Carolina Panthers Host Arizona Cardinals for Playoff Game

Will Home Field Advantage Drive the Panthers to Victory or Will a Desire to Redeem Themselves Put the Cardinals on Top?

The NFL playoffs are up and running. "My" Carolina Panthers will face the Arizona Cardinals Saturday January 10 at 8:15 ET at Carolina. With the Cardinals showing in regular season that the road isn't their friend, with a 3-5 record, posting very lopsided final scores in each of those games. That gives advantage to Carolina.

I will have to say that top seeds, the Giants and Titans, may have got home field advantage, but that is about where the advantages end. They have each been blessed to face tough, fast-moving opponents that will start their playoff season under pressure immediately. The Giants will face the Eagles on Sunday. The Eagles have this momentum going that may prove difficult to slow. The Titans will face off with the Ravens, another team that has hit a hot run. But if the Giants and Titans are as good as they should be to both be top seed for their conferences, all they need to do is bring it.

With the Panthers managing a slim margin of victory over the Cardinals on October 26 (27-23), they will have to prepare and stay on top of this one from start to finish. The Panthers have had several games in which they posted impressive 1^st half numbers, only to come back and fight for their lives the second half, some times to no avail. The first thing they must remember is that a first half lead doesn't tell the story.

There are a few things Carolina has learned about Arizona and they will be watching for these elements to their game:

1. The Cardinals like to the ball in the air. If you are a fan of long passing games, this team will entertain you, or at least attempt to. Quarterback Kurt Warner has three 1,000 yard receivers to choose from. Only four other NFL offenses have ever sported a 1,000 yard threesome. In the game with Carolina in October, Warner blistered the Panthers defense for 381 yards.

2. Arizona has running issues. They were less than impressive this season in running the ball. They were 16^th in defending it, and this is where Carolina will try to attack. DeAngelo Williams ran 108 yards against them in the October game.