With only a few days left until the official release of the literature, there's still plenty of football to be played before you can start discussing the 2010 NFL playoffs. But considering how tightly bunched the NFC is, there's little room for error by the Saints right now. Just one more loss could spell disaster and dash all hopes of repeating as Super Bowl champions.
At 10-2, the Atlanta Falcons are boasting the best record in the NFC and leading New Orleans by half a game. And with Matt Ryan having already defeated Drew Brees twice this season, any hopes of their defeat by other teams (aside from the Saints) in their final four-game schedule are diminishing rapidly. So, I’ve come to terms with the fact that New Orleans is more likely to make the playoffs as one of the two wildcards. That certainly has to be better than not making it at all.
People have asked, "What if both teams finish 13-3 when the regular season ends?" Well, Atlanta would still have the edge due to the Saints' inexplicable loss to the Arizona Cardinals, one of their main conference rivals. Our hope now is that Carolina or Seattle can somehow pull off an upset. However, the Saints still need to win—plain and simple.
While I won’t rely too heavily on the hope that either Carolina or Washington might conjure up some magic for us, I won’t completely rule out that anything can happen. After all, who would’ve thought that the Saints could lose to the Cardinals and the Cleveland Browns with their losing records and rookie QBs under center? And look how those losses are coming back to haunt them. No one thought at the time that each of these games might be as significant as a missed field goal that secured Atlanta a victory in the Superdome. But with the NFC playoff picture looking so unclear right now, everything matters at this point.
Nevertheless, a wildcard spot isn’t so bad. The tougher the competition in the NFC West, the better, as the team that wins the division might have a losing record. Now, everyone thinks that doesn’t mean much. But the Saints are playing some excellent football right now, with the offense finding its groove and more. They’ve finally started beating the teams they’re expected to beat. I believe this gives them the momentum and confidence they need moving forward.
Sure, it’s great to get the domefield advantage and have things go through New Orleans again, but all the Saints need to do is win wherever they play. Despite significant setbacks this season, one thing remains clear: granted they still have a couple of tough road games left, the Saints have proven that they perform just as well on the road as they do at home. They’ve been as good on turf as they’ve been on grass, and they’ve even adapted well to cold weather. The conditions don’t matter much when the team is clicking on all cylinders, and recently they’ve looked highly sharp.
With all that said, hopefully Coach Sean Payton can do something about the undisciplined players who continue to accumulate penalties that have been hurting the team. It’s time that repeat offenders are held accountable until they make a conscious effort to improve. And new leagues must be restructured as well. Each of the next four games will be just as crucial as the others. Three of these will be challenging matchups, and two are divisional games. The game in Baltimore is especially significant because the Saints need it purely to keep pace in the tight race. Therefore, foolish penalties, brainless fumbles, and poor tackling must be eliminated entirely.
These are the kinds of mistakes that have cost the Saints games recently and ended up giving leverage to other teams. I am happy to see an increase in big plays cast with a degree of precision in the passing game. But if the Saints are hoping to make it all the way into the postseason, they’re going to have to execute to perfection from now on, especially when it comes to fundamentals. Every aspect of their game will need to be nearly flawless.
We know they have all the parts. We know they have the hunger and the desire. And they have hoards of fans that will follow them everywhere. All they need to do is play the game to their full potential, and they can be pretty much unstoppable.