For those stating that N.O. is a poor road team. Only 3 plaoff teams had better road records this year – SF(6-2) , NE(6-2), and GB(7-1). The Saints were 5-3 are they are peaking now. After taking care of Detroit, SF will get theirs, then next up before another Black and Gold Superbowl.
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Lambeau + 20 degree weather = Saints lose by 20

the media all pounds on how defense wins. Sorry, but consider who won the last few Super Bowls.

Green Bay. (great offense, sucky defense)
New Orleans (spectacular offense, not so hot defense)
Pittsburgh (normally running team that now throws the ball 40 times a game)
New England (good offense, terrible defense)

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All of those defenses were in the top 10. I’m not sure where you’re getting your info from.
Including the Giants who beat the Pats by pressuring Brady. Same with the Colts and ’00 Rams.

So the rest is a load of crap just like your argument.

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@bearsrulepackdrool. way to put things into perspective.
Those teasm had good defenses.

@blackheld:
NE is doing it with smoke and mirrors, as usual, but hell, no reason they can’t keep it up. This team is a but less talented than the normal NE roster, but they got a ton of experience, and who knows, maybe Belichick has some new tapes.
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Smoke and mirrors as usual?

There was no smoke and mirrors in the early part of the decade; there was a team that outplayed 3 great NFC teams my a mere 3 points in all 3 Superbowls.
They played tremendous defense to GET to those Superbowls and arguably WON the Superbowl in the AFC title game before ever playing an NFC team.

“This team is a but less talented than the normal NE roster”

Really? Gronkowski, Hernandez, & Welker having his all time best year? 3 capable RB’s and 1 with 10+ TD’s….again this year. An all-pro laden O-Line….again?

If your referring to Defense, then yes, you could have a flawed point.
Consider this year’s NE Defense gave up 21.2 pts/game. Thats good for 15th in that category. Also, 34 total Takeaways was good for a 3rd place tie with Detroit in the league behind SF and GB respectively, each with 38.
Smoke and mirrors?
Even the MASSES of NE haters cant deny that NE had success on defense with 34 takeaways over 16 games.

Not sure what team yr talking about, but as bearsrulepackdrool says, seems like you just woke up one morning and started spewing your fantasies about the NFL to everyone on this board…do some research next time and save us all the time…

In some ways the FANS as much as the players deserve a chance to witness NFL history.

Coaches know that their relationship with players is important too – players with the potential to break records won’t want to play for a coach who refuses to allow them the opportunity to go for it.

And good coaches SHOULD be mindful of NFL history too.

Belichick “went for it” with a chance to go 19-0 even though it hurt his chances to win the Super Bowl. The Colts turned their back on history and pulled all their starters and lost in the last game – and still didn’t get to the Super Bowl.

I like Belichick’s choice much better than the Colts.

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Hey not so smart guy, Brady started the day 190 yards behind Brees. So no, he wouldn’t have had to start the 1st with 300 yards. He just needed to keep pace until the 4th so the Pats could go for the record like they did with Gronkowski. So seems the Pats are an advocate for abandoning gameplans to pursue individual records too. And seems Brady laid a turd against Buffalo in the first and was out of having any chance immediately. Sorry that makes you butthurt. Ralphie. What are you 12? Get that red rider beebee gun?

“Is that s bad as Brady getting “Breesed?” He coulda caught Drew but he choked away an entire half against Buffalo.”
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Hey genius, for Brady to catch Brees he would have had to throw for about 300 yards in that 1st and about 630 yards total in that game (and a new NFL passing record) to catch Brees. But I’m sure you’re an advocate of abandoning game plans for individual records. This is the NFL, not Pop Warner you dope.

the media all pounds on how defense wins. Sorry, but consider who won the last few Super Bowls.

Green Bay. (great offense, sucky defense)
New Orleans (spectacular offense, not so hot defense)
Pittsburgh (normally running team that now throws the ball 40 times a game)
New England (good offense, terrible defense)

__________________________

All of those defenses were in the top 10. I’m not sure where you’re getting your info from.
Including the Giants who beat the Pats by pressuring Brady. Same with the Colts and ’00 Rams.

So the rest is a load of crap just like your argument.

the media all pounds on how defense wins. Sorry, but consider who won the last few Super Bowls.

Green Bay. (great offense, sucky defense)
New Orleans (spectacular offense, not so hot defense)
Pittsburgh (normally running team that now throws the ball 40 times a game)
New England (good offense, terrible defense)

I have no idea how the Giants won the Super Bowl. I doubt the Giants know how they won the Super Bowl. Give them credit, they did win…but if that game gets played 10 times, NE wins the majority of them.

Now, GB, NO and NE are all favorites to win the SB this year. So are SF and Pittsburgh, along with Baltimore, but you know what?

I can’t see Joe Flacco winning three shootout games to win the Super Bowl. And yes, he’ll have to win those three games, and score at least high twenties-low thirties to do it. Just…not gonna happen.

Pittsburgh is dangerous, but Rothlisberger is not gonna last three games with every defensive players zeroed in on his ankle. Their offense also lost some of it’s scary, although not it’s ab,lity, when Mendenhall went down. This team can’t score enough as it is, to win.

I realize San Francisco has maybe the best defense in the playoffs, but there is no way they can trade touchdowns with GB or NO. Their running game is still gimpy, and Alex Smith is still their QB. See the Flacco entry above as to what that means.

NE is doing it with smoke and mirrors, as usual, but hell, no reason they can’t keep it up. This team is a but less talented than the normal NE roster, but they got a ton of experience, and who knows, maybe Belichick has some new tapes.

Then we have Atlanta and Detroit. Not a lot of hope for Atlanta, here. Their defense isn’t as good as SF, and their offense isn’t as good as anyone except SF and the Giants. Add playing on the road the whole playoffs and Atlanta will fall, eventually.

As for Detroit, this is a team who got here a year early. Their lack of depth finally caught up to them, and this playoffs thing is a whole new world. Their offense is top three in football, but their defense needs some better bodies and more experience. They can go crazy on people just like GB, NO and NE though, so stranger things have happened. If they win in NO, it’ll be interesting to see what the betting line is for the rematch in GB.

One final note: Does anyone really think Green Bay would have scored more points last week with Aaron Rodgers at QB? Me, either. And, consider if you give Detroit back the clear touchdown they honestly scored, that the refs blew the call on…Detroit wins that game. In Green Bay. Outdoors.

Detroit is a scary bunch.

And for the record, the Saints won the SB by 2 TD’s under the highest stakes imaginable and that happened to be outdoors. You guys listen to the nonsense of the talking heads just a little too much. Whoever the Saints play outdoors, I guarantee you it will affect their opponent equally as bad.

Excellent point. The whole idea that an NFL team from a dome or warm weather city can’t possibly win outdoors is silly.

Every team in the league has about the same make up as for where their players come from. It’s not like most, or even many, New Orleans players are from Louisiana.

There are probably as many players from warm weather states playing for Green Bay as there are for the Saints.

And San Francisco isn’t exactly the arctic. The idea that the Saints can’t win there is even dumber.

This ain’t Pop Warner and people need to stop trippin’! You don’t see baseball and basketball players stop scoring. Why should football players do so?

As for the stats, they SHOULD go after them! Again, defenses, do something about it. Quit whining! It’s not Sean Payton and Drew Brees’ job to have mercy on defenses. No team is having mercy on the Saints’ defense.

I feel bad for the fans who pay handsomely to see 60 minutes of football, but are routinely getting 40-45 minutes because teams quit. That’s like buying a cake half done! Bake that cake! I don’t want to see an exhibition game break out at the end of a regular season game because the other team can’t hang! Too bad, because every Tuesday the loser’s fat checks still clears.

Geaux Saints!

Brees is playing football this weekend while Rodgers is on a first round bye.

Any coincidence?

Maybe if you worried more about winning football games than padding your stats and your teammates stats you wouldn’t have to play a pissed off Lions team this weekend.