The Saints and Colts Press On

The New Orleans Saints returned to mid season form and played like a well oiled machine as they trounced the visiting Arizona Cardinals 45-14 on Saturday to advance to the NFC Division Championship game next week to host either the Minnesota Vikings or Dallas Cowboys.  The Cardinals defense simply couldn't match the Saints superpowered offense, as the Nawlins boys scored touchdowns on five of their six first-half possessions....WOW!  New Orleans star Quarterback Drew Brees simply carved up the Arizona defense throughout the first half to put the game completely out of reach, as he threw 3 touchdowns to the likes of Wide Receiver Marques Colston, Wide Receiver Devery Henderson, and Tight End Jeremy Shockey.  Reggie Bush also showcased his unbelievable athleticism and elusiveness, as he took a punt return 83 yards for the touchdown, while also scoring a TD on the ground with his mere 5 rushes for a huge 84 yards.  The Saints have looked to Reggie for big plays this year and finally got them today, as I'm sure he got the game ball in the locker room afterwards.

       Everyone should not overlook the Saints defense and how they performed this day, as they have often been an afterthought to the Saints high powered passing game.  Nonetheless, the Saints totally disrupted the Arizona Cardinals offense, as Kurt Warner and Co. couldn't stay on the field, as the Cardinals finished 1-for-8 on third downs.  First and foremost, nobody would have thought that Warner wouldn't record a passing touchdown, as both Arizona scores came on the ground to the likes of Chris Wells and Tim Hightower.  This game was a little disappointing for everyone that witnessed the spectacular game between the Cards and the Packers last week, however, Drew Brees and the Saints were just as impressive to watch in the first half.  Turnovers also played a role in this one, as the Saints recovered a fumble and intercepted a Warner pass to put themselves in solid scoring position for the unstoppable Brees led offense.  The Saints were running down hill in this game and there was no getting in their way.  They will certainly be tough to bet against next week no matter who they play.

          The Indianapolis Colts beat the Baltimore Ravens 20 to 3 tonight, as the Colts move on to play the winner of the San Diego Chargers and New York Jets game.  The Colts simply made the big plays to win the game in this one, as the Ravens had no answer for the Colts passing game, and the Ravens offense unfortunately couldn't put anything together against Dwight Freeney and company.  The Colts improved to 5-0 all-time against the Ravens at home, while also snapping a three-game losing skid in playoff games following a bye.  In two games against the Colts in the playoffs, the Ravens have not scored a touchdown, and also Baltimore's Joe Flacco has five interceptions in his last three playoff outings. 

       The Ravens reliable rushing attack was held to merely 87 yards on the ground, as Ray Rice's longest rush of over 20 yards ended with a lost fumble right when the Ravens were near the red zone.  The ball was falling in Indy's favor throughout the game, as even a Manning interception to Ravens Safety Ed Reed was knocked out of Reed's hands by Colts Wideout Pierre Garcon.  Reed was deep in Colts territory with the interception return when all of the sudden Garcon came sprinting back in to the play to dive forward and rip his arm in to the side of Reed to jar the ball up to the air.  The Colts then jumped on the loose ball as Colts Tight End Dallas Clark made the recovery.  These plays totally took the wind out of the sails of the Ravens, as Indy was plus 3 on the turnover battle tonight.  Reggie Wayne also joined in on the fun, as he showed why he's a premier Wide Receiver in the NFL, pulling down 8 catches for 63 yards and a hard earned touchdown.  Manning managed the game to perfection and took control of the offense to milk the clock and do enough to easily pull out the victory over a Baltimore team that had completely embarrassed the New England Patriots last week.  Very much looking forward to the games tomorrow and also to the awesome matchups next week.