tweeky

6 spots left, if GB wins tonight, and I think they will, he's how it shapes up
Car 7-2 (easy sched)
Dal 7-2 (Horrendous sched, may fade badly to 8-8)
Min 6-3 (average sched, but looks to be fading)
Sea 6-3 (average sched)
STL 6-3 (easy sched)

Contenders for last playoff spot…
Philly 5-4 (brutal sched)
GB 5-4 (easy sched)
TB 4-5 (average sched)
NO 4-5 (average sched)
SF 4-5 (tough sched)


Almost all of the above contenders play each other. I can see both wildcards at 9-7. Probably one at 10-6 and the other at 9-7. If we do get to 9-7 then we will most likely have beaten the teams we're contending with. I think the last spot will be a 3 or 4 way tie to get in. If it’s a 3or4 way tie, Seattle's win over us will only count as part of their win% among tied teams.

rich006

Yeah, but if Philly wins tonight (which I don\'t think they will), 9-7 might not do it for us. With 6 teams at 6-3 or better, 9-7 would only do it if a couple of those teams go 3-4 in their last 7. Go Packers, this week anyway...

On the bright side, there don\'t seem to be any teams in the NFC that have all the necessary parts to get really hot right now:

Philly- no passing game except vs. Atlanta
GB- no defense
Giants- up and down like the Saints
Car- passing game average at best
Dal- inexperience, plus the Parcells honeymoon won\'t last forever
STL- offense has been spanked last two weeks
Sea- looks average all around lately
Minn- no defense
TB- Jekyll/Hyde starting to look more like Hyde/Hyde
SF- can\'t win on the road
NO- inconsistent offense, inconsistent defense

Seems like the Saints have as much of a chance as anybody, especially if the defense continues to improve with Howard and Hodge back. If we can get a little better production from our passing game (and not have too many injuries), this could be a fun season for us. Of course, we all know that\'s a big \'if.\' Nothing to do now but keep on keepin\' on.

"I'm going back to New Orleans, to wear that ball and chain."

tweeky

Pretty much sums up my thoughts exactly.

ScottyRo

I think I\'ll be rooting for Philly tonight. Here\'s why:

1st, if Philly really does have a \"brutal\" schedule to finish up they\'ll be easier to catch even with a two game lead than GB who would have a one game lead if they won and they have an easier schedule.

2nd, I\'m not going to profess to being a tie-breaker guru, but if it comes down to a tie-breaker between either of these teams, a win over Philly by the Saints will help us win the tie-breaker over GB if Philly beats GB tonight (based on common-opponents). I haven\'t looked up all the common opponents (chicago is one) but we need that badly.

It just occured to me that Saettle is another common opponent and we\'ve lost that one Since GB beat Seattle. Therefore, we need this one badly in order to keep up with GB.


[Edited on 10/11/2003 by ScottyRo]

nocloning

If Philadelphia wins tonight, the Saints have a must-win-game IN Philadelphia. I don\'t like our chances in that one. I\'ll be rooting for GB tonight.
\"The Saints have as much of a chance as anybody\" - maybe, but \"anybody\" is at least one game ahead. Dallas\' win yesterday was a big if not huge blow for the Saints. At 7-2 the Saints can hardly make them out at the horizon. It will be extremely tough to catch them.
Anyway - and I\'ll keep repeating that - get ready for Atlanta and wait for the upsets to happen. The Saints don\'t control their own destiny at the moment, but they control how prepared they go into their next game.

\"What is Wal-Mart? Is it like they sell wall stuff?\"

ScottyRo

I don\'t doubt that is going to be a tough game, but we don\'t really deserve a playoff trip if we can\'t beat the Eagles. To me it is already a MUST win. Sure, it can be done otherwise, but that is definitely a big game.

As far as Atlanta goes, they did two great things last week...(1) they beat the Giants; and (2) they beat the Giants, which will hopefully send a signal to our boys not to take them lightly. We shall see!