As the barriers toward a perfect regular season keep getting shunted aside by the Saints and Colts, another question starts to loom. Can New Orleans and Indianapolis not only sweep their regular-season schedules, but get to the Super Bowl as well?
A pair of undefeated teams in Miami? As if the big game needs any more hype.
The knee-jerk reaction would be to say: No Way! Since the Super Bowl made its debut in 1967 – under the name AFL-NFL World Championship Game – only two teams have reached it with unblemished records. And that happened 35 years apart, from the 1972 Dolphins to the 2007 Patriots.
But a look at the upcoming schedules shows few roadblocks for either club. The Saints are at Washington this week, then go to Atlanta, host Dallas before finishing with weaklings Tampa Bay and Carolina. Indy gets the turnaround maestros from Tennessee on Sunday, then Denver and Jacksonville before what should be a smooth finish against the Jets and Bills.
There is plenty more evidence both teams are capable of emulating the 16-0 Patriots of two years ago.
New Orleans has been unstoppable on offense, heading toward an NFL record for points. In its toughest games, such as a huge comeback win in Miami, it has displayed the kind of resolve found in champions.
The Saints have a nice mix of youth and experience, can run the ball as well as anybody, have playmakers on defense, and masterful leadership on both sides of the ball with Drew Brees and Darren Sharper. Not to mention the superb coaching of Sean Payton and his defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams.
“We\’ve done such a good job of just having tunnel vision. We keep our eye on the upcoming opponent and that\’s it, and that\’s a testament to Sean and his approach,\’\’ linebacker Scott Fujita said. “He\’s had a good approach each year, but this year I\’d say even better than years past.\’\’
Ya think?
While the Colts have been tested more often than New Orleans, and needed a stunning comeback to beat a New England squad the Saints routed, they might actually be the stronger bet for 16-0. Why?
iar to them, while it could faze the Saints, whose only conference championship appearance was in that same 2006 season, a loss at Chicago.
But New Orleans might get pushed to the limit by Minnesota for home-field advantage in the NFC, meaning no breaks for the Saints. The Vikings are 10-1 and the loss was out of conference to Pittsburgh.
As for the Colts and Saints getting to the Super Bowl without a defeat, maybe that\’s not such a great idea.
Rodney Harrison, the star safety for the Patriots who won two titles and now is a commentator for NBC, wonders about the value of perfection if it doesn\’t end up, well, perfectly.
“You know that 16-0 looks great on your resume,\’\’ he said, “but it\’s not the ultimate goal. It can\’t be the ultimate goal; winning the Super Bowl has to be. So if you can rest those key guys while still keeping the rust off, that is the best and smartest thing for a team to do.
“You don\’t prove anything with 16-0 because you have to validate that with a Super Bowl. We didn\’t finish it off and they don\’t want that to be the story.\’\’
r opponent.
Unless both the Saints and Colts get to Land Shark Stadium with 18-0 marks, the team that does make it there undefeated – if one does – would be in a similar situation.
“Every week, the pressure mounts,\’\’ Harrison said. “I think that could be tougher for New Orleans, which does not have a lot of guys who are used to that buildup. It becomes so overwhelming.\’\’
Harrison understands, though, that while the Colts might have the luxury of shutting things down a bit because they could clinch top seed in the AFC in a couple of weeks, New Orleans has to keep a wary eye on Minnesota.
“That\’s the beauty of the NFL,\’\’ he said. “Minnesota is going to press New Orleans to go 16-0 just to get the home field. Maybe the Colts will have two weeks to rest guys, while the Saints have to go out every week like it\’s a playoff game. It sucks that much more energy out of you.\’\’
Were the Patriots, then, victims of their own success in 2007? Harrison demurs.
“The one thing you can\’t ignore is we went 16-0 and were the first team to do it,\’\’ he said. “That\’s a pretty special deal regardless of what happened in the Super Bowl. It\’s absolutely remarkable to go 16-0, I don\’t care what team goes 16-0, it\’s not easy under the adversity.
“We just picked a bad day to play terrible.\’\’
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AP Sports Writer Brett Martel in New Orleans contributed to this story.
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