Saints Fans - It's Okay To Look Ahead

Halo · 10-21-2009, 01:01 AM

Let’s forget all of this one-game-at-a-time, there’s-a-long-way-to-go, don’t-take-the-cheese stuff. You’re a Saints fan, and your team is 5-0 - and a really impressive 5-0 - so go ahead and look ahead.

Sure, this week’s game at Miami is scary – the Saints could have swelled heads, have a letdown after knocking off previously undefeated teams in consecutive games, and they’re facing a wild card in the Wildcat formation. But this team has gotten better each week, and there’s no reason to think it’s going to suddenly regress against a team that can’t beat it unless it regresses.

New Orleans has been the most impressive team in the NFL thus far and around these parts you don’t get too many chances in October to realistically speculate about a division title, a playoff bye, and homefield advantage in the playoffs. So enjoy.

Saints fans were introduced to these concepts in 2006 when their team started 3-0, won the NFC South with a 10-6 record, got a playoff bye for the first time, took advantage of homefield advantage to beat Philadelphia in the divisional round, then lost at Chicago in its first trip to the NFC Championship.

The only team against which the Saints could have played a road playoff game was the top-seeded Bears and that’s who they played for a trip to the Super Bowl. Who knows if the outcome would have been different if the game had been played in the Superdome, but a home game surely would have been better than a road game. Getting a bye and homefield advantage is huge.

Though the Saints have played only five games, they have put themselves in a position that they – or at least their fans – can already start thinking about these post-season possibilities. So enjoy.

Right now, the NFC appears to have four teams that realistically can think about high seedings and homefield advantage – the Saints, the Vikings, the Giants, and the Falcons. A few other teams – the Eagles, the Cowboys, the Packers, the Bears, the 49ers, and the Cardinals can think at least about the playoffs.

It’s not unrealistic to think a 9-7 record will get you into the NFC playoffs. It’s realistic to think a 10-6 record will guarantee you a spot in the NFC playoffs.

New Orleans has five wins and three games yet to play against winless teams – two against the Buccaneers and one against the Rams. The remainder of the schedule features three games against below-average teams (two against the Panthers and one against the Redskins), two against mediocre teams (the Dolphins and the Cowboys), and three against good teams (two against the Falcons and one against the Patriots.)

If the Saints sweep the winless teams, split against the Panthers and Falcons, split the games against the Dolphins and Cowboys, and say, beat the Redskins and lose to the Patriots, they’d be 12-4 and perhaps in the best shape they have ever been in entering the post-season, which they’ve entered only six times.

As for homefield advantage, the Saints have a leg up on everybody except the Vikings, the only other undefeated team in the NFC. They have a 1½-game lead on the Giants because of the head-to-head tiebreaker. They have a one-game lead on the Falcons and control their fate with the two head-to-head meetings.

Now back to the Vikings, who at 6-0 have a half-game lead on the Saints. New Orleans has five home games and six away games, and Minnesota, which hasn’t had its bye yet, has five home games and five road games.

The combined winning percentage of the Saints’ remaining opponents is 36 and that of the Vikings’ is 55. Though New Orleans has to win its extra road game to pull even, it has an easier schedule overall.

Plus, you have to factor in that Brett Favre hasn’t reached his annual quota of single-handed losses due to back-breaking interceptions. I’m thinking this week’s game at Pittsburgh will be one.

Yeah, it’s early and things can change quickly. The coaches and players are focused only on the Dolphins, as they should be. Let them stay grounded.

But as a fan, you can afford to look down the road, and right now, this road looks like it could extend well into 2010. So enjoy.

(Les East’s blog was named “Best Sports Blog” by the Press Club of New Orleans.)

Linkback: NewOrleans.com

10-21-2009, 01:01 AM	#1
Halo Site Donor MONTHLY Join Date: May 2002 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 20,245 Blog Entries: 45	Saints Fans - It's Okay To Look Ahead Let’s forget all of this one-game-at-a-time, there’s-a-long-way-to-go, don’t-take-the-cheese stuff. You’re a Saints fan, and your team is 5-0 - and a really impressive 5-0 - so go ahead and look ahead. Sure, this week’s game at Miami is scary – the Saints could have swelled heads, have a letdown after knocking off previously undefeated teams in consecutive games, and they’re facing a wild card in the Wildcat formation. But this team has gotten better each week, and there’s no reason to think it’s going to suddenly regress against a team that can’t beat it unless it regresses. New Orleans has been the most impressive team in the NFL thus far and around these parts you don’t get too many chances in October to realistically speculate about a division title, a playoff bye, and homefield advantage in the playoffs. So enjoy. Saints fans were introduced to these concepts in 2006 when their team started 3-0, won the NFC South with a 10-6 record, got a playoff bye for the first time, took advantage of homefield advantage to beat Philadelphia in the divisional round, then lost at Chicago in its first trip to the NFC Championship. The only team against which the Saints could have played a road playoff game was the top-seeded Bears and that’s who they played for a trip to the Super Bowl. Who knows if the outcome would have been different if the game had been played in the Superdome, but a home game surely would have been better than a road game. Getting a bye and homefield advantage is huge. Though the Saints have played only five games, they have put themselves in a position that they – or at least their fans – can already start thinking about these post-season possibilities. So enjoy. Right now, the NFC appears to have four teams that realistically can think about high seedings and homefield advantage – the Saints, the Vikings, the Giants, and the Falcons. A few other teams – the Eagles, the Cowboys, the Packers, the Bears, the 49ers, and the Cardinals can think at least about the playoffs. It’s not unrealistic to think a 9-7 record will get you into the NFC playoffs. It’s realistic to think a 10-6 record will guarantee you a spot in the NFC playoffs. New Orleans has five wins and three games yet to play against winless teams – two against the Buccaneers and one against the Rams. The remainder of the schedule features three games against below-average teams (two against the Panthers and one against the Redskins), two against mediocre teams (the Dolphins and the Cowboys), and three against good teams (two against the Falcons and one against the Patriots.) If the Saints sweep the winless teams, split against the Panthers and Falcons, split the games against the Dolphins and Cowboys, and say, beat the Redskins and lose to the Patriots, they’d be 12-4 and perhaps in the best shape they have ever been in entering the post-season, which they’ve entered only six times. As for homefield advantage, the Saints have a leg up on everybody except the Vikings, the only other undefeated team in the NFC. They have a 1½-game lead on the Giants because of the head-to-head tiebreaker. They have a one-game lead on the Falcons and control their fate with the two head-to-head meetings. Now back to the Vikings, who at 6-0 have a half-game lead on the Saints. New Orleans has five home games and six away games, and Minnesota, which hasn’t had its bye yet, has five home games and five road games. The combined winning percentage of the Saints’ remaining opponents is 36 and that of the Vikings’ is 55. Though New Orleans has to win its extra road game to pull even, it has an easier schedule overall. Plus, you have to factor in that Brett Favre hasn’t reached his annual quota of single-handed losses due to back-breaking interceptions. I’m thinking this week’s game at Pittsburgh will be one. Yeah, it’s early and things can change quickly. The coaches and players are focused only on the Dolphins, as they should be. Let them stay grounded. But as a fan, you can afford to look down the road, and right now, this road looks like it could extend well into 2010. So enjoy. (Les East’s blog was named “Best Sports Blog” by the Press Club of New Orleans.) Linkback: NewOrleans.com Attached Thumbnails