Though the New Orleans Saints sit below the .500 mark 11 games into a 16-game season, they will make the playoffs.
It’s simple really. With a remaining schedule that the Saints are capable of sweeping and other NFC wild-card contenders slumping, the playoffs rest in New Orleans’ hands.
The Saints’ remaining schedule has them against Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Arizona, Philadelphia and Chicago. Playing Tampa Bay at home gives the Saints an automatic edge, and while the Buccaneers have a record of 7-4, they have lacked consistency. Their only win streak came from beating St. Louis, Carolina and New Orleans, teams that were all in a serious beginning-season funk.
New Orleans plays Atlanta on the road, but Atlanta has shown no promise and the flip-flops at the quarterback position between Joey Harrington and Byron Leftwich have left this team with no real leadership.
Arizona comes to the Superdome Dec. 16, but they lost last weekend to San Francisco and play Cleveland and Seattle before making the trip South. I suspect they will be reeling from three straight losses, and the Saints can put them away with ease.
Next comes the Eagles, and much like Arizona they’ve got three hard games before making it to New Orleans. I suspect they lose two out of three after playing Seattle, New York Giants and Dallas. This should make them a vulnerable target for the Saints.
The Saints end their season in Chicago. The Bears have some talent, and that talent is Devin Hester. Last week the Broncos showed you that the Bears can’t beat you if you don’t kick to Hester, so Sean Peyton will have to put his risky playbook away for this one, and in doing so the Saints can definitely get the W.
The strongest wild card contenders in the NFC are the New York Giants at 7-4 and the Detroit Lions at 6-5. New York has lost two of the last three, and Detroit has dropped three straight. It seems as though Detroit will continue slumping, knowing three of their last five games come against playoff hopefuls – Dallas, San Diego and Green Bay. New York too may continue slumping with three road games remaining and a home game against New England.
The Saints have underachieved all season, and they know it. If they can put together a strong December like they know they’re capable of, the playoffs are in their grasp. I can’t imagine they’d let this opportunity slip away, but then again I never imagined them in NFC Championship last year, or losing the first four games this season followed by four consecutive wins. Obviously this team is capable of anything – good or bad.
