arsaint

Ah the life of a Saints fan - usually a day late and a dollar short.

Something tells me we play the Falcons in week 17 wishing we had 1 more win so the game at ATL was for the division...

Beastmode

I don't know. Starting to think we can do this. Could be peaking at the right time. If keeping Cooks as a decoy the whole game was part of the plan that is some diabolical stuff and throwing two passes to someone who has not had a catch all season. Who does that? Just cra cra but that's what it takes to win.

foreverfan

THIS IS OBVIOUS... We could easily be 8-2.

Saints are a very good team when we control turnovers and control the kicking game.

Saintsfan4ever

The Saints actually have a better chance at winning the division than they do making a wildcard.
To win the division, we'd have to win out & hope Atl & Bucs lose 3 & 2 respectfully. To win a Wildcard, we'd likely be competing with 7 or 8 teams with same or better records. You gotta figure the Giants have one Wildcard spot at 8-3, and the other wildcard will between teams with current 5-6 & better records.
But there is no high % or likely scenario that puts the Saints in the playoffs without running the table 6-0 down the stretch. If the Saints lose 1 game going forward the percentages of making the playoffs drop dramatically.

Saint4

WillSaints81

We will go 8-8 or 9-7. We are not winning out. I said this before, Arizona is a MUST win if Atlanta does not lose to KC and one of LA and SF. We have never swept a NFC division before or been swept by one in the Payton era and have had 2 or 3 wins. We currently have 3 wins against the NFC West.

When we play Arizona, however, there is a downfall. Thomas is gonna be contained like he was against Denver and Cooks may not be effective either. Who does that leave? Snead. He's not gonna do it either because it's a road game. But Coleman had a TD last year against them. And forget about Fleener as well. We won't beat the cards on quick drives.

We may need turnovers to perhaps win this game.

I said it before we're losing one more division game. We have to play the bucs twice in three weeks and with how they are playing I don't think sweeping them is not out of the question.

The truth is there are always paybacks, actions have consequences. And we are at our record because of our own preventable mistakes. throwing pick sixes, fumbles in redzones, blowing big leads, special teams. When those happens you can't just ask for a reprieve.

Also, 9-7 and wild card. I thought about this. This is not good if giants are 9-7 because giants beat us and vikings beat giants. Because giants beat us and we didn't play vikings, vikings win the tie-breaker. It would not matter if it was GB at 9-7. So we need Washington to lose to the giants or next three weeks. And vikings to somehow end up 8-8 of the latter. Very strong possibility Washington at 7-7-1 does not win last game if it doesn't matter. But it won't matter for giants either.

I would not be surprised if this is the season that respurns the extra playoff team argument. No one can say vikings and giants would be more deserving than redskins and saints.

Utah_Saint

If the Saints win out, that's one loss for the Falcons and two for the Bucs.

MatthewT

Need to run the table and hope for the best. Anything short of that will probably eliminate the Saints this year.

arsaint

New Orleans Saints What If?

SaintsBro

That was a great game yesterday and I am still coming down off the high, but I still don't really see anything here other than 7-9. Look at it this way -- Payton's OCD nature is showing in the team character again. As soon as the defense starts getting better, then the special teams fall apart and Drew starts getting the whoopsies and throwing gift-wrapped pick 6's. I look for that type of randomness to continue, like it has all year. Special Teams will probably improve, and then the O-line will fall apart. The offense will click on all cylinders, and then that same Sunday the defense will suddenly regress. Or the defense will play heroically lights-out, and then special teams will blow it. Whenever something in one area of the team tightens up, another button will pop, someplace else, a different gasket blows out, and the team will fall apart. Yesterday was a very complete, well-rounded game, but the Rams are a team that are circling the drain with a suspect coaching regime. It sure felt great for a couple of hours, though.

Saintsfan4ever

Exactly.