The Greatest Show on Turf vs. the 2011 Saints (1 Viewer)

black_floyd

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This post is SOLELY debating their respective offenses, not overall teams.

The 1999 Rams went 13-3, scored 526 points, had 66 TDs (42 passing, 13 rushing, and 11 defensive or special teams), had 6412 yards of total offense (4353 passing and 2059 rushing), and scored 40+ points in four games (3 in the regular season, 1 in the playoffs).

The 2011 Saints went 13-3, scored 547 points, had 66 TDs (46 passing, 16 rushing, and 4 defensive or special teams), had a still-standing NFL record 7474 yards of total offense (5347 passing and 2127 rushing), and scored 40+ points in seven games (6 in the regular season, 1 in the playoffs).

Regarding turnovers:

The Rams had 31 total turnovers resulting from 15 INTs and 16 lost fumbles out of 30 total fumbles.

The Saints had 19 total turnovers resulting from 14 INTs and 5 lost fumbles out of 9 total fumbles.

Regarding both teams' opening playoff games:

The Rams scored 49 in their opener (divisional round at home) against the 10-6 Vikings who were 2nd place in the NFC Central and 18th in scoring defense. Their offense accounted for 42 and their special teams got 7 on a kickoff return.

The Saints scored 45 in their opener (wildcard round at home) against the 10-6 Lions who were 2nd place in the NFC North and 23rd in scoring defense. Their offense accounted for all 45 points.

Regarding both teams' second playoff games:

The Rams scored 11 (9 on offense, 2 via safety) in the NFC Championship game at home against the 11-5 Buccaneers who were 1st in the NFC Central and 3rd in the league in scoring defense.

The Saints scored 32 (all on offense) in the divisional round on the road against the 13-3 49ers who were 1st in the NFC West and 2nd in the league in scoring defense.

The Rams would go on to score 23 in the Super Bowl (offense accounting for all 23 points) bringing their postseason tally to 83 points of which their offense was responsible for 74.

The Saints' offense accounted for 77 points in just two games against roughly the same caliber of defenses. The Rams' three playoff opponents' scoring defenses' rankings averaged out to 12th and they averaged allowing 298 points. The Saints' two playoff opponents' scoring defenses' rankings averaged out to 12.5 and they averaged allowing 308 points.

"But the Rams at least won the Super Bowl!"

True, but they played in an NFC where the best team outside of them was 11-5. The Saints played in an NFC with the 15-1 Packers and the 13-3 49ers and ended up playing wildcard weekend. The Rams were also getting considerably more help from their defense.

The Rams were able to win a conference championship game scoring only 11 points. The only teams the Saints would've beaten with 11 points in 2011 were the 5-11 Jaguars and the tanking for Andrew Luck Colts.

The odd thing is that I didn't initially go into this stat hunt eagerly curious to see what kind of crazy stuff the Rams had done. I'd gone into a massive rabbit hole of first trying to see if my assumption that the Saints had never beaten the 49ers in a meaningful game was correct. While researching that, I began paying attention to the ultra-rare instances of the Saints either scoring 40+ points in a game or racking up 500+ yards prior to the Payton/Brees era and then noticed the predictably sharp spike after their arrival.

After seeing that the Saints had notched five separate 500+ yard games in the 2011 regular season, I wondered if the Rams had done so even more times. Then I found out they hadn't even done it once. That led me to become even more curious and motivated to find out what exactly it was that was keeping the Rams right up there with the 2007 Patriots and 2013 Broncos on almost every hack internet journalist's "aLl TIm3 gR8e$t awfencez" lists.

Maybe people just look at Marshall Faulk's 2429 yards from scrimmage and decide that that's all that matters. I wonder if those same people look at Drew Brees' 1123 yard advantage over Kurt Warner's passing yardage total.

Anyhoo, if any of my fellow sports nerds can think of any points that empirical data supports, I'm all ears.
 
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The 2000 Rams team between the 2 super bowl team was the best offence of the 3.
 
Sadly, and most unfortunately, the 2011 Saints aren't typically thought of in the conversation of best offenses or teams of all time. The public has a very short memory, and doesn't give respect where it's truly due. But, I do think the 2011 version of the Saints had the best offense SP has ever rolled out. However, there was a 4-5 game stretch during 2018 where that particular version of SPs offense could have been known as his best work of all time, but they fell flat as the regular season came to a close. If the 2018 team could have consistently produced the way they did during that 4-5 game stretch, without a doubt, they would have been the best offense of all time.
 
Sadly, and most unfortunately, the 2011 Saints aren't typically thought of in the conversation of best offenses or teams of all time. The public has a very short memory, and doesn't give respect where it's truly due. But, I do think the 2011 version of the Saints had the best offense SP has ever rolled out. However, there was a 4-5 game stretch during 2018 where that particular version of SPs offense could have been known as his best work of all time, but they fell flat as the regular season came to a close. If the 2018 team could have consistently produced the way they did during that 4-5 game stretch, without a doubt, they would have been the best offense of all time.

Ifs and butts tho, right?
I think 2011 was by far our best offense in the history of the team. And by the stats laid out by the OP I’d say the best of all time. And I’m no homer.
 
If we had won the title in 2011, I guarantee you we would be fresh in the minds of everyone. It’s easy to dismiss teams that should have steamrolled their way to a chip, but fell short. People just remember the winners. Look at the Warren Moon early 90s led-Oilers back in the day. Those offenses were insane, but nothing to show for it at the end of the day.
 
If we had won the title in 2011, I guarantee you we would be fresh in the minds of everyone. It’s easy to dismiss teams that should have steamrolled their way to a chip, but fell short. People just remember the winners. Look at the Warren Moon early 90s led-Oilers back in the day. Those offenses were insane, but nothing to show for it at the end of the day.
They got a name for the winners in the world. I want a name when I lose.
We are the Deacon Blues.
 
Ifs and butts tho, right?
I think 2011 was by far our best offense in the history of the team. And by the stats laid out by the OP I’d say the best of all time. And I’m no homer.

The 1950 Rams get criminally slept on. They still hold the record for points per game (38.3), had 70 and 65 on consecutive weeks, probably hold the record for points over 2-week (135) and 3-week spans (165), scored 40+ 6 times in a 12-game season (averaging 53.2 in those games), and went over 500 yards four times including a 636 yard performance.

 
The 1950 Rams get criminally slept on. They still hold the record for points per game (38.3), had 70 and 65 on consecutive weeks, probably hold the record for points over 2-week (135) and 3-week spans (165), scored 40+ 6 times in a 12-game season (averaging 53.2 in those games), and went over 500 yards four times including a 636 yard performance.

Wow. I had no idea. That’s beyond impressive.
 
Bruh, they also had three more 500 yard games the next season plus a pair of 496 games. One of the 500 yard games is the still-record 735 yard game where Norm Van Brocklin passed for a still-record 554 yards. They also had five 40 point games that year and won the title.
 
A little bit of context here, because we're talking two different eras.

- The 2011 Saints ran over 100 more plays than the 2000 Rams, which inflated the Saints counting stats a bit. The 2011 Saints ran the 4th most plays in the history of football (Rams were 68th).

- The 2000 Rams averaged more yards per play than the 2011 Saints (7.0 vs. 6.7). And the Rams did it in an era where offenses had fewer advantages. The 2nd best team in yards per play in 2000 was at 6.2, almost a full yard behind the rams. The 2nd best team in 2011 was Green Bay at 6.6, just 0.1 yards behind the Saints.

The 2011 Saints were basically doing what a lot of other teams were trying to do, just much much better than other teams were. The Greatest Show Rams revolutionized offense in the NFL. They're two different things.

It's like comparing Zion Williamson dunking from behind the free throw line to Jordan dunking from the free throw line. When Jordan did it, nobody in the world was doing that. Now everyone can do it, so Zion doing it isn't that big of a deal, relative to Jordan.
 
This post is SOLELY debating their respective offenses, not overall teams.

The 1999 Rams went 13-3, scored 526 points, had 66 TDs (42 passing, 13 rushing, and 11 defensive or special teams), had 6412 yards of total offense (4353 passing and 2059 rushing), and scored 40+ points in four games (3 in the regular season, 1 in the playoffs).

The 2011 Saints went 13-3, scored 547 points, had 66 TDs (46 passing, 16 rushing, and 4 defensive or special teams), had a still-standing NFL record 7474 yards of total offense (5347 passing and 2127 rushing), and scored 40+ points in seven games (6 in the regular season, 1 in the playoffs).

Regarding turnovers:

The Rams had 31 total turnovers resulting from 15 INTs and 16 lost fumbles out of 30 total fumbles.

The Saints had 19 total turnovers resulting from 14 INTs and 5 lost fumbles out of 9 total fumbles.

Regarding both teams' opening playoff games:

The Rams scored 49 in their opener (divisional round at home) against the 10-6 Vikings who were 2nd place in the NFC Central and 18th in scoring defense. Their offense accounted for 42 and their special teams got 7 on a kickoff return.

The Saints scored 45 in their opener (wildcard round at home) against the 10-6 Lions who were 2nd place in the NFC North and 23rd in scoring defense. Their offense accounted for all 45 points.

Regarding both teams' second playoff games:

The Rams scored 11 (9 on offense, 2 via safety) in the NFC Championship game at home against the 11-5 Buccaneers who were 1st in the NFC Central and 3rd in the league in scoring defense.

The Saints scored 32 (all on offense) in the divisional round on the road against the 13-3 49ers who were 1st in the NFC West and 2nd in the league in scoring defense.

The Rams would go on to score 23 in the Super Bowl (offense accounting for all 23 points) bringing their postseason tally to 83 points of which their offense was responsible for 74.

The Saints' offense accounted for 77 points in just two games against roughly the same caliber of defenses. The Rams' three playoff opponents' scoring defenses' rankings averaged out to 12th and they averaged allowing 298 points. The Saints' two playoff opponents' scoring defenses' rankings averaged out to 12.5 and they averaged allowing 308 points.

"But the Rams at least won the Super Bowl!"

True, but they played in an NFC where the best team outside of them was 11-5. The Saints played in an NFC with the 15-1 Packers and the 13-3 49ers and ended up playing wildcard weekend. The Rams were also getting considerably more help from their defense.

The Rams were able to win a conference championship game scoring only 11 points. The only teams the Saints would've beaten with 11 points in 2011 were the 5-11 Jaguars and the tanking for Andrew Luck Colts.

The odd thing is that I didn't initially go into this stat hunt eagerly curious to see what kind of crazy stuff the Rams had done. I'd gone into a massive rabbit hole of first trying to see if my assumption that the Saints had never beaten the 49ers in a meaningful game was correct. While researching that, I began paying attention to the ultra-rare instances of the Saints either scoring 40+ points in a game or racking up 500+ yards prior to the Payton/Brees era and then noticed the predictably sharp spike after their arrival.

After seeing that the Saints had notched five separate 500+ yard games in the 2011 regular season, I wondered if the Rams had done so even more times. Then I found out they hadn't even done it once. That led me to become even more curious and motivated to find out what exactly it was that was keeping the Rams right up there with the 2007 Patriots and 2013 Broncos on almost every hack internet journalist's "aLl TIm3 gR8e$t awfencez" lists.

Maybe people just look at Marshall Faulk's 2429 yards from scrimmage and decide that that's all that matters. I wonder if those same people look at Drew Brees' 1123 yard advantage over Kurt Warner's passing yardage total.

Anyhoo, if any of my fellow sports nerds can think of any points that empirical data supports, I'm all ears.
Both were unbelievable and I understand we are all saints fans but the one thing that made them better than ours was Marshall Faulk as he was a NOLA beast and one of the very best rbs to ever play the game. Him and Thurman Thomas are both hall of famers yet they don’t get the props they truly deserve as they changed the game at their respective position.
 
This post is SOLELY debating their respective offenses, not overall teams.

The 1999 Rams went 13-3, scored 526 points, had 66 TDs (42 passing, 13 rushing, and 11 defensive or special teams), had 6412 yards of total offense (4353 passing and 2059 rushing), and scored 40+ points in four games (3 in the regular season, 1 in the playoffs).

The 2011 Saints went 13-3, scored 547 points, had 66 TDs (46 passing, 16 rushing, and 4 defensive or special teams), had a still-standing NFL record 7474 yards of total offense (5347 passing and 2127 rushing), and scored 40+ points in seven games (6 in the regular season, 1 in the playoffs).

Regarding turnovers:

The Rams had 31 total turnovers resulting from 15 INTs and 16 lost fumbles out of 30 total fumbles.

The Saints had 19 total turnovers resulting from 14 INTs and 5 lost fumbles out of 9 total fumbles.

Regarding both teams' opening playoff games:

The Rams scored 49 in their opener (divisional round at home) against the 10-6 Vikings who were 2nd place in the NFC Central and 18th in scoring defense. Their offense accounted for 42 and their special teams got 7 on a kickoff return.

The Saints scored 45 in their opener (wildcard round at home) against the 10-6 Lions who were 2nd place in the NFC North and 23rd in scoring defense. Their offense accounted for all 45 points.

Regarding both teams' second playoff games:

The Rams scored 11 (9 on offense, 2 via safety) in the NFC Championship game at home against the 11-5 Buccaneers who were 1st in the NFC Central and 3rd in the league in scoring defense.

The Saints scored 32 (all on offense) in the divisional round on the road against the 13-3 49ers who were 1st in the NFC West and 2nd in the league in scoring defense.

The Rams would go on to score 23 in the Super Bowl (offense accounting for all 23 points) bringing their postseason tally to 83 points of which their offense was responsible for 74.

The Saints' offense accounted for 77 points in just two games against roughly the same caliber of defenses. The Rams' three playoff opponents' scoring defenses' rankings averaged out to 12th and they averaged allowing 298 points. The Saints' two playoff opponents' scoring defenses' rankings averaged out to 12.5 and they averaged allowing 308 points.

"But the Rams at least won the Super Bowl!"

True, but they played in an NFC where the best team outside of them was 11-5. The Saints played in an NFC with the 15-1 Packers and the 13-3 49ers and ended up playing wildcard weekend. The Rams were also getting considerably more help from their defense.

The Rams were able to win a conference championship game scoring only 11 points. The only teams the Saints would've beaten with 11 points in 2011 were the 5-11 Jaguars and the tanking for Andrew Luck Colts.

The odd thing is that I didn't initially go into this stat hunt eagerly curious to see what kind of crazy stuff the Rams had done. I'd gone into a massive rabbit hole of first trying to see if my assumption that the Saints had never beaten the 49ers in a meaningful game was correct. While researching that, I began paying attention to the ultra-rare instances of the Saints either scoring 40+ points in a game or racking up 500+ yards prior to the Payton/Brees era and then noticed the predictably sharp spike after their arrival.

After seeing that the Saints had notched five separate 500+ yard games in the 2011 regular season, I wondered if the Rams had done so even more times. Then I found out they hadn't even done it once. That led me to become even more curious and motivated to find out what exactly it was that was keeping the Rams right up there with the 2007 Patriots and 2013 Broncos on almost every hack internet journalist's "aLl TIm3 gR8e$t awfencez" lists.

Maybe people just look at Marshall Faulk's 2429 yards from scrimmage and decide that that's all that matters. I wonder if those same people look at Drew Brees' 1123 yard advantage over Kurt Warner's passing yardage total.

Anyhoo, if any of my fellow sports nerds can think of any points that empirical data supports, I'm all ears.

You must’ve remembered that our ‘99 defense made GW’s 2011 defense look all-world by comparison ;-) But I’d take our 2011 offense any day. Truly one of the best ever.
 
Thanks a bunch, @ndcc I wound up spending an hour composing it. I initially thought it was something I could hammer out in about 10-15 minutes but, the more I got into it, I became compelled to unearth whatever magical stat there was that has every talking head drooling over them and ignoring the Saints but not only did I not find it, I continually found stuff that evidently only furthers the Saints' superiority. The similarities in the win/loss records, defensive rankings, and finish in respective divisions by both of their playoff opponents was an amusing series of coincidences too.
 
Thanks a bunch, @ndcc I wound up spending an hour composing it. I initially thought it was something I could hammer out in about 10-15 minutes but, the more I got into it, I became compelled to unearth whatever magical stat there was that has every talking head drooling over them and ignoring the Saints but not only did I not find it, I continually found stuff that evidently only furthers the Saints' superiority. The similarities in the win/loss records, defensive rankings, and finish in respective divisions by both of their playoff opponents was an amusing series of coincidences too.

It was great. Only other thread this good imo is the draft thread that is laid out very well with a lot of thought in that too.
 

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