Saints in the playoffs if we go 9-7
 

Here the saints remaining schedule. With what I have seen recently, we can beat any of our remaining opponents.

Nov. 2 at Tampa Bay Noon
Nov. 9 -- bye --
Nov. 16 ATLANTA Noon
Nov. 22 at Philadelphia Noon
Nov. 30 at Washington 3:05 p.m.
Dec. 7 TAMPA BAY Noon
Dec. 14 NY GIANTS 8:30 pm (ESPN)
Dec. 21 at Jacksonville Noon
Dec. 28 DALLAS Noon

People on this board have been saying we will not go to the playoffs if we go 9-7. The key is we beat the teams that matter, namely(TB, PHI, NYG, DAL).

Unless the two wildcards are both 10-6, we will get in with a 9-7 record if we beat the teams tied with us. (tiebreaker advantage)

--Example--So if Tampa, Philly and the Saints all go 9-7, but we win both of our contest vs. tampa, and our one vs. philly, we would likely go to the playoffs(depends on other divisions, teams).

Saints in the playoffs if we go 9-7
 

Exactly. We posted the same thing sort of in the \"Saints in the Playoffs\" post
But it probably swerved off into a Brooks bashing tangent.
Good points I agree. We kinda can control our own destiny, sort of.

Saints in the playoffs if we go 9-7
 

I think one of the wildcards will be 9-7.
All the teams in the race are about at 500. And they all play each other!
The last team in will be 9-7 with a tie-breaker over two other 9-7 teams.
Don\'t jump ship on me yet brother!

Saints in the playoffs if we go 9-7
 

Division
Seahawks (or Rams)
Minn
Carolina
Philly (or NYG) at 9-7

WC-
1- Rams (or Seahawks)
2-4way tie at 9-7...
NYG (or Philly), TB, NO, Dallas
The NFC east has to play the NFC South, each other, and the AFC east. I don\'t see any of those teams getting to 10-6. One maybe, but they will be the division winner.

While I think the 2nd WC will be 9-7, the tough part is the Saints reaching 9-7.
We need to go 6-2 over our next 8. If we go 6-2 we\'ll probably have a tie-break advantage. Every team in the hunt for that last spot has just as many problems and question marks as we do.

Likely? Not really.
Realistically Possible? Absolutely.

Saints in the playoffs if we go 9-7
 

Everyone in this thread is missing the point. The Saints very well may be able to go to the playoffs at 9-7 (although I tend to agree with Gator that 10-6 looks more realistic for the wild card teams). That\'s not the point that needs to be taken into consideration though. THe important thing is that the Saints FIRST have to make it to 9-7 before any tie-breaking concepts come into play. I\'d rate the odds of the Saints going 9-7 (which means 6-2 in their next 8) about the same as I would rate the odds of 08 deciding that he likes Aaron Brooks.

Saints in the playoffs if we go 9-7
 

I disagree with you Whodat. The Saints going 6-2 in their next 8 is not impossible, 08 getting over his Delhomme crush is...

...ya can\'t teach an old dog new tricks.

Saints in the playoffs if we go 9-7
 

Sorry Saintfan, I just looked up the odds in Vegas. Here are the lines as published by TeamsTha WillNeverWinaChampionshipGambling.com:

Odds of 08 getting over his Delhomme Man-crush:
1:396,802,201

Odds if the Saints winning six or more of their next eight:
1:396,802,202

As you can clearly see, 08 has the advantage.

[Edited on 29/10/2003 by WhoDat]

Saints in the playoffs if we go 9-7
 

Interestingly that same site had a line on whether you will ever stop drinkin 08er-aid...

1:396,802,203

and it\'s even less likely that you\'ll ever view anything positively...

1:396:802,204

Ain\'t that somethin\'. I didn\'t even know that tracked stuff like that. Go figure...

Saints in the playoffs if we go 9-7
 

Alright man. I\'m not going to get into it with you. You\'re obviously in a foul mood today, so...

I\'m drinking 8-er-aid. That\'s funny. So you\'re suggesting that SINCE THE SEASON STARTED this year, I\'ve generally been overly critical of Brooks? That\'s what you\'re saying?

I\'m also obviously a pessimist b/c I usually talk about how the Saints are going to lose. Hhmm. I did a little research and uncovered some interesting results. The Saints HAVE lost more often then they have won. Imagine that! So that means if I simply predicted a loss EVERY week I\'d be batting .625 to your .375. Of course, I did predict every win this season, but also thought that we would beat the Panthers, so I guess that makes me a mere 7 out of 8. Man I am WAY off. Your 10-6 or 11-5 prediction is looking dead on though. Billy\'s 12-4 number looks fantastic.

Excuse me for being a little down on a team that is winning less than 40% of its games. MY bad.

Saints in the playoffs if we go 9-7
 

You have every right to be down on this team Whodat. I don\'t blame you...not now...not with the way their playing...

...but riddle me this...

When was the last time you were POSITIVE about this team. Oh, I know you tried to be as positive as possible early on, but it was sorta like the Pope saying the Methodists aren\'t all wrong...you know what I mean?

When we won the playoff game against the Rams I betcha everybody on this board damn near pee\'d their pants. Some of us actually did ( LOL ) but NOW those same people (the ones that had to buy new underwear at Wal-Mart) pass it off as dumb luck. It\'s just amazing how the wind direction changes people in here so much. All these folk wanna do now is fire people. \"Let\'s Blame the QB\" they say. These people couldn\'t possibly be watching the whole game could they? Dropped passes don\'t count. Losing more than half the defense shouldn\'t matter. We AVERAGED 27 points a game last year and yet people are still screaming for the head of Aaron Brooks? You tell me...what ARE these people thinkin\'? Wanna blame Brooks for the collapse last year? Anyone wanna consider the two dropped touchdown passes he threw? NOPE. It\'s silly, and it\'s insane, and I guess it\'s the reason I wanna spit and cuss sometimes after I\'ve visited this site.

And yeah, I am in a sorta bad mood. It\'s not that I\'m the \"Defender of Billy\", but as I understand it he got booted for something Gator posted. He quoted it because, as I understand it, he took quite a bit of heat for some of his earlier posts. Gator directed his \"language\" at me too, and then had the nerve to pop in here earlier today and post in another thread like nothing happened. I\'m sure I\'ll feel better tomorrow, but right now I\'m a little miffed by the whole thing to tell the truth...

Saints in the playoffs if we go 9-7
 

Hold on, time out... Billy got BOOTED?!?!? What?!?!

Hey man, I understand your frustration with this site. Just know, that\'s how some of us feel about this team. You know as well as I do that success is hard to come by for this team, so when we have talent like this, yet continue to play like we have been, well, it drives some of us insane. Sure, this team does still have a chance, all be it a small one.

It\'s just crazy to give Haslett another pass this year. Jim Mora brought the Saints to their first ever winning season, their first ever division title, and their first ever playoff appearence. But after the \'92 season in which he went 12-4, the Saints then went 8-8, 7-9. 7-9. and were 2-6 in his fourth year thereafter when he quit. Those numbers sound an aweful lot like a the current coach\'s numbers.

Let me ask you this Saintfan. If Haslett\'s first season had been 3-13 and hadn\'t accounted for the Saints first playoff win ever, would you still be all for Haslett? If this was the year we all expected to be his chance to prove that he could make it to the playoffs and the Saints started 3-5 would you still be so willing to give him all the time in the world?

The point I\'m making is that fans are allowing this guy to slide b/c he brought us to our first ever playoff victory in his first year and we lifted him up to god-like status b/c of it. However, every year since has been anything but god-like, and this season has been the worst of his career in NO. How bad does it have to get?

Saints in the playoffs if we go 9-7
 

Gator calls me a prophet and buys into my predictions?!?! I can die a happy man. ;)

Saints in the playoffs if we go 9-7
 

I thought the Carolina game was the MUST win if the Saints were to make the playoffs. Apparently, I was wrong cuz the truth of the matter is that I still have that hope. Unfortunately, this week we are playing the Bucs and regardless of how bad they seem to be at times, they are going to play extra tough against us since we won both against them last year.

Like I said at 3-5 I can still see a 6-2 run getting us in (depending on the rest of the conference) but a loss Sunday will seal the deal. Not that the Saints will be mathematically eliminated, but I think it will crush their spirits.

Otherwise, the last two games have at least been encouraging in the way that the Saints have played. Too bad they didn\'t open the season with that kind of fire.

Saints in the playoffs if we go 9-7
 

OK. So 3-6 and we\'re done huh? What kind of chances are you giving the Saints this Sunday? And before you give me the, well we beat them twice last year, line of reasoning, do you really think this Saints team is even close to playing this year the way it was last year, especially a this point in the season?

Saints in the playoffs if we go 9-7
 

I give us a 1-in-3 chance of winning this week.
But I think a loss puts the nail in the coffin, barring a miraculous run.

A win? Well I still think the playoffs will be difficult but definately not impossible.

A Loss? Start playing the youngsters to get them experience for next year... ie...

Cie Grant (he needs 1/2 season to be ready for next year)
J. Stinchcomb (Some say he\'d make a great center. RT is where I\'d try him)
M. Williams (Could be a solid #3 DE)
M. Holland (He could be future stud at LG)
K. Smith (can he play 4 quarters for multiple games?)
J. Allen (Knowledge of the system is only drawback, let him learn on the job)
K. Allen (Can he play a full game? Or will he be a perennial backup?)
T. Gardner (I still think he can be a good WR eventually. Only one way to find out)
K. Craver (yes, IF he\'s learned his lesson, its time to see if he can play CB or FS)
Z. Hilton (He could be an awesome weapon next year)

Keep Tebucky Jones in and see if it ever clicks for him.