Bucs at Saints

No surprise to see both these teams moving through the first week's playoff games to meet in New Orleans. In last week's columns we highlighted the Saints rushing game and the Bucs passing game -- both solid. And same for the defenses.

Looking at our yards per pass attempt, offense minus defense difference, Killer Stat, Bucs and Saints rank near the top in 4th and 5th place. It's hard to find a weakness for either team but if forced to point one out it would be the one-sided nature of the Bucs' offense -- they don't run the ball much. This is pictured in the chart below, mostly below league average (turquoise line).

Our computer favors the Saints, but not by a large amount -- 4.5 points, including 3 for the home field. So, it's a pretty close match featuring two all-time greats. What a matchup of QBs. Don't know if we'll ever see anything like this again. One thing's for sure -- one of these great old timers will be playing for the conference championships! I'll pick the Saints -- I've liked them all season. But who could sell short QB Brady and his new team?

Bill Sanders for BudGoodeSports.com
dr.bill@wrsanders.com

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