With the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints both sitting at 12-0 with four games left in the season, reporters are asking coaches Jim Caldwell and Sean Payton whether they’ll chase perfection in the final weeks of the season, or rest their top players once they’ve locked up home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Caldwell has indicated that the Colts’ goal is to get into the playoffs with home-field advantage secured and with the team well rested. But Payton says he wants the Saints to go for 16-0.
Payton told Peter King of SI.com that he thinks his players will be energized by going for a perfect season, and he wants to give it a shot.
Although Payton will be heavily criticized if a key player gets injured after the Saints have clinched home field in the playoffs, there seems to be a lot of truth to Payton’s belief that players will respond to the challenge of being pushed through the end of the season. As Mike Florio noted in today’s Morning Aftermath, teams that have momentum at the end of the season seem to carry that momentum into the playoffs.
On ESPN Radio this morning, Mike Ditka said he dislikes the idea of teams resting key players late in the year.
“I disagree with it,” Ditka said. “You play your people.”
Ditka’s 1985 Chicago Bears wrapped up home-field advantage throughout the playoffs very early that season (the second-best team in the NFC in 1985 finished 11-5), and once they had lost to the Miami Dolphins in the 13th game of the season, they weren’t playing for perfection either. But Ditka still didn’t rest his starters at the end of the year (Walter Payton had back-to-back games of 26 and 28 carries in Weeks 14 and 15 of 1985), and he said today that he thinks that helped his team go into the postseason ready to play its best football of the season.
Sean Payton feels the same way. And that will make every Saints game down the stretch a big one.
If there ever was an “eyes off the ball” moment for a team, this is one. As the Patriots so perfectly showed in the past, a “perfect” season means nothing if you can’t win the big one – they should be focused on the playoffs now, not going undefeated, especially since they gained a game on the Vikings.
The mental loss is coming…
A COLTS VS SAINTS Super Bowl would be Awesome especially if they are both PERFECT!!
I just have a Feeling that one of these will be knocked out a more experienced come playoff time like the Eagles or Possibly Cardinals but I would Love to see a Colts Vs Saints Super Bowl!! That would be fun!!
Payton did rest his starters in Week 17 vs. Carolina in 2006 after the Saints wrapped up a first-round bye. Wonder if he would rest them if the Saints were 14-1 and had the No. 1 seed secured?
15-1 or maybe 14-2.. cowboys and @ panthers will be tough.
I hope someone, anyone can finally go 19-0. Because I am soooooo sick and tired of Mercury Morris and Bob Deuchenburg getting all over the airwaves……
Plus, the Super Bowl this year, is in Miami. Wouldnt it be nice to see a team go undefeated in the Dolphins’ house?
The Dolphins had both the Colts, and Saints all but beaten this season, and blew it, insult to injury if one of them goes on to go undefeated. All Miami had to do was not choke against these two teams, and not only would Mercury Morris be celebrating, but the Dolphins would be fighting for a first round bye in the playoffs……
They could do this……they should have mild weather games for the rest of the season (I don’t think they could win in the cold/snow games, but that is not an issue) If they get homefield, look out.
This just in, a coach wants his team to be undefeated! How insane is that!?
Dallas will defeat the Saints….lock it in
@ Mike
Sure it would be “fun” if the NFL didn’t aid in the pursuit.
I’ll predict that if the Saints stay hungry and keep playing but the Colts start resting, the Saints will go further. I’m with Ditka on this one.
mike says: December 7, 2009 10:31 AM
“A COLTS VS SAINTS Super Bowl would be Awesome especially if they are both PERFECT!!
I just have a Feeling that one of these will be knocked out a more experienced come playoff time like the Eagles or Possibly Cardinals but I would Love to see a Colts Vs Saints Super Bowl!! That would be fun!!”
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No, I don’t want to see that. I can just imagine the media dragging out old Archie Manning, and asking him how it feels having his son play against the primary team that he used to play for in the biggest game of the year. No thanks. I don’t want to see Archie on TV ever again.
The only thing worse than that would be a Giant/Colt Super Bowl.
Archie would still get dragged out, and then the media would ask him which son he is going to route for in the big game.
I lost all respect for Archie ever since the Eli/Charger drama. I used to be a big fan of his.
I hate the Patriots with a passion, but I sure as hell was hoping that they would beat the Giants in the SB a couple of years ago, even though it meant the Patriots would have a perfect season.
I think they can do it. The Saints have an excellent team and heart. You combine that with the refs being on their side, then you have a recipe for an undefeated season.
Yeah, it’d be great to see undefeated teams in the Superbowl, if the NFL didn’t help them get there.
Payton told Peter King of SI.com that he thinks his players will be energized by going for a perfect season, and he wants to give it a shot.
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Yeah, ’cause that worked so well for the Patriots in ’07
Signed,
Pats fans
colts have a defense that can slow the saints offense. the saints won’t be able to slow manning. the colts will win the superbowl this year.
/not a colts fan.
The Saints will not be perfect. I think the Colts have the experience and discipline to do it, but not the Saints.
New Orleans is looking a lot like the ’07 Pats-putting up big numbers, but coming close to losing games they shouldn’t have lost on paper.
- Laughably easy schedule & easy divisionL Check.
- Playing the good teams at the right time: Check.
- Close games that shouldn’t have been too close: Check.
- Douchebag Head Coach: Check.
- No “feature” running back: Check.
There are a handful of NFC teams that, on the right day, would easily beat them. Even if the Saints make it to the SB, they would have their hands full against the Colts, Chargers, or Bengals.
Popeye says:
December 7, 2009 10:47 AM
Dallas will defeat the Saints….lock it in
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Yeah, they really looked great against the Giants yesterday.
# Popeye says: December 7, 2009 10:47 AM
Dallas will defeat the Saints….lock it in
Popeye…You been eating that wacky spinach. We’ve heard that every week. From the Jets, The Giants, The Patriots, The Redskins, Shall I go on???? 12-0 is really sweet!!!
- “Laughably easy schedule & easy divisionL Check.”
>>Right, the Pats had it very easy going to Dallas playing a 5-0 Cowboys team, going to Indy playing a 10-0 Colts team, beating the AFC West champs San Diego (twice), beating eventual SB champs the Giants on their home field.
- “Playing the good teams at the right time: Check.
>>What the hell does this even mean?”
- “Close games that shouldn’t have been too close: Check.”
>>That’s what seperates good teams from great teams, winning the games you shouldn’t win.
Interesting how you use this to detract the Saints, but not the Colts.
- “Douchebag Head Coach: Check.”
>>Hmmm…Jealous much?
Interesting how everyone gets jealous and bitter at great teams going for perfection…get ready, Saints fans…the vultures are laying in wait.
I, for one, hope you guys can pull it off this year.
who dat?!?
who dat?!?
Go for it, Sean Payton!!!
Shut the naysayers up…especially the Pats fans who think that their team was so special for their “EIGHTEEN AND D’OH” season. LMFAO!!!!
Good Call. The No Fun League should fine teams that sit players. Fans pay alot of money to watch players like Reggie Wayne, Peyton Manning and every year around Week 14 they sit on the damn bench. The NFL fines people for everything else, why not this. Or add a stipulation that they cannot sit unless injured with a doctor’s note
Hey long-time Saints fans. I would really like to settle a dispute with a friend. I’m pretty sure the “Who Dat” cheer came out before the Bengals “Who Dey” cheer. Anyone know the history behind the “Who Dat” cheer? When and how it started, where it came from?
Sorry, the SB will be Chargers vs. Saints!
@JustBornFlorio
Great comment.
marshall70:
“I think they can do it. The Saints have an excellent team and heart. You combine that with the refs being on their side, then you have a recipe for an undefeated season.”
Any more “help” from the refs and we might be undefeated……..oh wait, we are undefeated:
Saints: 7 Penalties for 102 yards.
Redskins 2 Penalties for 15 yards.
Lots of “help” there. The replay calls were CORRECT calls according to current NFL Rules. If you don’t like the current NFL Rules, maybe you can contact the NFL Rules Committee, I am sure they will change them for you.
That would be 12-0 to you!
Jungle Juice:
“Hey long-time Saints fans. I would really like to settle a dispute with a friend. I’m pretty sure the “Who Dat” cheer came out before the Bengals “Who Dey” cheer. Anyone know the history behind the “Who Dat” cheer? When and how it started, where it came from?”
“Who Dat” is a very old chant and has been used off and on by Saints fans since the teams inception in 1967.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Dat%3F
I am pretty sure it pre-dates the “Who Dey” chant used by the Bengals. I know I heard “Who Dat” at Saints games before 1981 when “Who Dey” was adopted by the Bengals.
Who Dat came WAAAAAAAAAAY before Who Dey. However, Bengals started using it a few years before us.
“The chant of “Who dat originated in minstrel shows and vaudeville acts of the late 1800s and early 1900s, and was then taken up by jazz and big band performers in the 1920s and 30s.”
Dave J
You do realize any team in the NFL can defeat any other team on Any Given Sunday right. You can go back and look through football history and see almost every super bowl team caught some team who probably could have beat them at the right time. This is what makes football so great. As for your check list….lol….you have to be kidding. You do realize teams don’t pick their schedule right, they play who there lined up with. Who do you think the Saints should play?
Hey Dave J get your facts right before you blog. The Saints actually had a tougher schedule statistically than New England. They were rated 8 and the Saints were rated 2. And as far as the refs helping out, look back at the pass interference penalty called on Shockey. There wasn’t a defensive player within 5 yards of him. How could he have interfered with someone who isn’t there. Since the schedules are drawn up after the season, any team can end up playing a team that WAS a strong team and is now NOT as strong (re: Steelers). As far as the Saints losing to the Cowboys, just look at what we did to New York, and you couldn’t handle them. Your defense hasn’t seen the pressure that can be put on it by an offense that has this many weapons to call on. You can’t beat a team that won’t quit. That was New England’s problem against the Saints. They just threw in the towel. Well, the Saints ain’t built that way. Their def co-ordinator won’t let that happen and I can assure you that Coach Payton won’t let that happen. The Cowboys are coming to OUR HOUSE to play. Beleive thia if nothing else. The Saints are going to show the Dallas Cowboys what it’s like to play in a hostile environment. We’ve been the team that fold for too many years. Now the Saints have balance with a strong offense and a tough defense to match that can also score points on it’s own. Beware Cowboys, there’s a new sheriff in town. As always…..GO SAINTS!!!!