A league insider's look at NFC divisional playoffs

SI.com's Don Banks had a veteran NFC insider assess his conference's two divisional-round playoff games.

SCOUT'S TAKES: AFC Playoff Games

Philadelphia at New Orleans

Brian Westbrook ran for 141 yards and a touchdown in the Eagles' win over the Giants last week. Al Tielemans/SI

• Eagles -- Ever since Jeff Garcia took over at quarterback, the Eagles have been a more balanced team as far as the run versus the pass. It's really helped them because you used to be able to key in on them as a passing team ...

It's hard to not be impressed by Garcia. Taking nothing away from Donovan McNabb, Garcia just has a toughness and a grit to him that his teammates seem to respond to. He's a highly competitive kid who has overcome tremendous odds just to get there. His teammates have great belief in him, and he has a real presence about him right now ...

Brian Westbrook is really showing what he can do in the run game. He's not just getting those screens and check downs any more. He's showing he can make the edge, and he's a real slasher ... I also like how they use him as a punt returner. If they have a chance for good field position, they put him back there. If they're backed up however, they won't use him because he's not a great decision-maker ...

Brian Dawkins and Jeremiah Trotters are such leaders at playoff time. They always step up. I just like the Eagles playoff experience. They're not going to be overwhelmed by this environment. They're a savvy team and they don't get rattled. And their coach has been in this position many times ...

The Eagles need to get the Saints and Drew Brees into pure passing downs, because that's when defensive coordinator Jim Johnson will create some stuff to put tremendous pressure on your quarterback. And not just pass rush, but mental pressure as well ... I know the Eagles lost at the Saints in Week 6, but that was a long time ago. And it wasn't the playoffs. Philly's different than it was back then. They're playing with great confidence with Garcia in there.

• Saints -- New Orleans has more than karma going for it this season. The Saints have talent on their side, too. After LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees was the most impactful player in the league this year. What he was able to do in his first year in a new system was incredible. He's an excellent decision maker. He's extremely accurate. He doesn't take sacks or make many mistakes. He's very poised and doesn't panic. He just has a tremendous command of the game. He really gets it ...

Marques Colston had a hell of a year. We'll see what he does in the playoffs, though. It's a long year for rookies ... Joe Horn still scares me, because he loves a big spotlight like this. And Devery Henderson can really scoot. You put those three in there with Reggie Bush, Deuce McAllister and a guy who knows where to go with the ball like Brees, and that's a dangerous offense ...

Will Smith has had a nice year, but I don't know if he's at the point where the Eagles will have to slide their blocking his way. They'll probably try and chip him a little bit ... The Saints play great team defense, but one guy who has stood out is Scott Fujita at linebacker. He's big and fast and he has played well in that scheme. He has developed into an outstanding player. But overall the Saints don't have a bunch of high-profile guys. They're just good together ...

Sean Payton did a nice job selling his new program to that team. He turned it around pretty quickly, and that's what you can do with a little early success. He's very smart and very steady, and you can tell his players have a lot of respect for him. This game won't be too big for the Saints, even though they don't have much playoff experience. They won that huge game against Atlanta early this year, and went into Dallas and crushed the Cowboys. They'll be up to this level of intensity.