Are the Saints in trouble in powerful NFC?

The New Orleans Saints have generally looked like either the second or third best team in the NFC all season long and a team that could very well challenge either Seattle or San Francisco for conference supremacy in the NFC portion of the playoffs.

Unfortunately, New Orleans hasn't looked very good in dropping three of their last four games, to Frisco, St. Louis and a suddenly scary Carolina team while not topping 16 points in the process.

The Saints lost control of what appeared to be a sure-fire division title a few weeks back and now will have a tougher road to hoe once the postseason rolls around. I’m not too sure that anyone should have expected the Saints to get back into title contention this season following the now-infamous Bountygate scandal two years ago, so maybe we should all give Drew Brees and company a bit of a pass if they flame out earlier than expected this postseason.

The again, when you’ve got a quarterback like Drew Brees, I believe it’s quite possible New Orleans could get on a red-hot postseason roll like the New York Giants did in winning each of their last two Super Bowls.

While I’m certainly not going to count Brees and the Saints out at this point, I will say that the Saints’ postseason outlook appears to be tenuous at best. 

Are Arians, Palmer and Cardinals really for real?

After working his magic with Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts a year ago, Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians is up to his old tricks, this time resurrecting the career of former Pro Bowl caliber veteran Carson Palmer – and simultaneously, the near-future hopes of a Cardinals’ franchise desperate to get back into legitimate Super Bowl title contention ever since the beloved Kurt Warner hung up his cleats.

Arians has helped Palmer get back to near-elite status as he ranks ninth in passing heading into the Cardinals’ huge Week 17 regular season finale against San Francisco. While Palmer has thrown 21 interceptions to go along with his 22 TD passes, he has managed to give the Cardinals a chance to win far more often than not, which is exactly what they’ve done. 

Todd Bowles them over!

Arizona Cardinals' defensive coordinator 

Todd Bowles.

Maybe it’s me, but I’m suddenly thinking the Arizona Cardinals are a lot more ‘legit’ than I ever thought this season.

While Arizona ranks just 23rd in total offense, they are also ranked a more impressive 16th in scoring. More importantly, the Cardinals are very, very good defensively for outstanding coordinator Todd Bowles.

Led by its league-leading run defense, Arizona is ranked sixth in total defense, mostly by limiting its opponents to a paltry 84.5 yards per game on the ground and just 20.1 points per contest (seventh). Bowles’ underrated defense completely shut down the Seattle Seahawks and gifted quarterback Russell Wilson in Week 16 and now have the look of a very legitimate contender in the NFC.

What do you think Eye On Sports readers? Are the Arizona Cardinals legitimate? How many postseason games will they win if any? Let me know what you think readers. 

Niners Rule NFC Worst

NFC West The San Francisco 49ers got a rude awakening in their 16-6 Thanksgiving Day loss to Baltimore, but anyone that doesn’t think this team is for real had better think again.  Frisco is going to be a very tough out come playoff time for any team not named Green Bay.

I really like the enthusiastic Pete Carroll and I was impressed with the job he did in getting the team to 7-9 last season, not to mention the huge upset win they recorded over the Saints. Unfortunately, Carroll miscalculated very badly when he let Matt Hasselbeck go in favor of the incompetent Tavaris Jackson and equally-inept backup Charlie Whitehurst. Now, the Seahawks sit at an uninspiring 4-7 with five games left – and they still need a new quarterback in the worst way.

Maybe it’s just me, but suddenly, I’ve got the feeling that Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb, the Card’s big offseason free agent acquisition, is toast in the desert! The fact of the matter is that Arizona looked mostly clueless in going 1-6 through seven games under Kolb while actually looking competent in going 3-1 with unheralded second-year signal-caller John Skelton.

I don’t know how else to say it except to be brutally honest. If I’m the owner of the St. Louis Rams, I’m getting rid of head coach Steve Spagnuolo as soon as the clock strikes all zeroes in Seattle’s last game. The Rams – and ballyhooed quarterback Sam Bradford – have both taken some major steps backwards this season – and it’s clear that Spagnuolo knows nothing about coaching offense – or letting someone else do the job for him.

Marshawn Lynch is a Beast!

I don’t care what anyone says, I’ll take Marshawn Lynch as my starting running back over just about every back in the league not named Matt Forte or LeSean McCoy. Lynch ran roughshod all over the Eagles on Thursday night, including one phenomenal run in which he broke like a hundred tackles. Lynch’s run against new Orleans in last season’s playoffs remains arguably the most exciting, toughest run I’ve seen in at least a decade. And just think, the Bill practically gave Lynch away not long after drafting him in the first round. Maybe that’s why Buffalo is continually floundering.