So Much for Being Rusty: the Saints Return to Their Dominant Ways

As amazing as it seems, the New Orleans Saints still have yet to prove to many that they really are worthy of their first-seed status.

Despite starting the season by winning 13 consecutive games and dismantling a New York Giants team, out-classing a Philadelphia Eagles team in Philly, embarrassing a confident New England Patriots squad, and completely dominating an Arizona Cardinals team in the NFC Divisional Round playoff game.

Heading into the matchup with Kurt Warner and the Cardinals, the questions were raised repeatedly, "How will the Saints stop Kurt Warner and that high-flying Arizona offense?

Saints went into the game with the NFL's most efficient passer(109.1) in Drew Brees, who also led the NFL in TD and completion percentage.

Not much was made of the Saints' balance on offense and their quick strike ability.  Nobody seemed to think the Arizona Cardinals defense would have any trouble containing the league's No. 1 offense at home, in the playoffs, after a bye, with formerly injured starters returning to the playing field.

The Saints put a merciless beating on the Cardinals in a game that at times looked like the varsity football team toying with the JV glee club.  Brees continued his standard brilliance, connecting for three touchdowns.

The stingy Saints defense, once again, caused turnovers putting that high-powered offense back out onto the field with a short field.  Kurt Warner spent a good portion of the afternoon on his back as the defense sought to disrupt a passing attack that put up 51 points the week prior.

Even after such a convincing, one-sided victory, very little was mentioned about the dominance of the Saints on both sides of the ball.  I didn't even mention the outstanding special teams play and that Reggie Bush elevated his game to new heights.

All that said, there's more than one way to look at the lack of attention and praise.  The Who Dat Nation can get angry feelings that our team was snubbed for the more popular characters like Brett Favre or Peyton Manning.  Or we can enjoy the short-sightedness of the media and their incessant appetite for drama.

The Saints have quietly returned to the dominance they exhibited early this season, when leading the NFL in scoring, yards per game, defensive takeaways, opposing QB efficiency rating, and red zone defense—and nobody seemed to notice that dominance is the SAINTS identity.

So don't be surprised if the NFC's No. 2 seed Minnesota Vikings' season ends in similar fashion as the Arizona Cardinals'.  All one has to do is look at the matchups and see for yourself.  For starters, the Vikings secondary cannot handle future Hall of Famer Drew Brees in this environment, under these circumstances, with these weapons, at this point in his career.

A healthy fear of the Saints is appropriate, but the scary thing is that there's more to that we haven't seen.  Expect to learn something new about the Saints—and I'm sure they'll still have something to prove.