New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com - Article Cardinals vs. Saints scouting, prediction

Cardinals

First and foremost
Don’t let Saints quarterback Drew Brees get in rhythm. Like former Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner, Brees can be streaky. And when he’s on a roll, there doesn’t seem to be much a defense can do about it. The Cardinals likely will bring however many rushers they need to disrupt Brees, figuring their secondary can hold up.

Key statistic
13-3: That’s the Cardinals record at home in Bruce Arians’ two seasons. He places a huge emphasis on winning at home, surmising that a team that wins eight home games only needs to win two or three on the road in order to make the playoffs. Arians sells that simple equation to players, who have to buy it.

Key player
Safety Tyrann Mathieu: It was evident in training camp and the preseason that Mathieu is fully recovered from two torn knee ligaments suffered in December of 2013. He was all over the field in practice and in games. The Cardinals don’t have a better playmaker in the secondary than Mathieu, who would like nothing better than to make a big one against his hometown team, the Saints.

Cardinals injury report

Out: Mike Iupati, G, knee; Questionable: Michael Floyd, WR, hand; Jermaine Gresham, TE, hamstring; Troy Niklas, TE, hamstring

Saints

First and foremost
Don’t let Cardinals’ running backs make big plays. The Cardinals' deep receiving corps gets a lot of attention, but starting running back Andre Ellington is a matchup problem when healthy. And he’s healthy. With Chris Johnson and David Johnson as backups, the Cardinals can afford to use Ellington more judiciously than they did a year ago. Bruce Arians will try to get him isolated against linebackers and safeties.

Key statistic
-13: That’s was the Saints turnover margin in 2014, a big reason they finished 7-9. The Saints not only gave the ball away a lot (30 times, fifth most in NFL), they didn’t take it away much, either (17, fifth fewest). Only Oakland (-15) had a worse margin last year.

Key player
Receiver Brandin Cooks: The 2014 draft class of receivers could go down as among the best ever, thanks to players like Cooks. He was beginning to make a huge impact when he suffered a season-ending thumb injury last November. Cooks finished with 55 receptions for 550 yards and three touchdowns.

Saints injury report
Out: Jairus Byrd, S, knee; Dannell Ellerbe, LB, toe; Keenan Lewis, CB, hip; C.J. Spiller, RB, knee; Davis Tull, LB, shoulder; Probable: Tim Hightower, RB, knee

Cardinals on offense
The Cardinals open the season with questions along the offensive line. Over the past two decades or so, that’s been a given, like the sun rising in the East, bread hitting the floor butter-side down and picking the slowest checkout line at the store. With guard Mike Iupati healthy and tackle Bobby Massie not suspended, the Cardinals might have their best offensive line in more than two decades. But Iupati is hurt and Massie is suspended; neither is expected back before week three. Their replacements, Ted Larsen at guard and Earl Watford at tackle, need to hold up. If they do, quarterback Carson Palmer will have time to find favorable matchups between his receivers and the Saints secondary. Saints coordinator Rob Ryan will be creative in his calls and that’s going to lead to some ugly plays for the Cardinals. But it also provides opportunities, provided Palmer and the rest of the offense can identify where the ball should go. Cardinals running backs Andre Ellington and Chris Johnson will share the running load. Don’t be surprised if rookie David Johnson makes an impact as a receiver.

Edge: Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals vs. New Orleans Saints scouting report, prediction

plenty more to read too............