January 19th, 2010 10:17pm PST
FOOTBALL TALK
Looking under the hood of
the Divisional Round
The Saints flex some firepower of their own....
In the Wildcard round it was the Cardinals flexing a lot of offensive muscle, but on Saturday night they got a heavy taste of their own medicine. The Saints from out of the gate were relentless moving the ball through the air and on the ground. With the resurgence of a deadly passing attack and the return of the explosive running of Reggie Bush the Saints were firing on all pistons and there was very little the Cardinals defense could do to stop it. New Orleans rang up 45 points, 27 first downs, and 418 yards of offense and when the day was over, it was just a good old fashion butt whooping. One of the keys to the Saints explosion was the emergence of Reggie Bush as an explosive big play power runner. Bush totaled over 200 all purpose yards and scored twice (rushing and special teams); he's going to be an "X" factor the Vikings defense will have to deal with.
Upstart Jets may have the recipe for disaster....
You don't have to ask the San Diego Chargers, the already know first hand that Rex Ryan and his New York Boys have a winning recipe; a relentless running game, a sound defense, and minimize the mistakes. The Jets have averaged 40 running plays and 170 yards on the ground in two post season games, led by the running of rookie running back Shonn Greene. Their rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez has not been overly spectacular, but that's because he hasn't had to be. In two games Sanchez (23 turnovers) has been solid making plays when needed and taking care of the ball; he has only turned the ball over once this post season. The defense has been equally up to the task recording five sacks and four takeaways. With the Colts up ahead the Greene (263 yards rushing in the postseason) and the Jets ground game will definitely test the leagues 24th ranked run defense. There's no doubt that Jets head coach Rex Ryan and cornerback Darrelle Revis will be ready to test the incomparable Peyton Manning.
More fantasy Notes
The Vikings running back Adrian Peterson gained just 63 yards on the ground against a tough Cowboys defense, but he did have 26 carries. With the Saints 21st ranked rushing defense allowing 4.5 yards per carry, expect the Vikings to lean more on "All-Day" this week. Sunday could be close to a 30 carry effort and a big day on the ground for one of the NFL's elite runner.
The Vikings secondary is going to get tested on Sunday. If you remember back to Week 13 the Cardinals Kurt Warner obliterated the defense for 285 yards and three touchdowns. The Saints proved their high-octane offense is just as explosive if not more so, expect to see quarterback Drew Brees (4,388 yards passing, 34 touchdowns) to attack the secondary with his lethal collection of receiving weapons; Colston, Shockey, Henderson, Bush, Moore, and Meachum.
If you are a betting fan, you can feel safe wager on the chances of the Jets running the ball a lot on Sunday against the Colts. With the league’s MVP standing across the field, that will be the only place head coach Rex Ryan will want to see Manning. The Jets are averaging 40 run plays in the post season and they are safe lock to hit that number on Sunday, if the defense can keep Peyton Manning and company in check.
By David Ortega
Check back every Tuesday for more “Tuesday (Football) Talk”
No comments:
Post a Comment