The Big Easy will host the NFC Championship game today in a game that should produce offensive fireworks all night long. Both teams are lead by their quarterbacks that can make big plays with the wealth of offensive arsenal at their disposal.
Drew Brees Will Have The Big Easy Rockin'
The Vikings are coming of a 34-3 domination of the Dallas Cowboys last week. Brett Favre was more than stellar throwing for four playoff touchdowns, a career best. Favre tossed three of those scores to emerging wide receiver Sidney Rice.
Rice caught six passes for 141 yards to go along with the three scores. Along with Rice, tight end Visanthe Shiancoe also caught a touchdown pass. Shiancoe caught eleven touchdowns in the regular season. Favre threw for 33 touchdowns this year.
You can see that Favre has a couple of imposing threats in the receiving core. Adding to the offensive threat is Adrian Peterson. Peterson rushed for eighteen touchdowns and is a homerun threat every time he touches the ball. As you can see, the Vikings have more than enough offensive weapons to light up the scoreboard.
With all this said, it might come down to the Vikings defense to get stops. Minnesota is lead by sack leader Jared Allen who had 14 1/2 this season. Minnesota pressured Tony Romo all day long and will need that same pressure on Drew Brees or else he will pick them apart all night long.
The Saints are coming off their own impressive 31 point victory last week. They totally dominated the defending NFC Champions Arizona Cardinals 45-14.
Drew Brees threw for three touchdowns and 247 yards. Brees threw for 34 touchdowns this year and like Favre has a number of weapons at his disposal. Brees hooked up with Robert Meachem and Marques Colston for nine touchdowns each. The Saints have a couple of running backs to add to these receivers.
Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush are versatile and have the speed to hit the endzone form anywhere on the field. Bush is healthy now ,and he showed it last week. Bush had a 46 yard touchdown run and a 83 yard punt return for another score. A healthy Bush will mean more trouble for the Minnesota defense.
Speaking of defense, New Orleans only ranked 25th in the league this year. They will need to step up like last week, when they held the vaunted Arizona Cardinals to only 14 points. They must use that momentum.
This game will come down to you wants it more. Favre will use his experience an leadership to have the Vikes ready. The defense can use the great play of last week as momentum against the Saints great offense. The Saints started out 13-0 and had the city of New Orleans in a state of jubilation all year long.
Brees was tremendous all year long and with a healthy Reggie Bush will be hard to stop for even one possession. I think with the home field rocking, and the fact thst the Saints have never made the Super Bowl, it will be their day.
The playoff matchup between the Cowboys and the Vikings will come down to what quarterback plays better and wants it more. Will it be the young and upcoming Tony Romo or the grizzled veteran Brett Favre who grabs the spoils of victory? That intriguing question will be answered on a Sunday afternoon in Minnesota.
Tony Romo is playing with confidence and a swagger.
Dallas could not be on a better high than they are now. They have won four in a row including last weeks domination of the Philadelphia Eagles 34-14. Romo has played brilliantly during the streak and seems hungry and composed to take the Boys to the promise land.
He has used the plethora of offensive weapons to move the chains that has ended up in touchdowns. Dallas fans have been waiting for Romo to come up big, and he may just deliver this time.
Dallas uses a three attack backfield that is both talented and versatile. Marion Barber can get the tough yards while Felix Jones and Tashard Choice have speed to burn. Dallas also has a trio of receivers that include deep threat Miles Austin. Austin has come into his own this year and is flanked by fellow speedster Patrick Crayton. Tight End Jason Witten is a possession receiver that can also move the chains.
As you can see, Dallas has a number of options on offense.
To add to this recent offensive success, Dallas defense is also on a roll only giving up 31 points during this streak. Dallas is a confident team that is on a roll.
Minnesota has had a good season also that gave them a first round bye ,and the second seed in the NFC. Brett Favre was brillant most of the season and is motivated by the chance that this might be his last real shot at a Super Bowl title. He still has what it takes to get the job done and will have the Vikings ready.
Minnesota has a great running back in Adrian Peterson. Peterson will have to have a big rushing day in order for the Vikings to get the victory. This will make the passing game more effective and set it up for their emerging playmaker Sydney Rice to come up with the big pass play. The Vikings will need to move the chains and keep Romo and the Boys offense off the field.
When I analyze this game, I see the young gun out slinging the veteran. Romo has that certain confidence and swagger right now. He is also motivated by his recent disappointments in recent years. Dallas is playing well on all cylinders and just will be too much for the Vikings to handle. Favre will play his heart out, but it will not be enough. This could be his last playoff game ever, I think it will be.Dallas moves on to the NFC Championship.
Jay Cutler to Devin Aromashodu. Doesn’t really have the same ring to it as Joe Montana to Jerry Rice, but they performed like it as the Chicago Bears took a heartbreaker from the Minnesota Vikings with a 36-30 OT victory. The Chicago victory ensured home field advantage for the New Orleans Saints and the Vikings are now fighting with their backs up against the wall to secure a first round bye.
Vikings Fumble Away First Round Bye
Coming into the game, Aromashodu had just 12 catches for 102 yards for the entire season and just 19 over the course of his 4 year career. Aromashodu lit up the Minnesota defense for big plays with 7 catches for 150 yards, including the game-winning 39 yard catch in overtime.
The game winning drive was setup by another critical fumble by Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. Chicago linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer punched the ball out from behind, leading to the turnover. Peterson’s fumble was his sixth of the season, which leads all NFL running backs.
The overtime loss squandered a solid comeback by the Vikings offense after being down 23-6 in the third quarter. The Viking offense was flat once again, unable to put points on the board and looking listless once again. They exploded once Chicago went into a prevent defense allowing Favre to dump balls in under the coverage.
Despite the offensive comeback, the Vikings looked awful on the field again. The offensive line didn’t block, they didn’t convert third downs, the defensive line didn’t get pressure on the QB, the defensive backfield missed assignments and the special teams were awful. Very little positive to walk away and build upon.
With the loss, the Philadelphia Eagles now control their destiny for a first round bye. With a victory over Dallas, the Eagles clinch the bye. This is bad news for the Vikings who are undefeated at home, but just 4-4 on road. And that road record was aided by victories over Cleveland, St. Louis and Detroit…the three worst teams in the NFL.
If the Eagles win on Sunday, Brett Favre’s chances get slimmer and slimmer in getting back to the big game. While none of the NFC teams appear to be playing impressively at the moment, the Vikings are sitting at the bottom of the barrel.
