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Saints still in playoff hunt

But today's game appears must-win

Sunday, November 21, 2004
By Brian Allee-Walsh
Staff writer

Despite a disappointing start, the enigmatic Saints can add themselves to the NFC playoff mix with a victory today against the Denver Broncos.

The thought is not so far-fetched. Think about it: A victory would give the Saints a 5-5 record with five games remaining against teams in the NFC South, where only the Atlanta Falcons have distinguished themselves, and a sixth against the Dallas Cowboys, who appear to be on the verge of imploding.

But first the Saints must take care of business against the AFC West co-leading Broncos, who should be refreshed and raring to go coming off an open week.

"People figure we're not going to beat both the (Kansas City) Chiefs and Broncos," Saints left tackle Wayne Gandy said. "I like it when people tell me you can't do something. I take that as a personal challenge."

"We understand that this is a great opportunity for us," Saints tight end Ernie Conwell said. "We're playing the third best defense in this league. They have good special teams. They move the ball up and down the field on offense. This is a top-tier team and we recognize that.

"It's a great challenge for us to see where we stand. If we win -- and we all believe we have the ability to win -- then we will have positioned ourselves to make a run at this."

In the NFL, it's all about positioning and staying within striking distance of the playoffs.

For months, an entire organization has pointed to this stage of the season that ultimately will determine the team's success or failure and perhaps Coach Jim Haslett's future in New Orleans.

"In college, you've got to win in November," Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks said. "In the pros, you've got to win in December. That's the key. If we can come out this week with a win, we can set ourselves up for the home stretch. We still have a chance to be where we want to be at the end of the year. So this game is huge."

Gandy, a veteran of 11 NFL seasons, said finishing 5-2 is not out of the realm of possibility, especially if players continue to believe in themselves and put forth an honest effort day in, day out.

"I told the guys last week that it's not about winning and losing right now," Gandy said. "It's about playing as hard as you can and then whatever happens, happens. That's what we deserve to give to each other.

"Regardless, if we make the playoffs or not, we can end the season on notes that carry over to next year. In the NFL, it's all about continuation. It's not just one year. The Patriots haven't won all those games based on one year. It keeps rolling over. We can still end up 9-7 and maybe we don't get in the playoffs but we can feel good about what we've done."

Veteran defensive tackle Brian Young said the Saints have little room for error and have no one to blame but themselves for being in this tenuous position.

"It's pretty much do or die time," he said. "We've lost all the games we can afford to lose. We've got to go into every game like it is our last. Technically, it is if we want to make it to the postseason."

Conwell said he has noticed in his teammates a more professional approach to their jobs in the wake of a confidence-building 27-20 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs a week ago.

"This is the time where true pros have to come to the surface," Conwell said. "Guys are tired. We've been playing football since July. We're beat up physically, mentally and emotionally. This is the grind.

"But we still have to show up every day. We can't feel sorry for ourselves because we're hurting. Throw all that stuff out the window. And I think guys have done that. There's no sense of panic. We had a chance to go in the tank against Kansas City after embarrassing ourselves against San Diego, and we didn't. That's real encouraging to me."

Saints middle linebacker Orlando Ruff broke the season down into four quarters with four games comprising one quarter. The Saints went 2-2 in the first quarter, 1-3 in the second quarter and have opened the third quarter with a victory.

"With nearly everybody coming up in December in our division, it's a great position for us to be in," Ruff said. "If we can take care of business this week, then we start back in the division.

"Unfortunately, we started off kind of slow but we're coming down the homestretch, and the third and fourth quarters are very important. In order for the fourth quarter to be important we've got to win the third quarter. That's what we're faced with right now."