Anquan Boldin Expected to Play Saturday in New Orleans; Do the Cards Even Need Him?

Anquan Boldin

Coming off the highest-scoring game in NFL playoff history, the Cardinals are expected to have a key piece of their offense returned for Saturday's game against the New Orleans Saints..

Anquan Boldin, the often-whiny-over-his-contract but explosive wide receiver, is expected to return to the field after suffering knee and ankle injuries that left him sidelined for last week's game.

The question, however, is do the Cardinals even need Boldin?

Certainly he is a nice weapon to have, but his replacement and team statistics indicate Boldin may be better off on the sidelines.

Boldin's replacement, fourth-in-the-rotation wide receiver Early Docuet, pulled in two of the Cards' five touchdowns last week.

Here are team statistics on Boldin, courtesy of the NFL:

In the seven games Boldin missed over the last two season, the Cards have gone 6-1, averaging 33.9 points per game as opposed to games where Boldin has played, when the Redbirds are 17-13, averaging 24.5 points per game.

We're not saying there aren't other factors at play when looking at the stats (quality of opponents, who was playing quarterback, so on) or necessarily that Boldin isn't the best man for the job, but this is the playoffs -- making it worth considering that he should be used sparingly.