Playoffs
 

I know this is a stupid question, but I'm a die hard Saints fan. Do you think the Saints have any shot at the playoffs now?

:casstet:

Playoffs
 

Not likely, but possible. Nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to the playoffs.

[Edited on 12/12/2003 by BillyC]

Playoffs
 

What would have to happen for the Saints to make the playoffs?

Playoffs
 

I meant to type \"NOT\" likely. Not, \"LOT\" likely.

Anyway, to answer your question.

We need Dallas to lose at least once and Green Bay to lose once and we need to win out. I think that would put us in.

Playoffs
 

Playoffs
 

Well, it doesn\'t look good. We can catch Dallas pretty easily I think. That\'s realistic. Dallas plays @ Washington and then home against NYG. Dallas is better than both of these teams, but if anyone knows that records don\'t matter when you play in your division, it\'s the Saints. If Dallas loses to one of those teams AND we beat them, then we jump them in the playoff race.

Green Bay is a problem. They go out at San Diego, at Oakland, and then home against Denver. Denver can definitely beat them and that would make them 9-7 too. Problem is, I\'m not sure what the tie-breaker is for same-conference non-division rival teams. I have four possible ideas: record against like opponents, record in conference, points against, and division record. I have no idea which, if any of these are right, but we\'re basically screwed in all of them. See below:

1. Record against like opponents.
Green Bay beat Chicago twice, Seattle, and Tampa, but lost to Philly. That makes them 4-1. We beat Chicago and Tampa once each, but lost to Tampa, Philly, and Seattle. That makes us 2-3. Translation - we lose.

2. Record in conference:
At best we could tie. They are 8-5 in the NFC with 0 NFC games left. We are 6-5 in the NFC with NYG and Dallas left. Even if we win out we would also be 8-5 and thus it would defer to another way of breaking the tie.

3. Points against:
Right now they have 276 points against. We have 292 points against. We would have to pitch a couple of shutouts and they would have to give up a lot of points. That\'s not likely to happen to them against San Diego and Oakland.

4. Division record:
They are 4-2 in their division. We are 3-3. Again, we lose.

So basically, unless Green Bay loses two, it doesn\'t look like we can catch them.


Seattle may be catchable. They are @ St Louis, home against Arizona, and then @ San Fran. If they have a meltdown a la the NO Saints last season and they lose to Arizona, they could lose out and end up 8-8... but again, it\'s not likely. There is only one NO Saints team in this league and we are it. Of course, all of this is assuming that we win out, which may be the least likely proposition of all.

Playoffs
 

DIVISION TIES
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/foo...iebreakers_ap/


If, at the end of the regular season, two or more clubs in the same division finish with identical best won-lost-tied percentages, the following steps will be taken until a champion is determined. The same steps are used to determine the sites of postseason games.

Two Clubs


Head-to-head (best won-lost-tied percentage in games between the clubs).


Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division.


Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.


Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, if applicable.


Best net points in division games.


Best net points in all games.


Strength of schedule.


Best net touchdowns in all games.


Coin toss.

Three or More Clubs


Head-to-head (best won-lost-tied percentage in games among the clubs).


Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division.


Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.


Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games.


Best net points in division games.


Best net points in all games.


Strength of schedule.


Best net touchdowns in all games.


Coin toss.

Note: If one team wins mutiple-team tiebreaker to advance to playoff round, remaining teams revert to step 1 of applicable two-club format, i.e., either in division tiebreaker or Wild Card tiebreaker. If two teams in a mutiple-team tie possess superior marks in a tiebreaking step, this pair of teams advances to the top of the applicable two-club format to break the tie. One team advances to playoff round, while others return to step 1 of applicable two-club or three-club tiebreaker.

Playoffs
 

Sadly true.
You can make up some scenarios how the Saints will make the play-offs, but they have to be called \'fantastic\'. By the way: First tie-breaker is conference record (Green Bay 7-5, Saints at best 7-5), second is common opponents (which we lose).
Best chance right now: Saints win out and Carolina loses out.

Playoffs
 

Yeah, catching Green Bay seems pretty unlikely. Seattle or Carolina crashing and burning seems more likely, but that ain\'t exactly what I\'d call probable. You know?

Playoffs
 

The last I heard we had the tie-breaker on Green Bay.
I think Dallas is the team in our crosshairs.

But alas, winning out is about as likely as Brittany Spears ripping my clothes off.

Playoffs
 

I don\'t know how we could possibly have a tie-breaker against Green Bay. Ooh, is it team with more black in their uniform goes?

Playoffs
 

for the Saints to win a wild card:

Saints must win out

Green Bay must lose 2

Dallas must lose one of the next 2

Sf needs to lose 1

TB needs to lose 1


Currently the Saints are 9 seed in NFC

the 4th tie breaker is the killer , Strength of victory,

Saints are .346, Dal .433, SF .423, GB .462, TB .462 (data from NFL.com)

[Edited on 14/12/2003 by jm]

[Edited on 14/12/2003 by jm]

Playoffs
 

The coroner\'s report on Sunday night\'s New York Giants-New Orleans Saints matchup (ESPN, 8:30 ET): One team dead; the other, barely alive. The Giants playoff hopes may be squandered, but the Carolina Panthers\' overtime loss to the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday, restored hope for the Saints. The final three weeks of the season will determine whether they\'ll be resuscitated or they\'ll flatline, and it starts Sunday night against a tough Big Blue defense.



New Orleans Saints
Over the last two seasons, the Saints have been December disappointments, finishing 0-3 last year and 0-4 in 2001. This year, they have the opportunity to not only make the playoffs, but to change the perception of their organization. Over the course of the season, the Saints have been rebuilt, restructured and plagued with injuries, yet they\'ve fought their way through and are hoping to finish strong.




Brooks


To meet that goal, the Saints can\'t beat themselves. Last Sunday, they out-played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, yet they made just enough mistakes to lose 14-7. They lost three of four fumbles and allowed the Bucs to score two touchdowns in the final 1:25 before the half. Ultimately, two plays proved detrimental: Aaron Brooks\' dropped ball, which led to the Bucs\' first touchdown, and the blocked kick which followed shortly afterwards and put the Bucs up by seven.



During the final three weeks of the season, every game will be close. Every game will boil down to one, maybe two crucial plays. If the Saints hope to break their bad December pattern, they\'ve got to do a better job of protecting the football. If you can\'t protect the football, you can\'t win.

Much of the onus will fall on Brooks\' shoulders. Personally, I\'m a stickler who seeks perfection from the quarterback position. Brooks is the only guy on the field who\'s allowed to stop and give up without being hit -- running backs can\'t ask you not to hit them. So, the quarterback should be able to hold on to the ball.



Particularly in close games, quarterbacks can\'t afford to make mistakes. Missed handoffs, interceptions and fumbles are not only field-position changers, they\'re momentum killers and can psychologically affect the ball club. Against great defenses, field position becomes monumental.



Defensively, the Saints started the season with six new players. Defensive coordinator Rick Venturi told me that they would be a work in progress all year. Then, they were hit by the injury bug, and forced to rotate players, which made that \"work in progress\" become almost a work of impossibility. But they\'re a solid squad that should be able to disrupt the mistake-prone Giants offense.



For the Saints to make the playoffs, they must approach each of their final games against New York, Jacksonville and Dallas with vigor right out of the gate. They\'ve got to jump out early and not let up through four quarters.



The Jaguars\' 4-9 record doesn\'t reflect how well they\'ve been playing, and the Cowboys\' No. 1 defense can certainly cause the Saints some problems, but if the Saints can run the table, it will be a huge confidence builder to catapult them into the playoffs.

Playoffs
 

But a more appealing prospect.. for the rest of us, anyway. :)

Playoffs
 

Whats the playoff picture now?

Playoffs
 

We won, but we didn\'t get a lot of help this week for our playoff hopes.

Dallas 9-5 has the same hopeless Giants next week, a win by the boys gives them 10 wins and almost definatly a playoff spot. Green Bay and Minnesota are both 8-6 and fighting for the division, one is in the other fights us, Seattle 8-6 and Tampa 7-7 for the last spot.

So if any two of the following happens we are out even if we win our last two:

1 Dallas beats the Giants
2 Seattle wins one of its final two against the Cardinals or @ Niners
3Green Bay (@raiders, Broncos) or Vikings(Chief, @ Cardinals) win both of there final games
4Green Bay wins @ raiders and Vikings beat Cardinals
5Tampa Bay wins it\'s final two(Falcons,@ Titans)

There it is, cheer accordingly but it is a long shot for sure.


[Edited on 12/15/2003 by saint5221]

Playoffs
 

Basically, Dallas has to tank, and either Minnesota and/or Seattle have to tank (and by tank I mean lose out), and we have to win out. Not likely.

Coulda... Woulda... Shoulda....

Just wait \'til next year!! LMAO.

Playoffs
 

Minnesota and GB could both lose next week. GB plays at Oakland on Monday night. The Raiders played well last week and usually play tough on Monday night, especially at home (remember when they almost beat the Chiefs this year?). Minnesota will probably not beat the Chiefs who are playing for home-field advantage in the AFC. Seattle will no doubt beat Arizona in Seattle. Let\'s say both MIN and GB lose next week. Then we only need Dallas to lose to the Giants (playing for pride after last night\'s humiliation), and MIN to lose at Ariizona OR GB to lose again to Denver in week 17. It\'s possible...

However, I expect AB will have another shockingly poor performance next week, as he always does after a good game. We will lose to Jax and it will all be over but the shoutin\'. I hope I\'m wrong.

It was great to see the offense play so well last night, but show me something remotely close to that for a few weeks in a row and we\'d be on top of the division now instead of barely hanging on with all the chances of a whelk in a supernova. Two great games in a season don\'t cut it and never will. Hopefully San Diego was watching last night, eh 08?

[Edited on 16/12/2003 by rich006]