Saints secondary flexes muscles in win

Guerry Smith, Special to FOXSports.com

Reality set in very quickly for the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday after the hysteria they created in last Sunday’s fan-friendly scorefest against the Packers.

They weren’t at home, and they were facing a much better pass defense than Green Bay’s.

Predictably, quarterback Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints destroyed a defense that at one point had given up five touchdowns in five possessions last week.

The Saints shutting down Kurt Warner and the Cardinals’ prolific offense in their 45-14 laugher should not have been a big shock, either.

Lost in all the pregame anticipation of another record-setting shootout was how terrific the Saints’ pass defense is when the starters are healthy.

Seriously. It’s as good as any secondary in the NFL.

Never mind the numbers showing the Saints at No. 26 in the NFL in passing yards allowed. They had big leads in several blowouts during their 13-0 start, forcing opponents to throw early and often.

The telling stats were the ones they produced in the first eight games, before starting cornerback Jabari Greer sustained a sports hernia injury that sidelined him for the next seven.

Until that point, opponents completed 51.6 percent of their passes with five touchdowns and 16 interceptions. Project those numbers over a full season, and the Saints would have allowed the second-fewest touchdown passes in the league, the lowest completion percentage and finished with the most interceptions.

That’s a scary combination for a team that led the NFL in scoring, shattering a franchise record with 510 points.

Greer, who broke up 13 passes in the first eight games, returned for New Orleans’ meaningless season finale against Carolina, had a week to rest during the bye week and was 100 percent healthy by the time the Cardinals arrived at the Louisiana Superdome. So was fellow cornerback Tracy Porter, who missed three games after spraining a knee ligament.

Warner also had to contend with free safety Darren Sharper, who set an NFL record with 376 return yards on his nine interceptions in the regular season.

Warner was not prepared for what hit him.

A week after tying a career high with five touchdown passes, Warner threw none. A week after going a phenomenal 29 of 33 for 379 yards, he was a pedestrian 17 of 26 for 205 yards, checking down to underneath receivers most of the day.

He threw one interception in the first half, and a second pick — by Sharper — was nullified when Saints linebacker Scott Shanle was penalized for roughing the passer.

Arizona converted only one of eight third downs and punted six times a week after punting only once.

“To have all your weapons makes it a lot easier,” Sharper said. “We play at a high level when our starters are there.”

Already simmering because of a three-game losing streak to end the regular season, the Saints defense almost boiled over when it heard analyst after analyst say the last team with the ball would win.

“We took that as a challenge,” said defensive end Will Smith, whose second-quarter interception led to the Saints’ fifth touchdown, giving them a back-breaking 35-14 lead entering the break. “Any time somebody tells you they are going to score 30 or 40 points on a defense, that’s really bad.”

Green Bay, which had allowed an NFL-season-high 503 passing yards to Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger earlier in the year, never disrupted Warner’s rhythm in Arizona’s epic 51-45 overtime win last Sunday.

With tight coverage, New Orleans made him hold the ball longer than he wanted. Although he was sacked only once, he never looked comfortable.

On two consecutive first-half possessions, Warner settled for safety valves on third-and-long instead of trying to move the chains. His dump-off to Early Doucet on third-and-13 came up well short. His dink to Hightower on third-and-17 produced another punt.

“The secondary played lights out today,” Smith said. “They gave us the opportunity to get to Warner. He held the ball, he patted the ball a little bit and we were able to affect him.”

People expecting a fantastic finish may have been affected too much by the incredible drama in the Arizona-Green Bay game. All of the tangibles and intangibles favored New Orleans.

After playing the final game of the wild card weekend, the Cardinals had to play the first game of the divisional round, giving them six days to recover from their emotionally exhausting victory. The Saints had two weeks to get ready.

“I fought for 65 minutes,” Arizona safety Antrel Rolle said after the Cardinals gave up five touchdowns in five second-half possessions to the Packers. “I don’t think I could have fought for 66 minutes.”

Rolle did not make it through the first half in New Orleans, leaving with a concussion, but his attitude reflected the Cardinals’ mind-set. After blowing a 31-10 third-quarter lead to the Packers, they were more relieved than elated to escape in overtime.

Their depleted energy became evident in New Orleans. When the Saints punched them the first time, they could not get up off the Superdome turf, allowing five touchdowns in six first-half possessions to complete one of the most abysmal four-quarter stretches in NFL history.

Arizona took comfort in its uncharacteristically good 6-2 road record in the regular season, but the Cardinals’ road victims had a combined record of 30-66. They did not face an away opponent that finished with a winning record until heading to New Orleans.

Arizona committed 36 turnovers in the regular season, the second-highest total in the league. New Orleans forced 39, also the NFL’s second-best total.

Predictably, the Saints won the turnover battle, 2-0.

Arizona’s only road win among its four playoff victories the past two years was at Carolina, a game Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme gift-wrapped with five interceptions and a fumble. Brees was a tad less generous, completing 23 of 32 for three touchdowns with zero interceptions.

With Reggie Bush emerging from a season-long slumber to score on a spectacular 46-yard touchdown run and an 83-yard punt return, the Saints will be a formidable opponent for either Dallas or Minnesota, which play Sunday, in the NFC championship game.

Dallas has the right combination to beat the Saints — a physical running game and a relentless pass rush that bothered Brees when the Cowboys won in the Superdome in December. Minnesota has the right running back, Adrian Peterson, who can pick up where Arizona’s Tim Hightower left off with his ridiculously easy 70-yard score on the opening play Saturday.

Still, the Saints have to like their chances of getting to the Super Bowl for the first time in their 43-year history, playing in their first conference championship at home in the dome.

As Warner and the Cardinals found out Saturday, the Minnesota-Dallas winner needs to mess with Brees — and be wary of messing with the Saints secondary.