Is the New Orleans Saints' Offense Really This Good?

Watching tonight's NFC Divisional playoff game between the New Orleans Saints and the Arizona Cardinals got me thinking: Is the Saints offense really this good?

After leaving the couch to eat dinner with approximately 7:00 left in the first quarter and the Saints leading 14-7, I figured I would return to a score resembling a tightly played, close-knit battle between two NFC titans, not a 35-14 drubbing at halftime that seemed more like the Saints playing against a Pop Warner defense.

But then I thought to myself: what if the Saints offense really is as amazing as Scott Van Pelt, Howie Long, and Michael Strahan say it is?

What if the Cardinals defense really was putting up a fight and not just throwing the white flag up in an attempt to appease the offensive corps?

If this were true, then the Saints would have possibly one of the best, if not the best offense in NFL history, possibly surpassing the likes of the 2000 St. Louis Rams (ironically) led by Kurt Warner.

But what gets me the most is just how balanced this team is. Take a look at the box score of tonight's game: 27 first downs, 418 total yards, (only) 247 passing yards, and 171 rushing yards.

Those stats aren't exactly jaw-dropping, but when you figure the majority of those numbers were compiled in the first half, you got to think to yourself: what if the Saints played full throttle the whole game? What would we be looking at then, a 50-point game? 60? 70? Seriously ?

Not only do the Saints pass well, but they run... efficiently.

If I were to go up to a random person on the street and asked them what they thought the Saints' best quality were I'm sure the majority of responses would be "Drew Brees" or "the passing game," but when you see the Saints put up 45 points in a highly competitive NFC Divisional playoff game with just about 40 percent of the offensive plays coming via the rush it makes you wonder just how balanced this team really is.

Of course, a lot of the rush offense came from an explosive Reggie Bush, especially with his 46-yard TD run that looked like it was going to end up a three-yard run, but he played consistently all game.

When you add in 52 yards from Pierre Thomas and the fact that they converted ten third downs via the rush, the Saints rushing game is looking extremely versatile right now.

Again, this whole idea of the Saints' offense being "one of the best" could just be debunked by the fact that the Cardinal defense was just that bad, but I wholeheartedly think that those Redbirds were doing all they could to stop the Saints. 35 points in one half is just way too much to give up.

I'm sure were going to see another great performance, possibly 500+ yards of offense, by the Saints' offense next week.

And honestly, all I can say is that I feel sorry for whichever team, Cowboys or Vikings, that is going to have to defend against them.