The NFL’s First 32-0?
The NFL’s First 32-0?
Recent NFL history has been exciting to say the least, in the past few seasons fans have seen some remarkable feats. LaDainian Tomlinson scored 31 touchdowns in 2006. Peyton Manning threw the most touchdowns in a season in 2004 only to see Tom Brady one up him in 2007. Helping Brady with those 50 touchdowns, Randy Moss ripped 23 out of the air to set a season record. That same season, Brett Favre hooked up with Greg Jennings to record his career touchdown pass number 421, the most of all time. But the most amazing occurrence in the league over the past few years arguably has to be the New England Patriots hitting the 16-0 mark in the 06-07 campaign.
In a 16 game format it was bound to happen sooner or later, but nonetheless not many in the NFL community could have predicted it. Currently we’re all staring at the possibility that two teams in the league go undefeated, the Colts and the Saints. At the beginning of the season I would have laughed if someone told me there would be two undefeated teams at the end of the year, and one of them would be the Saints, but it’s really no joke.
The Saints just made a statement for themselves, not only did they beat the Patriots on Monday night, they tore them apart. Everyone knows how good Drew Brees and their offense is so there’s no need to gush, and the same goes for the defense which has been performing at an astounding level all season long. So with the Skins, Falcons, Cowboys, Buccaneers, and Panthers left on their schedule, will they be the NFC’s first 16-0?
For the Saints it will depend on two things, firstly the continued success of the Minnesota Vikings, and secondly the testicular fortitude of one Sean Peyton. With the Vikings hot on the Saints trail at 10-1 the Saints are going to continue to play their hearts out, but if the Vikes hit a road block (perhaps next week vs. Cincy) it means the Saints can take their foot off the gas pedal. And that’s exactly where Sean Peyton’s fortitude comes in; Peyton is an aggressive guy and I’ll be willing to bet that even come week 16 vs. the Bucs he’s pushing his men out onto the field for an early victory. If you haven’t already Saints fans, get rid of those paper bags and finally be proud to show your face as the NFC’s first 16-0 squad.
At 11-0 the closest teams on the Colts radar are the 8-3 Bengals and Chargers. There’s a much larger margin of error in this scenario so the Colts can afford to take it a little easier. Last week Houston displayed the fact that the Colts aren’t invincible and it reminded me of the season the Colts won the Superbowl, going 9-0 and then losing to Dallas. Heading up the road there’s some tough sledding (vs. TEN, vs. DEN, @JAC, vs. NYJ, @BUF). It’s nothing these Colts can’t handle, but with some of these teams vying for their playoff lives anything can happen. Peyton Manning is now a little banged up and a lack of speed demon Dwight Freeney truly exposes vulnerability in their pass rush. It will be tough for rookie head coach Jim Caldwell to resist the temptation of trying to go undefeated in his first year, but I believe he will as they have such promising chances this playoff and will easily lock up home-field advantage. Sorry Colts fans, I just don’t see it happening.
It’s really tough for me to envision two undefeated teams in one season. If it does happen it will make this decade all the more memorable, but nonetheless two undefeated teams in 3 seasons will have to suffice.
Related posts:
