No one expects another blowout when the Packers meet the Cardinals

The Sandbar Mexican Grill at Desert Ridge Marketplace has been a Green Bay Packers-themed bar since it opened in 2010 and has even grabbed the attention of the Green Bay Packers staff.

Will it be more hard to return punts Saturday night because it’s a good bet Arians and his coaches have emphasized special teams for two weeks?

Cardinals lost wild-card game 27-16 at Carolina, Jan. 3, 2015. They waited until falling behind 11-0 last week against the Skins and letting the Cardinals jump out in front could be deadly.

They have not won a playoff game since the 2009 season, when they defeated the Packers 51-45 in overtime in the wild-card round.

The Packers have exactly two players drafted by other teams on their 53-man roster.

By halftime the Cardinals outgained the Packers 260 yards to 70. Cardinals PK Chandler Catanzaro missed three extra points in the final six regular-season games…. “We’ll see how it feels tomorrow”.

Linebacker Joe Thomas says players drew inspiration from McCarthy’s swagger. A healthier offensive line won’t give up another nine sacks to the Cardinals, but the Packers’ receiving group may have the same issues trying to gain separation from Arizona’s defensive backs, especially with Davante Adams unlikely to play.

In the meeting between the Cardinals and Packers in Week 16 of the regular season, Saturday’s hosts dominated the Packers en route to a 38-8 win. In any case, the Cardinals are looking to get him into the win column with this one.

Carson Palmer throws to three first-rate receivers, with diverse abilities: super-handed future Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald, tall catching machine Michael Floyd, and super-speedy John Brown.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, are among the league’s top defenses in points, passing yards, rushing yards and total yards allowed.

At age 36, Palmer is having perhaps the best season of his entire career. “When I was watching the game Sunday those guys were moving extremely fast, the fastest I’ve seen them all year”, said Peterson. They are well rested and eager to get their postseason started. Arizona running back David Johnson can run between the tackles and also be a matchup nightmare for a linebacker out of the backfield.

The Arizona Cardinals have had glimpses of what looks like Super Bowl potential this season, but skidded into the playoffs after taking a beating from the Seattle Seahawks in week 17. Early in the week over ¾ of the money was being placed on Green Bay and well over 80% of the wagers were on the over. Two very different roads that got each team to the same place.

The Packers led the National Football League in first-quarter points differential (plus-61), and were second in most first-quarter points scored (106). In the end, the Cardinals offense will prove to be too much and the defense will do just enough to hold off a resurging Rodgers. This game may go down to wire, but I think the Cardinals advance. Neither matters. On paper, this game should be pick ’em. The first of which being the smacking that the Packers just received at the hands of the Cardinals a mere few weeks ago.

Is that loss a major motivating factor? And we have guys that can win one-on-one.

ESPN’s Christina Kahril predicts Minnesota Twins third baseman/!B/OF/DH Miguel Sano will be the “No. 1 breakout hitter” in Major League Baseball and lead the American League in home runs this season…Bill James’ Baseball Info Solutions projects 37 HRs for Sano this season, behind only Chris Davis (40 HRs if he stays with the Orioles), MikeTrout (39) and Jose Bautista (39) in the American League. It’s not wholly unexpected (although the prediction for the Cards in the Sports Illustrated NFL preview issue had them at 5-11 this season for some reason) but I don’t think anyone was thinking 13-3.