A Little Sports Talk- Saints Vikings Preview

At the time I am writing this, I am 1-7 in predicting postseason games. Football has been a cruel mistress and this has served to remind me why I have never gambled on sports. The Ravens pulled a self destruction with turnovers and penalties, the Cowboys let Tony Romo suck dirt all game, and I just finished watching the Chargers O choke to death on the bad decisions of Phillip Rivers.

BUT, the one game I did get correct is regarding the Saints. Their defense shut up critics by holding the potent Cardinals defense to 14 points and Reggie Bush took advantage of the worst playoff defense to put together a neat little highlight reel. That's more or less what I said about the game, so I'm going to continue writing up previews of games like I have a vague idea of what I'm talking about.

Real Talk

Coming into the playoffs (barring the fireworks of the Giants game) the Vikings looked like a team that was apathetic and on the way out. There was controversy surrounding Childress's call to pull Favre from a losing effort. Adrian Peterson was getting no help from the Vikings weak O-line, and the Vikings defense couldn't seem to find the swagger that had won them so many games early in the year. But a return to the home dome seemed to be just what the doctor ordered for the ailing Vikes, when they embarrassed a Cowboys team that was the hottest team in the playoffs coming in. Tony Romo was beat to shit and the Cowboys pass rush never seemed to get to Brett Farve. Suddenly, the Vikings look like a team who can beat anyone and are heading to the NFC Championship game.

Speaking of suddenly generating themselves some momentum, the other team in the NFC Championship game are those New Orleans Saints, dismantling the Cardinals in their own home dome and suddenly, that three game losing streak is a thing of the past. Now the seemingly inevitable scenario of Vikings-Saints playing for NFC dominance is all too real and it's looking like it's going to be a down-to-the-wire contest. I'd just like to point out, however, how this week's games have served as a reminder of how big an advantage playing in a home dome is (I realize I have used the term home dome 3 times) with all three of the dome teams playing at home winning.

Viking O Saints D- All of last week the talk about the Saint Cards game was what a shootout the game would be. I didn't buy it. This week, the chance of the game unfolding in an offensive showdown is much more real. As a defense that loves to play to generate turnovers, the Saints D are going to need to capitalize on each and every Vikings mistake because this offense doesn't make many. Farve uncharacteristically threw the least interceptions of any QB in the league this year, and though Peterson had some fumble issues earlier this year, those seem to be a thing of the past. The best news, if you are the Vikings, was the play of the offensive line, who had been putrid at the end of the season, but stifled the Dallas pass rush and contained the ever dangerous Demarcus Ware. This Viking offense is the real deal, and the Saints are going to have their hands full. If you are the Vikings, you need to take care of the ball, Farve needs to keep up that wonderful not-throwing-picks thing he has going, and you have to remember that you have one of the most prolific running backs in the league in Adrian Peterson. I know he hasn't had the record breaking year he had last year, but he can still be that work horse who keeps you in games and given this relatively strong Saints secondary, you are going to need him. If you are the Saints D, you need to take advantage of the crowd noise you will have and make turnovers and incompletions happen. If your D-line can get to Brett Farve, who isn't terribly mobile and start knocking him down, you're going to cause him to rush so throws and give guys like Sharper a chance to make plays. Also, the Saints can't let Peterson hit his stride or he could control the tempo of the game and keep that potent Saint O off the field.

Saints O Vikings D- This is Vikings defense that is feeling great and has never looked better. Unfortunately for them, they are about to run into the best offensive unit in the NFL. The Saints Offensive line is ranked 3rd and should give the Vikings defensive line much more of a challenge then the Cowboys lackluster line of last game. Drew Brees is playing better than any other QB in the league and will be able to make the quick reads that Romo couldn't. He has better receivers who will be able to match up with the Vikings secondary better. The key if you are the Saints is going to be protecting Drew Brees's blindside, and letting him pick apart this Vikings secondary that really isn't that good. If you are Vikings D, you want to protect the slot options and give your D line some time to get there and get some sacks on Brees.

Bottom line: I know the Vikings D is good, but I think this good Saints O line paired with the good decisions of Drew Brees are going to allow the Saints to score 21+. I think the Superdome's twelfth man will make this young Vikings offense confused and though they will score, they will also make some critical mistakes.

Saints by 10.