The New Orleans Saints made a statement yesterday, with their 31-17 victory over the Colts in Super Bowl 44.  They are for real, and the new power house in the NFC. Drew Brees was pretty much perfect after the 1st quarter yesterday, and was well deserving of the MVP award. Though two other people should have been considered for the award, and that is head coach Sean Payton and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. They both coached a brilliant game yesterday and put the Saints in a position to win.

While the Saints offensive line had no trouble keeping Brees upright, Payton did a great job of ensuring Brees had plenty of short and dump off targets to keep the chains moving. Brees and Payton more or less neutralized the Colts pass rush by staying out of 3rd and long passing situations. And Payton had the call of the year, by onsiding the 2nd half kickoff. What made the call even bolder was the fact that the earlier bold call, of going for it on 4th and goal didn’t go his way. That onside kick changed the course of the game, not only was the Colts defense unprepared to stop Brees, but I think it finally allowed the Saints to believe they could win the game.

The other coach that deserves a lot of credit is Williams, whose defense was the first to beat Peyton Manning this season. While overall the Saints had a great game plan, and much will be made about the interception return, three drives in particular epitomized the Saints performance yesterday. The first was the Colts first drive of the game. Manning was moving the Colts down the field, and it looked like a given that they would be putting 7 points on the board. Instead the Saints defense tightened up and held them to a field goal. The next key drive of the game, was early in the 4th quarter after the Saints cut the Colts lead to 17-16, and Peyton Manning converted a 4th and 2 to the Saints 32. Again it seemed as though Peyton was about to score and make it an 8 point lead. At the very least, the Colts needed about 3-5 yards to attempt a fairly makable field goal, instead the Saints forced them to lose 3 yards and Indianapolis missed a 51-yard field goal (which also gave the Saints offense great field position). The last defensive drive of the game, really showed the Saints tenacity. Manning drove the Colts down to the Saints 13 with just under two minutes remaining and a pair of timeouts. Sure the Colts would have needed to score and get the onside kick, but it looked like the Colts were about to make it a one score game, yet they never found the endzone. All-in-all it was a tremendous performance by the Saints defense to bend, but not break to the Colts offense.

The real MVP of the game of course was the field general, Drew Brees. After the first quarter Brees went 29 of 32 and just left the Colts guessing. He did a fantastic job of executing Sean Payton’s game plan, and constantly kept the chains and the clock moving. Brees’ performance was even more impressive given the fact that the Saints running game completely disappeared last night, managing just 51 yards and 2.8 yards per carry. Despite being one dimensional, the Saints passing attack was incredibly effective. Hopefully with the Super Bowl win and MVP award, Brees will start being thought of among the elite quarterbacks in the league (in all honesty outside of Peyton, who can you say is better than Brees?). It shouldn’t be to much of a debate though since I don’t see the Saints going anywhere as long as Brees is behind center.

New Orleans Saints:

Why They Can Win:  The Saints had the league’s best offense this season, led by one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks, Drew Brees. While Brees has his favorite targets in receivers Marques Colston and Devery Henderson, he does a great job of distributing the ball to all his backs, receivers, and tight ends. Brees has one of the league’s top pass blocking offensive lines, giving him the time to get the ball downfield. Though the Saints o-line are top notch pass protectors their specialty is run blocking. The Saints had the 6th best rushing attack this season, which is impressive considering their passing attack and the lack of a true feature back. Instead of one workhorse, the Saints have a three-headed monster in the backfield with Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell, and Reggie Bush. The Saints defense isn’t nearly as good as their offensive counterparts, but they do have one major strength, turnovers. Be it luck or skill, the Saints are always around the ball forcing turnovers and creating points or scoring opportunities.

Why They Can’t Win: The Saints defense collapsed at the end of the season. First, they almost lost to both the Washington Redskins and Atlanta Falcons (without Matt Ryan), before losing their last three games against the Cowboys, Buccaneers and Panthers (The Carolina game was against many 2nd stringers). Major holes were exposed in pass coverage, and the Saints front seven couldn’t stop any rushing attacks. While its easy to point to their playoff wins against the Cardinals and Vikings and proclaim that those problems are behind them, that may be a bit premature. For one thing both of those games were at home, an advantage they won’t have tonight. Secondly, the Arizona game could easily be an aberration, since they injured Kurt Warner severely limiting the Cardinals ability to produce offensively. Lastly, the defense wasn’t the cause for beating the Vikings, as Minnesota handed them the game with their fumbling issues. Favre and Peterson torched the Saints defense that day (though Peterson coughed up the game later), and the Saints caught plenty of lucky breaks with questionable officiating calls (If they try to go low on Manning you can bet there will be a penalty). So basically for the last two months the only time the Saints were able to slow down an opposing offense is when they injured a quarterback (and that didn’t even work against Favre).

Indianapolis Colts:

Why They Can Win: While it seems simplistic to boil this game down to Peyton Manning vs the Saints defense, he really is the biggest difference maker on the field. Drew Brees is one of the best quarterbacks in the league and is in the prime of a Hall of Fame career, Manning is the best quarterback in the league, and is in the midst of becoming the best quarterback ever. There is no definitive way to stop him, or slow him down. Earlier this season in a game against the Miami Dolphins (a game which was held at Sunlife Stadium), the Dolphins held the ball for more than 45 minutes, yet Manning was able to throw for 300 yards and lead the Colts to 27 points. One of the long standing truths in football is if you have the ball for 3/4ths of the game you will win. In the Championship game against the Jets, New York blitzed Manning and took away his top two receivers, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark. Yet Manning was unfazed, throwing for over 370 yards and 3 touchdowns. Whats most impressive is that Manning is able to do what he does, despite not having a balanced attack. The Colts rushing game finished dead last in the league, even though they have two former 1st round picks in the backfield, and an offensive line that allowed the fewest sacks in the league. Now partly that is due to the fact the offensive line is fairly overrated. They might have allowed the fewest sacks, but much of that has to do with Manning himself. No quarterback is better at reading pre-snap blitzes, allowing him to change the play and/or tell the offensive line who to block. In addition Manning is one of best quarterbacks at feeling the pressure and getting the ball away. Now Manning doesn’t do it solely alone, he does have his share of weapons on offense. In addition to Wayne and Clark (who both had 100 catches this season), Austin Collie, Pierre Garcon and Joseph Addai all have a big role in the passing attack. It’s not nearly as diverse as the Saints, but effective nonetheless. The Colts defense sometimes is misaligned as not being very good, but that is a mistake to count them out. They are notorious for giving up big yards, but then clamping down in the Red Zone. While its not always pretty, they always come up big in major games or situations.

Why They Can’t Win: The Colts defense is good, but they are not without weaknesses. They usually do better against one-dimensional teams, something the Saints are not. Their rushing defense has had major holes this season, and could be something the Saints can exploit. The Colts pass defense relies on the pressure generated by their front four, which is problematic against the Saints top notch offensive line, and Drew Brees quick release. That problem is even more of an issue if DE Dwight Freeney’s ankle prevents him from being 100% today. The injuries to Freeney and Wayne are going to be key today. While both should play, they will need to be at the top of their game for the Colts to win.

Outcome: Both teams have plenty going for them, and weaknesses that can be their downfall. In the end I think the Colts win behind Manning. I don’t think the Saints can get to Peyton enough to disrupt the offense, and if they aren’t getting to him then that means receivers will be open. On the flip side I believe the Colts defense will do enough to slow down Brees and company enough to walk away with the Lombardi Trophy. Colts win 34-23.

Just How Good is Peyton Manning?:  When the Colts were down by 11, I think the Jets and their fans thought they could be Super Bowl bound, but they forgot about Manning. He absolutely went off on the number 1 ranked defense yesterday. And it didn’t seem to bother him that Darrelle Revis took away half the field, because Manning dominated the other half. For all we hear about Manning’s weapons of Wayne and Clark (a pair of former 1st round picks), it was Pierre Garcon (6th round 2008, Mount Union) and Austin Collie (4th round 2009, BYU) that dominated the Jets defense. It was just an all-around incredible performance by Manning yesterday, and showed why he is the best quarterback in the league.

Future Looking Brighter for Sanchez:  Mark Sanchez has had a tough rookie year and has been the weakest quarterback in the playoffs so far. He had shown flashes of being a good quarterback, but that was mostly against weaker competition and had also cost the Jets a few games this season. Of late though he’d been fairly mistake free, not because of major improvement in his game, but rather because of a much simpler passing attack. Sanchez was pretty much regulated to ‘safe’ intermediate and short throws so far in the playoffs. Yesterday though Sanchez had his best game of the playoffs (and his young career), he showed much better decision making and poise in the pocket. He didn’t try to force the ball in to coverage, and really showed something against a big team in the biggest game of his career. Now Sanchez has some things to work on, accuracy being the primary concern, but in 2-3 years Sanchez could become a pretty good starting quarterback.

Saints Go Marching On:  Who would have thought it would have been the Saints defense and special teams that sent them to the Super Bowl? While their defense got torched with yards and penalties, they came up with enough big plays to win yesterday. And how huge was the Peterson fumble right before half after the Bush muffed punt? That Saints defense all season has just been relentless in getting takeaways, and showed it again last night. Gregg Williams and company deserve most of the credit for that victory, because Favre had a great game yesterday. Think of what he would have done if he actually had time in the pocket? The Saints pass rush completely dominated the Vikings offensive line and had Favre on the ground quite a bit. The Saints defense was the key to the game, and is why they will be making their first Super Bowl appearance.

Just How Tough is Brett Favre?:  Now I realize all the talk now is about that last interception, and on whether or not it was Favre’s last game (again). But really we need to acknowledge that yesterday’s loss was on two things:  the offensive line play, and lack of ball control. Not only did the Saints recover a fumble inside the Vikings 20 yard line, but Minnesota coughed it up twice when they were at the Saints 10 yard line! And the offensive line, which had begun to collapse at the end of the season, looked awful yesterday. They couldn’t handle the stunts and blitz packages New Orleans was throwing at them, and Favre paid the price. Not only was he getting hit hard (and sometimes illegally), but he was injured and in obvious pain. Favre played well enough to win that game by a couple of touchdowns, but his 0-line and the fumbles cost them dearly.

Colts Heading to the Big Game:

Mark Sanchez and the New York Jets have been the underdog team throughout this year’s postseason. Now their road to the Super Bowl goes through (ends) in the place where in many ways it started. After a tough Week 15 loss to the Falcons, the Jets playoff hopes were all but over. They had to win their next game, which just so happened to be at Indianapolis. At the time the Colts were 14-0, and seemed likely to keep up the intensity for at least one more week (at least that is what I believed building my fantasy roster that week). Instead with a 5-point lead in the 3rd quarter, the Colts pulled their starters, and the Jets responded, winning 29-15.

That victory propelled the Jets on their unbelievable playoff run (pretty sure the Bengals and Chargers have taken the Colts off their Christmas card list) that will now come full circle. The Jets have won with defense, running the ball, and a little bit of luck, and will need all three factors in place today if they hope to overcome their playoff benefactor. This time though the Jets will have to contain Peyton Manning and company for 60 minutes, and that is a task that no one has been able to accomplish this season.

The Jets defense is great and one of the best we’ve seen, but so is the Manning and the Colts offense. New York will get after Manning and try to disrupt his timing, but he is so smart back there I don’t think they have a chance. While Darrelle Revis will probably take away Reggie Wayne for most of the game, the Colts have too many other weapons. In fact the best defense against the Colts scoring attack is the Jets own offense.

As long as the Jets offense is on the field, Manning is not and their defense can stay rested. Time of possession usually is something that is unimportant to the Colts (they won a game earlier this season with having the ball less than 15 minutes), but against the Jets that could be an exception. The Jets defense is good enough to slow down Colts to the point where they will need all the possessions they can get. The problem with the Jets is their offense won’t be able to control the clock, with long time consuming drives. While they are an excellent running team, they lack the passing attack to be complete. So far they’ve relied on big break-away runs, which are nice and worth 6 points like any touchdown, but not the sustained drives that they need. Putting up points is always good, but taking minutes off the clock is just as important.

In the end Manning will be too much for the Jets defense to handle. And while the Jets’ ground game may find some success, their lack of a passing attack will end up being the key today. Colts win 21-10 and begin packing for Miami.

By Fanspeak Contributing Writer Geoff Nelowet:

The New Orleans Saints Will Earn their First Super Bowl Birth:

The Minnesota Vikings have not made it to the Super Bowl since 1976, and the New Orleans Saints have not sniffed the Super Bowl in their franchise’s history. In 2007 the Saints played in their first NFC Championship – a game in which the Chicago Bears handled them with ease by the score of 39-14. In short, both franchises are overdue for a Super Bowl appearance. Unfortunately, one team has to be sent home on Sunday.

The Saints have been the team to beat over the course of the regular season, and they are the top playoff seed. Drew Brees has led one of the most prolific offenses in football, and the fast-paced aerial attack will be a different animal for the Vikings’ defense. Brees has been connecting with an assortment of talented receivers this season, and Marques Colston, Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem have combined for nearly 3,000 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns. Along with their production, Reggie Bush has been a major spark on both offense and special teams, and last week against the Cardinals, Bush looked dominant with 217 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. Bush is the quintessential X-factor for the Saints.

The Vikings are coming off a dominant win over the Dallas Cowboys. In their 34-3 win, they proved that not only can they beat a good team, but they can dominate a good team on both sides of the ball. Their defense shut down a stellar offense, and Brett Favre led the Vikings down the field with ease against what looked like the best defense in the playoffs. The Vikings stumbled down the stretch of the regular season, but they bounced back resoundingly.

The Saints and Vikings are clearly the two best teams in the NFC, and Sunday’s match-up will be a narrowly decided game. The key to Minnesota winning comes down to how much pressure they can get on Brees. Last week, Jared Allen led the defensive line with an unyielding amount of pressure on Tony Romo, and if he can replicate his performance against the Saints, the Vikings will win. The Saints, though, have a better offensive line, and Brees delivers the ball much quicker than Romo, so it will be exponentially more difficult for the Vikings to shut down the Saints’ offense. Furthermore, Reggie Bush looked dominant last week, and when he is healthy, he adds yet another dimension to the Saints’ attack. Minnesota will not find the same success on defense this week, and the Saints will win at home for their first Super Bowl birth. Final Score: New Orleans 33 Minnesota 28.

By Fanspeak Contributing writer Geoff Nelowet

The New Orleans Saints will dominate the Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals played in one of the most exciting playoff games of the decade last week, and they are fortunate to have walked away with a victory in a 51-45 shootout over the Green Bay Packers.  This week, the Cardinals will go up against a different animal in the New Orleans Saints, and it does not look like a match-up that favors the Cardinals.

The Saints and Cardinals are two high-powered offensive teams fraught with talent at the skills positions. The Saints’ Drew Brees has been arguably the best quarterback in the NFL, and he has made his entire team better. The Cardinals’ Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin at wide receiver has been the best receiving tandem the NFL has seen for numerous years, and quarterback Kurt Warner is an imminent hall-of-famer.

Despite the Cardinals’ offensive brilliance, this still sits as a bad match-up, as the Cardinals’ strengths are second-best to the Saints’. New Orleans had far and away the best offense in the NFL this past regular season, and they rarely ever had trouble moving the ball – even against some of the best defenses the NFL has to offer.

Couple that with the Saints’ ability to force turnovers on defense (3^rd in the NFL in interceptions), and the Cardinals will find themselves outmatched. Last week’s game was truly an anomaly, and the Cardinals will surely find themselves in a lower-scoring game in which late-game good fortune will not be enough. Drew Brees will lead his team as he has all season, the Saints will end the Cardinals’ playoff run. Final score New Orleans 38 Arizona 21

Last night the Dallas Cowboys came to play, and despite the best efforts of Nick Folk Drew Brees the Saints could not stay undefeated. It was a game that was huge for both teams, not only was the Saints drive for perfection on the line, but the Cowboys needed a win to stay atop the playoff picture. The Cowboys deserve a ton of credit for the way they played that game last night.

The Saints have had some close calls this season, but no team has taken it to them like the Cowboys did last night. Dallas was hitting on all cylinders. On offense Tony Romo played one of his best games all season, and the offensive line gave him pretty good protection. The Dallas ground game contributed 145 yards and two touchdowns, picking up some tough first downs along the way. The best part about the Dallas offense was the fact they were able to hold on to the ball (over 36 minutes), and keep Drew Brees off the field. When Brees did have the ball the Cowboys made him look like an ordinary quarterback (which is still good, but quite the down grade for the Saints).  With the exception of one long run by Reggie Bush, the Cowboys stopped the Saints running game cold (being up by 21 points in the second half didn’t hurt matters either). Dallas really did an excellent job against the Saints passing attack, their defensive backs had great coverage and their defensive line applied the pressure. The Cowboys ended the game with four sacks (including two forced fumbles, one that literally ended the game), but applied tremendous pressure all throughout. They messed with Drew Brees’ rhythm, and were really the key to the victory.

All is not lost with the Saints, they are still the top seed in the NFC and should be a favorite to make it to the Super Bowl. While I realize its tough to see that loss, especially knowing that their last two games are against the Buccaneers and Panthers (two games they should easily win), they are still an excellent football team. Their defense has begun to scare me though, as they have let three straight teams go up and down the field on them.

The Cowboys for their part did what they need to do. They answered the questions about their December curse last night, and set themselves up in a prime spot for the playoffs. In fact, if they win out they will win the division. Their defense played a tremendous game yesterday, and the play of DeMarcus Ware was a sight to see. He was in the Saints backfield so much you would have thought he was on the other team. And what was more impressive was the fact he was playing hurt. On offense Romo played a great game, and hung in there and made plays with his feet. If the Cowboys can get to the playoffs they are a team that could get hot and go on a run.

The real question for Dallas is who will their kicker be the rest of the season, because it will not be Nick Folk. He is AWFUL right now. How do you miss wide (or hit the goal post) when you are from the 24 yard line in the center of the field? What’s worse is they showed clips of him during warm-ups and he was missing everything (as he’s done all season). Folk has to be cleaning out his locker now, and Dallas will need someone decent if they hope to go deep into the postseason.

1. New Orleans Saints
2. Indianapolis Colts
3. Minnesota Vikings
4. Cincinnati Bengals
5. Arizona Cardinals
6. Dallas Cowboys
7. San Diego Chargers
8. New England Patriots
9. Pittsburgh Steelers
10. Philadelphia Eagles
11. Baltimore Ravens
12. Denver Broncos
13. Green Bay Packers
14. New York Giants
15. Jacksonville Jaguars
16. Atlanta Falcons
17. Houston Texans
18. Miami Dolphins
19. Tennessee Titans
20. San Francisco 49ers
21. New York Jets
22. Chicago Bears
23. Carolina Panthers
24. Seattle Seahawks
25. Buffalo Bills
26. Kansas City Chiefs
27. Oakland Raiders
28. Washington Redskins
29. Detroit Lions
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
31. St. Louis Rams
32. Cleveland Browns

Top Ten:

After Monday Night’s drubbing of the New England Patriots, the Saints have finally passed the Colts in the Power Rankings department. That was an impressive win, that showed the Saints are for real and can beat any team. The Colts have had to come from behind these last few weeks, but they still have Peyton Manning and an 11-0 record. Brett Favre is playing some of the best football of his career, and the Vikings are another top contender with a 10-1 record. The Bengals are tops in the AFC North, which is good enough for 4th place in the Power Rankings. To stay up in the 4th spot the Bengals will need to get healthy, with upcoming road games against the Vikings and Chargers. The Cardinals might not have as many wins as a few of the other teams on this list, but their last loss was a heartbreaker at the end, and they played without Kurt Warner. Come playoff time Arizona is not a matchup I would want to have. The Cowboys have been a streaky team this season, so their Power Ranking is hard to determine, until you know which team will show up on Sunday. It could be the team that managed just two TD’s (combined) in consecutive weeks against the Packers and Redskins. Or the team that blew out the Raiders on Thanksgiving, and beat the Eagles in Philadelphia a few weeks ago. The Chargers seem to be in firm control of the AFC West now, but their running game is still non-existent. I can’t see them going to far this postseason if they can’t move the ball on the ground. The Patriots will win the AFC East so they have a playoff spot, but this does not look like a playoff team right now. They can’t stop teams through the air, which doesn’t bode well this season. And Brady is facing more pressure than he has ever faced, and its starting to show some weaknesses.

I know having the Pittsburgh Steelers ranked in the top ten will ruffle a few feathers, especially fans of teams that have a better record (Eagles), or that just beat Pittsburgh on Sunday night (Ravens), but I don’t know how you can leave them out of the top 10. Pittsburgh lost on Sunday, but it was in overtime, on the road, and with their 3rd string quarterback. Yes they have had some tough losses, but those have come without Troy Polumalu. With Rothelisberger and Polumalu coming back for the postseason run, you have to keep your eye on Pittsburgh down the stretch. The Eagles are a good football team, but their luck has helped them more than their talent level. They barely squeaked by the Bears and Redskins these past two weeks, and now face a Falcons team without Matt Ryan.

Next 10:

The Ravens and Broncos are fighting for one playoff spot if Pittsburgh rebounds. The Broncos were impressive Thursday night against the Giants, but I’m still waiting for that other shoe to drop. While they do face the Colts and Eagles in their remaining five games, they also have the Chiefs twice and the Raiders, so 10 wins is attainable. The Ravens also have three easy games remaining (Lions, Bears, Raiders) but that only gets them to 9 wins. They will have to beat the Packers or Steelers on the road if they want to secure themselves a playoff spot. The Packers and Giants are really the only teams that can get the last playoff spot in the NFC. Green Bay has played better of late, but that offensive line is still a big concern for me. If they can’t keep Rodgers upright, then they have no shot of winning. They also have a tough remaining schedule coming up with the Ravens, Steelers and Cards. The Giants also face a tough road ahead of them, facing the Cowboys, Eagles, and Vikings. The only good news for the Giants is the Cowboys and Eagles games are at home for them (also they should have easy wins against the Redskins and Panthers). As for the rest of the 11-20 teams, I don’t see any of them making a serious playoff run. The Jags have turned their season around, but I still don’t trust Garrard at QB, and their defense has been pretty bad this season. The Texans and Titans have been exciting of late, but I don’t think they have the staying power now. I would have said the Falcons could make a run, but that was before Matt Ryan went down with injury. Even if he only is out this week, another loss will put the Falcons pretty much out of it (if the Packers and Giants win). If the Dolphins had Pennington and Ronnie Brown healthy, they could have maybe made a run (especially since the Pats appear to be vulnerable), but without them, their playoff hopes are over. The 49ers could be an impressive team, but they desperately need consistent play from their quarterback to be competitive.

The Rest:

Its been an ugly year this season. If not for the fact that so many of these weaker teams played one another, I would have said that 2-3 teams could have gone winless this year. The only thing these teams have to look forward to is the offseason and next April’s draft. Its gonna be an ugly remaining 5 weeks for the majority of these teams.

Tonight’s New Orleans Saints versus the New England Patriots has all the makings of an epic game. The Patriots are the most prolific team of the past decade with three Super Bowl wins and four appearances. They have a dominate defense that always seems to make the big play, as well as having one of the top quarterbacks and wide receivers in the league. The Saints on the other hand, usually don’t get the same credit as the Patriots and other great teams. Part of that has to do with their history; never winning a Super Bowl (or even going to one), and being an up and down playoff contender the past few seasons. Another reason why the Saints don’t get respect is that with the exception of Drew Brees, they don’t have the star power that New England, Indianapolis, Minnesota and other great teams have.

Also when it comes to star power, Brees doesn’t hold a candle to Tom Brady. Yet with the exception of Super Bowl rings, Brady doesn’t have the numbers to back up the argument that Brady is a superior quarterback to Brees. All you ever hear about when it comes to quarterbacks is that its Peyton Manning and Tom Brady and then everyone else (side note…what exactly does Brett Favre have to do to get out of this ‘everyone else’ purgatory?). If you take a look at the numbers Brees is equal to Brady (if not better).

First let’s look at Tom Brady. In 121 starts (123 games) Brady is 2,562 of 4,046 (completions and attempts) for 29,495 yards and has been sacked 217 times. He has thrown 217 touchdowns to 93 interceptions for a 93.6 quarterback rating. Brees in 116 starts (117 games) is 2,552 of 3,970 for 29,004 yards and has been sacked 152 times. He has thrown for 190 touchdowns to 108 interceptions for a 90.7 quarterback rating. Those numbers are about as close as can be. And when you factor in the five more starts for Brady, his completions, yards and sacks aren’t nearly as comparable to Brees’ numbers (unless Brees was behind the Redskins’ offensive line, I doubt he would get sacked 65 times in five games). Now in fairness, Brady’s touchdown numbers and interception numbers are still impressive even if Brees had five more games to his resume, as there is no way he would throw for 27 touchdowns in five games and the picks would only go up. What is worth noting, is that Brees’ numbers since joining the Saints have been exceptional, and his interceptions, sacks and incomplete passes have all gone down significantly, while his yards and touchdowns have improved. In reality, Brees has been an elite quarterback these past four years, but still carries the weight of his early Charger days with him (his last two years in San Diego weren’t too shabby either).

So why is one quarterback considered a surefire Hall of Famer and the other considered just a very good quarterback? Winning games, and winning Super Bowls. Why didn’t I consider those numbers for comparison? Because regardless what people try to tell you football is a team sport, and games aren’t won or lost by a quarterback alone. How many Super Bowl rings do Dan Marino, Warren Moon, Fran Tarkenton, Dan Fouts and Jim Kelly have combined? The answer is ZERO, despite the fact that all five are Hall of Famers and elite quarterbacks of their day. Is Troy Aikman a better quarterback than Dan Marino because he won Super Bowls? No, (though he might be a luckier quarterback) Aikman is deserving of a Hall of Fame bust, but he isn’t a better signal caller. And I think the same can be said here for Brady and Brees. Brady has played every single season on a playoff caliber team. Brees has played with some great players, but not great teams, until maybe this season. So while everyone else on the planet might want Brady over Brees. I’ll take Brees every Sunday (and Monday Nights) simply because he does more with less.

I don’t think tonight’s game will settle the debate one way or another, but I think the Saints will win tonight, behind a good balanced attack led by Brees. I’ll say the Saints win 31-24.

Ten games in and we still have two undefeated teams, the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints. The Colts had a bit of a scare yesterday in Baltimore, but in the end their record remained unblemished. The Saints on the other hand had a cake walk yesterday as they improved to 10-0 in Tampa. With only six games remaining, now is the time we begin to wonder, can either team have a perfect regular season? Or could the unthinkable happen and they both go undefeated?

The easy answer to both of those questions is simply no. The odds are stacked against you to be perfect for 16 weeks. Also both teams have already had their share of close calls, including some against some pretty weak teams. Both teams still have a couple of tough opponents that they need to face that could easily give them their first loss. That all being said, while I don’t think it will happen, I definitely think it can happen.If you take a look at both of their remaining schedules they are set up pretty well in favor for the Colts and the Saints.

The Colts have the Texans, Titans, Broncos, Jaguars, Jets and Bills remaining. The Texans, Broncos and Jaguars are all in the playoff hunt, but only the Texans should really worry the Colts. The Broncos once looked like the Colts toughest game, but after four straight humiliating losses they no longer seem like a threat (if the Redskins can score 27 on them, what will the Colts put up?). The Jaguars are 6-4 right now, but they are still pretenders and not contenders for me. Yes they beat the Texans, but their other five wins were against the Titans, Rams, Chiefs, Jets and Bills. Of those games only the Titans were they able to beat by more than 3 points. The Texans game is the Colts toughest matchup mainly because its on the road and the Texans do have the offense to challenge the Colts in a shootout. In the first game between these two, the Colts needed a last second field miss by the Texans to avoid overtime. And while they dominated the game on the stat sheet they couldn’t put the Texans away.

The Saints remaining schedule is similar to the Colts in overall difficulty, with the Patriots, Redskins, Falcons, Cowboys, Buccaneers and Panthers. The Redskins, Buccaneers and Panthers should all be fairly easy wins for the Saints (they won their first games against the Bucs and Panthers a combined 68-27). The Saints do luck out that their two toughest games, the Patriots and Cowboys, are at home in the Super Dome. As for their other tough game at Atlanta, I think the Saints will have no problem dominating the Falcons again. In the first meeting the Falcons made it a game on the score sheet, but Drew Brees and the Saints controlled that game from start to finish. Next week’s New England game will be the Saints toughest matchup, but I think home field really will come into the Saints favor. New England isn’t as dominate as they once were, and proved pretty susceptible to the pass against the Colts two weeks ago. I also like the Saints defense against New England’s offense. Their secondary is playing exceptionally well, and their defensive front seven are putting a ton of pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Tom Brady has never done well under pressure, and could really struggle against the Saints.

The toughest test for both of these teams to go undefeated will come this week. If the Saints and Colts survive this weekend, then perfection is definitely an option for either team. And maybe, just maybe we will have a Super Bowl matchup of a pair of 18-0 teams, though I wouldn’t bet on it. What do you think…can either team or both go through the season unscathed?

1. Indianapolis Colts
2. New Orleans Saints
3. Minnesota Vikings
4. Pittsburgh Steelers
5. Cincinnati Bengals
6. Dallas Cowboys
7. New England Patriots
8. Denver Broncos
9. San Diego Chargers
10. Arizona Cardinals
11. Philadelphia Eagles
12. New York Giants
13. Atlanta Falcons
14. Houston Texans
15. New York Jets
16. Baltimore Ravens
17. Chicago Bears
18. San Francisco 49ers
19. Green Bay Packers
20. Miami Dolphins
21. Jacksonville Jaguars
22. Buffalo Bills
23. Seattle Seahawks
24. Carolina Panthers
25. Washington Redskins
26. Tennessee Titans
27. Oakland Raiders
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
29. Kansas City Chiefs
30. St. Louis Rams
31. Detroit Lions
32. Cleveland Browns

Top Ten:  Though it could go either way, right now the Colts are the best team in the NFL, even over the Saints. New Orleans is a great team in their own right, but they don’t have the star power among their skill players or on defense that the Colts do. The Vikings are the Saints closest competitor in the NFC. With Favre, Peterson, and that defense, the Vikings will be tough to beat this year, but the Pittsburgh Steelers showed it was possible. Speaking of the Steelers, while they lost to the Bengals, they still get the nod here. The Steelers only losses have come with defensive stalwart Troy Polamalu injured, and Pittsburgh has knocked off the Chargers, Vikings and Broncos. The Bengals are right on the Steelers heels, and with a 4-0 record in the division have a the lead over the Steelers for the AFC North title. The Cowboys started this year pretty slowly, but have been on fire of late, and are in a great position to win the NFC East. The New England Patriots have killed weak teams, battled solid teams and lost to good teams. The Pats have a couple tough games coming up, so we will see who the real Patriots are. A few weeks ago you could make a case that the Broncos were one of the top teams, but back to back embarrassing losses have them moving the wrong way on this list. The Chargers could very well overcome the Broncos in the coming weeks, but their lack of a running game is a serious issue. The Cardinals are perhaps the streakiest team in the NFL, they are 1-3 at home, but 4-0 on the road. If they get hot though, the Cards might be the most dangerous team in the postseason.

Next Ten:  The Eagles, Falcons, and Giants are fighting for the two NFC wildcard spots. All three of them have the talent to make a playoff run, but all have been extremely inconsistent this season. The Bears, Packers and even the 49ers could make a playoff run, but in reality are probably still a year away from really being a contender. The Texans, Jets, and Ravens are all still in the thick of it, but will need some help to make a serious playoff run.

The rest of the league:  This is the year of the haves and have nots in the NFL. Either due to injuries, bad management, or ineffectiveness there are an unusually high number of bad teams in this year’s NFL. All of the 1 and 2 win teams are going to need serious overhaul this coming offseason.