designed to get to the quarterback. Allen is also a big reason why the Vikings led the entire NFL with 48 sacks this year. As the NFL Network’s Jamie Dukes pointed out, Adams usually struggles against shorter defensive ends and linebackers like Elvis Dumervil. However, Jared Allen is 6'6. So as good as Allen is, he will be going head to head with one of the strongest and meanest tackles in the league. Just like Ware, Allen realizes that if he can knock Romo of the game, the Vikings will win.
Ware is not interested in taking it easy on any opposing QB. |
Key match-up: Adrian Peterson vs. linebacker Keith Brooking
By now we have all seen the wild-eyed Brooking firing up the Cowboys before they take to the field. Say what you want about the man, he backs up all that talk with the way he plays. With the Cowboys defence looking to beat up on Favre, establishing the running game with Peterson is a must. Peterson is due for a big game. The man called All Day hasn’t had a 100-yard game since a win over the Lions in Week 10. Despite that, Peterson scored six touchdowns the last four weeks of season and if the Vikings are anywhere near the goal line, then All Day is the ultimate closer. With the Cowboys hell bent on getting to Favre, don’t be surprised to see the Vikings try and burn them with some screen passes to Peterson.
Intangibles:
Of all the teams still alive in the NFC, this is the toughest possible test for Favre and the Vikings. With all due respect to the Cardinals and the Saints, neither one of them has a defence playing like the Cowboys are right now. The Vikings big challenge is find a way to eliminate the Cowboys confidence. The other x-factor in the game is Tony Romo. Romo looks so calm and confident sitting in the pocket right now that the Vikings will have to come up with some creative pressure packages to try and get him out the incredible groove that he’s in right now.
If Romo isn’t pressured, he will have a field day trying to exploit the weak link on the Vikings defence, their secondary. Then there’s the Felix Jones factor. With Marion Barber banged up, Jones has been getting the bulk of the carries for the Cowboys the last two weeks and the results have been spectacular. Using his game breaking speed, Jones has run for 239 yards and two touchdowns the last two weeks.
Aided by his 73 yard touchdown run, Jones is averaging an amazing 7.7 yards per carry average. Nothing keeps a good pass rush honest like a good running game. Felix Jones will be going up against one of the best run defences in the NFL.
Who wins: The 'Boys
As far as I am concerned, this is the toughest game of the weekend to predict. You could make a compelling argument for both teams and I would be inclined to believe you. The Vikings ran the table at home this season and there’s no doubt that the decibel level at the Mall of Americas Stadium (I still call it the Metrodome) will rival a Metallica concert on the Ride the Lightning tour. Of course, the Cowboys are used to big stadiums and loud noise. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, the sun never sets on a legend. That goes for Elvis Presley and for Brett Favre. Favre will do his part and put some points on the scoreboard. Assuming Jared Allen and the Vikings defence can get to Romo, than the legend will live on. But just like Bastogne was the key to the Battle of the Bulge, Romo is the key to the Battle between America’s team and America’s quarterback. I just don’t think the Vikings defence can stop Romo and the Cowboys offence the way they're playing right now. I will probably hate myself in the morning for saying this.
Arizona Cardinals vs. New Orleans Saints
(Saturday, 4:30 pm/ET: Superdome)
Six days after winning the highest scoring playoff game in NFL history, the Cardinals will take its high-flying offence into the cozy confines and fast track of the Superdome to face another high-octane offence. Needless to say this game has the potential to wipe out last week's record setting performance.
As good as Kurt Warner versus Aaron Rodgers was last week, Warner versus Drew Brees could be even better. The most nervous people in New Orleans will be bar owners and defensive co-ordinators. The bar owners are nervous they might run out of booze this weekend as the Big Easy celebrate a rare home playoff game. The defensive co-ordinators are nervous because they have to find a way to stop two of the most explosive offences in the NFL. Despite its late season three game losing streak, Brees and the Saints still had the highest scoring offence in the NFL. The Cardinals have already proven the ability to take its game to another level in the post season. With that in mind, the gauntlet has been thrown down at the feet of Sean Payton and the Saints to match the Cardinals playoff success.
Key match-up: Larry Fitzgerald vs. Jabari Greer & Darren Sharper
Fitzgerald and the rest of the Cardinals' receivers had their way with Charles Woodson and the Packers secondary last week. It's scary to think what Fitzgerald and the Cardinals are going to do to Greer and the rest of the Saints' secondary as the Saints rank 26th in the NFL in passing yards allowed. Better news for Fitzgerald is that Anquan Boldin should be healthy enough to play. One thing Warner has discovered is that he can over throw a ball on purpose because he knows Fitzgerald will go up and get it. That kind of play is nearly impossible to defend, especially in the red zone. But the Saints do have an ace up its sleeve in Sharper. Knowing Greer likely can’t handle Fitzgerald one-on-one, Williams will scheme the Saints defence so Sharper can provide some support up top. One of the craftiest safeties in the NFL, Sharper led the NFL with a whopping 376 return yards off his nine interceptions. That was almost double the return yardage of any other defensive player.
Sharper also scored three defensive touchdowns. The best thing about Sharper is that he went to the same school as Pinball Clemons, William and Mary.
If the ball is near Fitzgerald, he will go get it. |
Key match-up: Saints defensive end Will Smith vs. Cardinals offensive tackle Jeremy Bridges
With 13 sacks, Smith was second in the NFC behind Jared Allen and is the Saints best pure pass rusher. A journeyman, Bridges was a late season replacement after Wayne Gandy was lost for the year with a back injury. We have all seen what Warner is capable of if he has time to go through all of his reads. This means that Bridges will have to find a way to keep Smith from disrupting Warner's rhythm. As last week showed, if Warner even has a scintilla of time to work with, he will spot the open receiver and make the throw. Even if Smith doesn't sack Warner, if he can hit him, he might be able to get him out of his comfort zone.
Intangibles:
No team has ever lost the last three games of the regular season and made it to the Super Bowl. That’s just one of the things the Saints are trying to over come.
The Saints have another harsh reality staring them in the face for this game. In the entire history of the franchise, the Saints have won exactly two playoff games. The Cardinals won three playoff games last year alone. This is the big challenge for Sean Payton and the Saints. Somehow Payton and the Saints need to erase the memory of their season ending three game losing streak and recapture the same mojo and swagger they used to demolish the Patriots on the Monday night game back on Week 12. Much like Kurt Warner, Drew Brees has an impressive array of offensive weapons to work with.
There’s another very vital intangible in play for this game, the curse of the Superdome. Kurt Warner is 0-2 in the post-season in New Orleans. Don’t put it past Saints fans to put a genuine voodoo curse on Warner before the game. Because the fans are so starved for playoff success, the decibel level in the Superdome will be deafening. Brees and the Saints are well aware how crucial it will be to jump out to an early lead and get the 12th man into the game.
If you’re looking for a player to be an x-factor for the Saints, try running back Reggie Bush. While he will never be used a classic between the tackles running back; Bush is a dangerous offensive weapon working in space or matched up against a linebacker.
Who wins: The Saints
I love Brees and the Saints' offence. My major issue with the Saints is their defence, especially their secondary. Now if Kurt Warner and the Cardinals were able to hang 51 points on Charles Woodson and the Packers, then how are the Saints supposed to stop them?
This is where veteran safety Darren Sharper should come into play. The combination of experience, film study and good luck has meant the Sharper is always around the football and has made a ton of big plays for the Saints this year. Because of Hurricane Katrina, the Saints are everyone’s second favourite team. The atmosphere in the Superdome will be electric. However, I worry about the psyche of the Saints since the perfect season ended with that loss to the Cowboys. They followed that up with losses to the Bucs, and then the Panthers.
If Warner and the Cards can jump out to an early lead, they could take the crowd out of it and win this game. That’s why I feel it’s imperative that Brees and the Saints score on their opening drive. They need to shake off the rust from the bye week, get the confidence back and get the home crowd geeked up. The other big worry for Ken Whisenhunt and the Cardinals coaching staff is how much gas is left in the tank of their defence? After giving up 45 points last week, the Cardinals now have to stop Brees. Eventually fatigue will play a factor in this game and work to the Saints advantage.
Lassez-Lais Bon Temp Rouler
Let the Good Times Roll
Check out Jim Lang's AFC Divisional preview and predictions as well. | Read it here
