Goodell is starting to get nervous and is probably ticked off the Saints have won 5 of 6. Watch for extra flags during the next few games. I hope we're running Ingram more in order to entice another team to offer a high pick for him next April. It would be great to acquire a decent draft pick to replace Roman Harper...who couldn't even cover the kicking tee! Sproles should be back next week. Hopefully we'll maintain balance and continue to win the turnover battle.
You couldn't be more right about that. I'm not normally a conspiracy theory guy, but I believe it in this case. Goddell's worst nightmare is the Saints making the playoffs. In the beginning of the season, we got hosed on a critical call in 3 straight games. Now, I know the defense is horrible but those replacement refs (on Goddell's authority) cost us at least one game, maybe 2. One took a Pierre Thomas TD off the board against KC and we ended up settling for 3 and lost in OT. That's one. Another one was a phantom PI on 3rd down against Roman Harper that led to a TD against Carolina. We might not have won anyway, but that call changed the whole complexion of the game. Then our headcase kicker missing a FG against GB that cudda, shudda, wudda won that game. With a few breaks, we could be 7-3/6-4 team.
Two games left and we're 6-8....and still mathematically in the picture. Here's how it could happen. Saints beat Dallas and Carolina - I like the chances of both happening. Washington then beats Dallas in week 17. I can see that as well. Vikings lose to Texans and Packers. Still like the odds. The Rams must lose one game, to the Bucs or the Seahawks...still OK. The Bears must lose to the Cardinals and the Lions. Ouch, but the Bears are reeling, so not impossible. And, the Giant must lose to the Ravens and the Eagles - and there's the one where it falls apart. But let's go with the miracle finish, and all of that happens. The Saints, Cowboys, Vikings, Bears and Giants are all now 8-8. The Rams are, at best, 7-8-1; they're out. The first tie-breaker for 3 or more wild card contenders is to consider teams in the same division, and use the Divisional tie-breaker. By that rule, the Cowboys eliminate the Giants, and the Vikings eliminate the Bears. Saints, Vikings and Cowboys left. Next tie-breaker is conference record. Saints and Vikings would be 6-6, Cowboys would be 5-7; Cowboys gone. The deciding tie-breaker for Saints and Vikings, since there's no head-to-head, is record vs. common opponents if there are at least 4. There are 5: the Bucs, Packers, 49ers and Redskins. The Vikings beat the 49ers, lost to the Packers (twice), Bucs and Redskins for 1-4. The Saints beat the Bucs (twice), lost to the 49ers, Packers and Redskins for 2-3. Vikings out, Saints in!
Did you figure all that on your own or did you read it somewhere? Impressive! If ALL of that happens, we might as well just win the whole thing. SB in NO. I know, I know. I just don't think we're good enough to win 4 post-season games even if all of that craziness happens. You never know though. This is a team that has, in the past at least, shown the ability to go on runs and play with a lot of emotion. Can you imagine the emotional and possibly spiritual lift the team would get if all of that happens and we get into the dance? We could be very dangerous. If we were to win it all this year, I would find it 10X more gratifying than the 1st SB win, and that's saying something! I've been a Saints fan since 1987, I was 7 years old. I had to fight back tears when they won it all. I can't even begin to fathom the joy I would feel if all that happened and we won the SB in the Dome with all that went on this year, and Goodell had to hand the trophy over to Vitt, Brees, Loomis and Vilma! As a sports fan, I could die happy!
I saw it posted on another site, but the OP figured the tiebreakers wrong. Doesn't matter; I give the Bears a solid edge in both games, and the Eagles beating the Giants in NY with a playoff spot on the line would be like Nicholls beating LSU.
