The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

I say the Saints because they own and the Colts barely squeak out wins week after week.  The Colts luck will falter.  The Saints could very well run the board.

Are the Saints the team to beat in the NFL this year?  Maybe that is a question for another thread.

I think the Saints can very well run the regular season table, but will probably have trouble in the playoffs.  I don't know that they can play "smashmouth" football for several weeks in a row, if the games are physical.  I see them even losing to an inferior team.

I think the Colts will probably lose first.

the toughest game the Saints have left is at Atlanta.  The rest of their games are against sub-500 teams.  If Matt Ryan can't get healthy by then, the Saints will be 16-0

The real question now, as I see it, is when IND and NO clinch homefield and start to face strong media pressure to shut it down.  This was one of the major reasons that NE was such a one-in-a-million shot in '07: Belichick already had multiple rings and he was completely immune to media criticism.  A team like NE can honestly say that they want to be more than just a champion; they want their shot at being the greatest team to ever take the field.

IND has a ring, but (presuming they keep winning) they will likely clinch homefield at the end of week 14, as CIN and SD are 8-3 and they play each other.  (The only way NE could pass IND is if IND loses every remaining game.)  It's going to be really difficult to justify playing your starters for 4 quarters of three games solely for the pursuit of 16-0, particularly given the results of the Patriots' attempt (a loss in the playoffs).

The more interesting scenario is NO.  If MIN continues to win, NO will forced to play their starters all the way until the last game to secure homefield; even if NO loses in week 17, MIN's sole loss was to an AFC opponent, meaning that MIN would win the tiebreaker against NO at best record in conference.  (The idea of a 15-1 team as a #2 seed is fairly comical, but it is entirely possible.)  As soon as NO clinches homefield, they will face overwhelming media pressure to shut it down, especially since that franchise has only won two playoff games in their history and have never made it to a Super Bowl.  Sean Payton is no Bill Belichick; he has to answer to his ownership and the media onslaught will be a MAJOR factor.

So it looks like the pressure is really dependent on MIN, CIN, and SD  (and CIN plays both of the other two).  If they falter, NO and IND's quest becomes significantly harder to justify.

Great teams lose games they shouldn't every week so I'm betting NO loses to someone unexpected rather than a likely candidate like Atlanta. The Saints will lose to Washington. They shouldn't but they probably will. It's the epitome of a trap game.

New Orleans is going to be just like that Minnesota team with Randall Cunningham that finished 15-1.

They will get smashed in the mouth in the playoffs by someone.

Here's the problem: who's going to do it?

Minnesota?  Favre is even more likely to implode in the playoffs.
Arizona?  I don't know anyone that wants to bet on them doing anything.
Dallas?  Again, Romo already has a history of choking.
Green Bay?  Philly?

It's not like there's a Pittsburgh or Baltimore waiting in the wings.  The teams that would have to knock off New Orleans are even more likely to choke it up.

New Orleans is going to run the table...not convinced that Indy will.

And, for comic relief...

i definately agree with this. sooner or later a kamikaze team with nothing to lose, like the skins ,will play spoiler is likely totake them out. and i see super bowl choke if they make it there. they pulled out some games this year that were hairy, and close. can they play/survive playoff football ? we shall soon see.........

Man ... I was one missed field goal away from being spot on!!