The Falcons are halfway to perfection -- setting aside those three games that come after Week 17, each of which are slightly more important than any of the 16 regular-season games.
Receiver Roddy White thinks the Falcons can follow their 8-0 start with an 8-0 finish.
“I’m hoping so,” White tells D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “I think we have the pedigree to do it. . . . How we are on offense and defense and how we are as a team. This locker room is very united right now. Every week, we expect to win. There is not a team that I felt like when we went into a ball game this year that we didn’t feel like we were going to win. I think we can [go undefeated]. We just still have to be consistent, don’t turn over the ball and get turnovers. That’s been the key to winning games all over the league this year. If we can continue to do that, we’ll be just fine.”
White’s right; the Falcons can go 16-0. To get there, however, they’ll have to beat both the Saints and Buccaneers twice each. While neither is currently above .500 for the season, both are surging, with the Saints winning three of their last four and the Bucs winning a pair of road games.
Besides, the regular season should be the least of the Falcons’ concerns. They’re 0-3 in the postseason since 2008. Already, the pressure will be intense when they return to the playoffs. If they do so with the expectations of turning 16-0 into 19-0, the pressure will be much worse.
The pressure could disappear come Sunday. With the Falcons heading to the Superdome and the Saints gathering plenty of momentum, 8-0 could be 8-1 soon. Especially once the Saints players start reading about guys like White talking about the Falcons running the table.