Can we do it?
 

If the Saints win the rest of there remaining games, do you think we can make the playoffs?

Can we do it?
 

Pretty big \"if\" if you ask me. But if we win out, we\'ll likely make the play-offs. All that we would need is another Dallas loss.

Can we do it?
 

I assume that is rhetorical, b/c the answer is obviously NO!

IF we win out it will still be tough. Seattle would have to lose 3 more for us to be ahead of them. Minnesota would have to lose two more, which is VERY possible (they\'re the \'02 Saints of \'03), but then GB would still have to win out to take the division from them. Dallas has to lose 1 and then lose to us. Carolina would have to lose 3 more for us to overtake them, and as overrated as I think they are, I don\'t see that happening.

Hey, it\'s the NFL, so anything can happen. But if you\'re a betting man, don\'t put any money on the Saints... ever.

Can we do it?
 

I maintain that only Dallas matters.
Seattle / St. Louis can do what they want, one will win the division, the other one will be the first wild card team.
Only one team from the NFC North will go to the playoffs. We own the tie-breaker with Green Bay (conference record) if we win out. If the Packers win the division, we will own the tie-breaker with Minnesota (MIN needs to lose 2 games to lose the division ... 98% sure of that) or rather MIN will be 9-7.
Obviously only Carolina will be ahead of us in the NFC South.
So it comes down to the two second placed teams in the NFC South and NFC East, namely Sainst and Cowboys. Only if the Eagles start losing (not gonna happen) and the Cowboys, Eagles and Saints end up with a 10-6 record we will be out (Dallas wins the divsion, head-to-head tiebreaker against Philly).

Okay, even Jets fans talk about what needs to happen for them to make the play-offs, so I guess it\'s alright for us to do this. After today\'s game though ... one of these days our first half mistakes will catch up with us and I fear it will be sooner than later. If we beat Tampa AND Dallas loses in Philadelphia we can talk about this in depth.

Can we do it?
 

Watching this game tonight, I think more than Dallas matters. TB isn\'t an easy game, nor is NYG, but we SHOULD win both. After that, Jacksonville looked like a sure win leaving everything to the Dallas game. Now, I don\'t know. The Jags are NOT playing like a 2-9 team. Their D looks fierce. If they put that type of pressure on Brooks.... well, we all know what will happen. We\'ve got four VERY VERY VERY tough games. I just don\'t see this team winning in the clutch four straight times. Sorry guys, I just can\'t see our team getting there. I sure hope they will, but I just can\'t see it... unless they seriously improve their play.

Can we do it?
 

It\'s not impossible for Seattle to lose three games and end up 9-7. They have 3 road games left and the only road game they\'ve won this year was at Arizona. They could easily lose at MIN, STL, and SF-- all traditionally good home-turf teams. So it\'s conceivable the Saints could end up in the #1 wild card spot if they win out and Dallas loses to Philly.

The most unlikely aspect of that whole scenario is the Saints winning out of course. ;)

Can we do it?
 

If we will all of our remaining games and Dallas losing to philly and us, do we have a 100% shot of getting in the playoffs?

Can we do it?
 

Yes. Even if GB goes 10-6 also, we have the NFC Conference tie-breaker on them.
Minnesota is a non-factor. If they finish 10-6 they win their division because of tie-breaker over GB. If they finish 9-7, they are behind us.

Bottom Line: If we win out, and Dallas loses one more game before they play us, we get in!
Dallas will lose to Philly!
The hard part is us winning out!


I posted this earlier... hope it helps.

PHL, GB, STL, and CAR probably win their divisions, so we have to worry about
Dallas, and Seattle
Assuming we can win out

Dallas (8-4) has @PHL,@WAS,NYG,@NO
I can see them losing 1 before playing us, and with a loss to us they stay home.

Seattle (8-4) has @MIN,@STL,AZ,@SF
I can see them losing 3 also for a 9-7 record. AZ is a trap game.

Can we do it?
 

Thanks Tweeky, you really cleared things up for me.

I think we have a really good shot, we \"SHOULD\" win out.

Can we do it?
 

Its also possible we get in at 9-7.

Dallas has 3 road games (PHL,WAS, NO) and one home (Giants)
They could lose 3 of those 4 to finish 9-7.

Green Bay could lose to Denver to finish 9-7.

Its unlikely but possible.

Heck, Carolina is on the verge of a total collapse. With Vick back I can see ATL handing them their 3rd loss in a row. If they can lose to Houston, they can certainly lose @Zona, Det and @NYG. Very unlikely.

Can we do it?
 

Theoretically NO. There are some scenarios in which the Saints would be out:

1. a) Philadelphia wins the NFC East (record doesn\'t matter), Dallas is second with a 10-6 record
b) St. Louis wins the NFC West (record doesn\'t matter), Seattle is second with a 10-6 record
c) Dallas wins the tiebreaker (either common opponents or strength of victory) - it is unclear at the moment who owns the tiebreaker between Dallas and Seattle

Dallas would be the first wild card team, Seattle the second

2. a) Dallas wins the NFC East with the division record tie-breaker (and they would win that tie-breaker with PHI if both teams go 10-6)
b) St. Louis wins the NFC West (record doesn\'t matter), Seattle is second with a 10-6 record

Seattle and Philadelphia in the play-offs, Saints at home (head-to-head sweep).

There is another scenario in which Seattle wins the NFC West and St.Louis is second with a 10-6 record (8-4 conference). I think I\'ll wait for next weeks results cause that one\'s a little tricky.
Bottom line:
In all theoretical glory it actually helps the Saints if Seattle wins out (or ends the season at 11-5) or self destruct. A 10-6 record would be bad news.

[Edited on 2/12/2003 by nocloning]