Undefeated? Unlikely for the Saints (semi-long read) (2 Viewers)

ndcc

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It would be nice, but here are some random thoughts as to why it's not something we should EXPECT.

1. The further you go into the season without a loss, the more the media hypes the game, and the more your opponent gets "psyched." Bottom line: Your competition is playing at their highest level for 4 quarters.

2. The lowly Lions were within striking distance of the Saints for the first half (17-13), and that was in the Superdome ("our house"). If the Lions could do that for an entire half, don't rule out the possibility of another team reversing the table for 4 quarters.

3. Miami lost to the Colts, despite OUTRUSHING the Colts 239-61, and winning time of possession by an unbelievable 45:07 - 14:53. Colts had a +1 advantage in turnovers (1-0).

4. Oakland hung tough with the Chargers, losing by 4. The Raiders were UP BY 3 pts. at the 2:00 warning. :covri:

5. We haven't exactly been lighting it up with the pass rush. And as a result, we're giving up too many yards in the air. Against the Lions, Kolb had nearly 200 yds in the 1st half, when the game was close. So those who dismiss it as "garbage yards" didn't study the game tape.

Look, I could go on & on... but the plain truth is that there's only been one (1) team that went undefeated for the entire season (including postseason): The 1972 Dolphins. And actually, I think the '85 Bears had a shot had it not been for that game in Miami where the Dolphins' pride pulled off the upset on MNF. Anyway... it's tough to go unblemished.

Some have mentioned that getting that first loss out of the way might be the best thing. Well, there's many ways to look at that. If you think about it, if the Saints bring their BEST effort each week, it will be hard for ANY team to "whup 'em." :scared:

Standing Alone in History
Twice before 1972, the Chicago Bears had finished the regular season unbeaten, both in 1934 and 1942. But both times they lost NFL Championship game. Since 1972, four teams have won 12 or more games to start the season and flirted with equaling the Dolphins mark. All four times, the team in question came up short:
1985: The Bears went 12-0 before losing to the Dolphins
1998: The Broncos went 13-0 before losing to the Giants
2005: The Colts went 12-0 before losing to the Chargers
2007: The Patriots went 16-0 and won 2 playoff games before losing to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII

Link: http://www.mahalo.com/1972-miami-dolphins

Video segment on Dolphins' "perfect season:" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC4Gnxt_2V4

But to put things in perspective, the '72 Dolphins didn't exactly have to run through a buzzsaw schedule. Most of their opponents that year had LOSING records. Here's some stats to show that the '72 Dolphins weren't exactly the most dominant team of the ages:

They had the easiest schedule of any Super Bowl Champion. Their opponents combined for an amazingly bad .365% winning percentage...

_@ Chiefs.....(8-6)....W 20-10
vs Oilers.....(1-13)...W 34-13
_@ Vikings....(7-7)....W 16-14
_@ Jets.......(7-7)....W 27-17
vs Chargers...(4-9-1)..W 24-10
vs Bills......(4-9-1)..W 24-23
_@ Colts......(5-9)....W 23-0
_@ Bills......(4-9-1)..W 30-16
vs Patriots...(3-11)...W 52-0
vs Jets.......(7-7)....W 28-24
vs Cardinals..(4-9-1)..W 31-10
_@ Patriots...(3-11)...W 37-21
_@ Giants.....(8-6)....W 23-13
vs Colts......(5-9)....W 16-0

............(70-122-4) .365%

All told, it's a difficult thing to go undefeated ...especially in this era of the NFL. Can the Saints do it: Yes. Will they do it? Uhhhh.... stay tuned. But if that first loss comes this year, I hope Debbie Downer doesn't post too often.

I'm still thinking 14-2, and 1st round bye throughout. :cool:

:gosaints:
 
Did someone say we were gonna go undefeated? I don't recall hearing that. We're just not going to lose to the Bills this week. Haven't even tried to contemplate thinking about next week yet but I'll let ya know. I said before the season started, 12-4 but after seeing this team play, I'm starting to think 14-2.

I told everyone before the Eagles game that we were going to have a solid win and predicted 35-42 points for the Saints and 17 points for the Eagles. I wasn't too far off.

This week we're going to have another solid win which I'm predicting 41-21 Saints. These aren't the old Saints brother have some faith.
 
Undefeated? Seriously? It's week 3 and we've played no one!!! :covri:
 
I don't think much of that is even related to going undefeated or us as a team.

Your talking about different teams in different games. Also teams aren't necessarily going to play harder because we have no losses so far. I could say the total opposite that teams would be intimidated by that and get psyched out and give up. They're both silly statements.

Lets just be happy we are currently 2-0. I'm feeling much better right now than I did in the 2007 season. (or 2008 when we were 1-1 at this point)

[Updated]
Also the Dolphins beat the Bears in '85 because they understood what their defense was doing and knew of ways to exploit it.
 
Why do people always want to go negative? We are 2-0, undefeated for now, can't we just enjoy it? We have to take care of the next game, each week, one game at a time. Get out of here with talk of a loss. I don't want to read it.
 
WOW!!! A look at the '72 Dolphins schedule is pretty amazing! Two opponents with winning records -- and even those barely so -- and everyone else at .500 or worse. I had never seen that info before.

Thanks for posting!!

BTW, as to the undefeated season thing, I'm a Saints fan. A win on Sunday is all I'm hoping for. I'll start thinking about undefeated seasons when we're 15-0.
 
Other team's fans must come here and laugh their *** off. You have to be kidding me.

We're 2 and freeking 0. Jesus.
 
Wow... some people need to stop looking ahead and start taking everything one game at a time. Going undefeated doesnt matter. Winning the NFC South and securing a first round bye does matter. I could careless if the Saints go 10-6, as long as they win the South and lock up a first round bye.

Win one game at a time, and then at the end look at the body of work. If the body of work is undefeated, awesome... if not, but they have a Superbowl win, still awesome.
 
Only two teams have ever gone undefeated during the regular season, and only one has gone undefeated for the entire season. Lets not get ahead of ourselves. One game at a time. One step at a time.
 
Miami also lost Bob Griese for most of the '72 season. His replacement was Earl Morrall, who wore a crew cut even when it wasn't cool! What a backfield they had: Csonka, Kiick, and Mercury Morris, plus Warfield at WR. There's no way the Pats go 16-0 if they lose Brady.
 

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