Halo

Saturday is a mere day away and it is just about time to stop all the talking and writing so we can get down to business on the field.


At 3:30 P.M. Central time in the Louisiana Superdome, your New Orleans Saints will be taking on the Arizona Cardinals in an NFL Divisional Round playoff game. This one may not be for all the marbles, but it is a case of "loser goes home."


The winner of this game will then head to the NFC Championship Game to face either Minnesota or Dallas. If Arizona wins (heh), then they will travel to meet the Cowboys or Vikings. If the Saints win, then the winner of the other game will have to pay a visit to the Superdome. This is truly real now folks. The time has come.


Arizona Examiner Scott Jones and myself went back and forth on the 5 things that we should we watch for from our respective teams, but as you can tell in our predictions...a bit of bias has shown through.
My plans here are to touch on just a few things that all the fans should know as the time for the Saints to face the defending NFC champions draws closer. It's simply going to be a few little tidbits that everyone should be aware for Saturday.


~ The Saints will be steering away from the all black uniforms that so many fans have grown to despise a bit this season and the last. Our boys will be in the black jerseys along with gold pants so there will be more of the retro look instead of the all new sleek look. I for one prefer this and hope it continues well into the NFC Championship game.


See what I did there?


~ Drew Brees and the rest of the Saints are hoping that the fans follow suit to their wishes this past week and all of their messages on Twitter to "Black Out" the Dome. If you are going to the game on Saturday then I strongly urge you to wear a black shirt, jersey, dress, hat, or whatever you can to make the whole place look like a giant Black Hole. Let's make sure we are the honest to God twelfth man so that the Cardinals have no idea what hit them.


Scream. Yell. Cheer. Boo. Shout. Proclaim. Announce. Do whatever you can to let yourself be known and make the Cardinals aware that you are all there.


I sincerely urge you all to be respectful of others around you of course, but let it all out here everyone. Don't hold anything back. Don't even begin to think or feel embarrassed to scream and shout because you feel like you'll look stupid. There are going to be 73,000 of your closest friends that you've never met being loud and boisterous right there with you.


~ Health is important. When the initial injury report for the Saints was released earlier this week, only four players were listed on it. Charles Grant and Heath Evans are on injured reserve along with a host of others, but there were only a total of four players on that list. A day or two later and all of those players were on the field and playing either in a full capacity for practice or on a somewhat limited basis.


Injuries are one of the huge problems that plagued the Black and Gold last year and almost did this year but they were able to persevere. You were able to see production and some of our crispness on the field falter a bit. Having just about every single starter healthy along with all of the key back-ups is a huge deal. I honestly have not seen an injury report this short in a very long time. Hell, I don't even recall seeing one that short in the offseason.


~ Coach Sean Payton, Drew Brees, Marques Colston, Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas, and the rest of the offense...there is no shame in getting a fast start. There is no shame in piling on the points and building a huge lead so that a little bit of stress and pressure can be taken off of us, the fans. Please believe me that we will still all be there cheering our fool heads off until the final seconds tick away, but we have no issues cheering during a game that sees our boys with a three touchdown advantage.


Coach Gregg Williams, Jonathan Vilma, Will Smith, Sedrick Ellis, Darren Sharper, Jabari Greer, and the rest of the defense...there is no shame in keeping that giant lead a reality. So my words are to not hold back and let the Cardinals get down the field before you start tightening up the coverage or plugging the holes at the line. Don't play prevent defense and let the lead dwindle down because you know it's so big that the Cards can not possibly come back. They put up 51 last week and Kurt Warner is leading an explosive offense. Don't assume anything boys. I don't care if Brees and company have given you a 17 point lead as you head out onto the field; you go out there and take that ball back. You get what belongs to you.

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