NFC Championship Preview: Arizona Cardinals v.s. Carolina Panthers

In a matchup that features two teams that can light up the scoreboard, the Cardinals and Panthers will give fans plenty of flashy plays. The Panthers steamrolled over the Arizona Cardinals, who had started Ryan Lindley at the time (now their fourth string quarterback). The NFC's top two teams are going to make history tomorrow as this will be the first time that a postseason game will feature two fo the highest scoring offenses, during the Super Bowl era. Carolina will defend their home turf against the red-hot Cardinals offense. The decision of having a conservative game flow in the first half boded well for Arizona's quarterback Carson Palmer in the second half. While Arizona won a matchup for the ages against Green Bay, Carolina was making a mockery of Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks, before nearly blowing a large lead. The Panthers Cam Newton will try to become the first quarterback to to have 45 or more touchdowns during the regular season and make a Super Bowl apperance. They will also try to extend their white home jersey winning streak to seven. The pre-game hype is going to be an afterthought as the focus is on the performance on the field. Will Cam Newton dab his way into the Super Bowl, or will Carson Palmer finally achieve his football goal?

Bold Predictions: Cardinals 35 - Panthers 31 

• Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald performed very similar to his wild 2008 playoff production. Fitzgerald recorded more than 150 receiving yards, including two key daggers in overtime. He faces one of the most humble and physical cornerbacks in the NFL, in Carolina's Josh Norman. Norman's lone porous game came against the Odell Beckham Jr. and the New York Giants. Quarterbacks have only completed 52.2 percent of their passes and a mere 54.7 quarterback rating. He makes quarterbacks look like Ryan Leaf and is focusing his next assignment against the respected Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald has great ball skills and has height on Norman. Fitzgerald also plays most of his snaps from the slot, where Norman could struggle, giving the fact that he has played a mere 1.4% of his snaps in the slot. However, Norman plays very physical at the line and does not give receivers a lot of cushion. Fitzgerald has break away speed that most teams forget about. Fitzgerald is also the only player to average at least 100 yards receiving and one touchdown per game in the playoffs and Norman will try to end Fitz's success. (Fitz: 5 Rec 85 yards 0 TD)
• Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott did a fantastic job containing Seattle's Russell Wilson in the first half and will need middle linebacker Luke Kuechly to prevent Palmer from dropping bombs. Kuechly is arguably the best pass coverage defender in the NFL and has played like a warrior. Kuechly reminds me of Brian Urlacher in so many ways because they're both are physical, have great recovery speed, and know where the ball is at all times. Kuechly, the quarterback of the defense, will need his secondary to contain Arizona's aerial attack, Carolina does not have corners Charles Tillman and Bene Benwikere available, so they need safties Tre Boston and Kurt Coleman to limit Palmer's deep balls. The biggest part of Carson Palmer's game is his uncanny arm strength. He has three deep threats (Fitzgerald, John Brown, and Michael Floyd), just like what Kurt Warner had when he lead the 2008 Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl. Look for Palmer to attack this defense early and often. (Palmer 312 yards 3 TD 1 INT)
• The Arizona Cardinals weakest link of their offensive line is their offensive guards. Carolina's breakout star Kawann Short has plowed right through opponents interior this season and will look to have more fun. Star Loutueli has struggled for the most part of the season, but showed no signs of giving up in last week's victory over Seattle. Seattle has the worst offensive line in the NFL, but Loutueli forced erratic throws and made some key stuffs in Carolina's win. He and Shortt should have a field day against this front. Arizona is a much better run blocking than pass blocking team, but it's going to be difficult against Carolina's front four. Look for more zone blocking against Carolina and for Arizona to call more sweeps, counters, and off tackles, to ware down this front. 
• The Carolina Panthers face another stingy defense in the Arizona Cardinals. Tight End Greg Olson was a key part to Carolina's success against Seattle, and will need to step up again. The Cardinals feature hybrid, converted saftey to linebacker Deone Buchanon and run stuffing Kevin Minter. Both are undersized, but make up for speed and tackling ability. Buchanon is the x-factor for Arizona's defense and has the tools to be a punisher in the run game and consistent presence in coverage. Buchanon does a great job covering wheel routes, which could be seen by Carolina's Philly Brown and Ted Ginn Jr. Buchanon will try to limit the short routes, while Minter will try to crash the line of scrimmage. Buchanon is too small to cover Olson, but will need to bring his tackling A-game to bring down Olson. Defensive Backs Tony Jefferson and Rashad Johnson will have the responsibility to defend the dangerous red zone threat. Olson should be a solid security blanket for Newton because both Johnson and Jefferson can leak sometimes. Carolina's Devin Funchess is nearly the size of a tight end and is another red zone threat. As a former high school basketball player, Funchess can use his basketball moves to lay out or out jump a defener. Arizona will need to play more zone with Carolina's tall duo. (Olson: 5 Rec 77 yards 1 TD) (Funchess: 4 Rec 31 yards 1 TD)
• One of the main reasons for Carolina's offensive success is the surprise play from their offensive line. The last time Carolina went to the NFC Championship game, they had a good offensive line. Same formula plays here as they have played consistent and tough all year long. The play of young guards Trai Turner and Andrew Norwell are the difference for the Panthers running game. Carolina has rushed for more than 100 yards in 30 consecutive games, but will great production from their interior to make it 31. Arizona is anchored by Pro Bowl defensive lineman Calias Campbell. Campbell statistical production has decreased, but continues to be a force to be reckoned with. He is dangerous in the trenches and uses swim moves to create chaos in the backfield. Jonathan Stewart ripped off a 51 yard run last week because of the giant hole is offensive line gave him. Arizona needs to fill the gaps to take control of the line of scrimmage. (Stewart: 24 Att 76 yards 0 TD) (Mike Tolbert scores 2 TD)
• Last week, Carson Palmer had very conservative play-calling in the first half. The conservative play-calling was made due to a dislocated finger. In the past players such as Steve McNair, Brett Favre, Dan Marino, and other vertan quarterbacks struggled with dislocated finger or thumb injuries. Some of Palmer's passes floated like cotton candy or made it look like he threw a duck. The finger seemed to affect Palmer in the game, even though he denys it. Palmer will need to be more crisp with a sworming Carolina defense that ranked first in takaways (39). Arizona should not rely on Palmer throwing fifty times and should use misdirection and try pounding Panther's stout front. Depending on the game flow, Arizona should try attacking Carolina's current depleted secondary and then use counters and power tosses with rookie sensation David Johnson. Johnson can break one loose anytime and is also a threat as a receiver out of the backfield. (Johnson: 18 Att 71 yards, 5 Rec 47 yards)
• Arizona's number one priority on defense should be containing Cam Newton. Newton has had success all season on the ground and Arizona needs to use QB Man Spy, Contains with their speedy rushers, and be careful to not overload on read options. Newton is every bit of 6'5 and occassionaly will sacrifice his body for a first down or a touchdown. Deone Buchanon and Kevin Minter will need to spy and make Cam Neton's pocket very uncomfortable. Arizona will need to employ zone blitzes and the occassional all out blitz to get Newton out of rhythm. Press Coverage on zone blitzes prevents the quarterback to make a quick release when there is heavy pressure. Any defense needs to use this strategy when dialing up a blitz against Cam Newton. (Newton: 256 yards 2 TD 1 INT, will lose 1 fumble, 12 Att, 40 yards 0 TD)