How often is it that you get to see two perfect storms at once, both operating differently, independently, yet in sync?
The New Orleans Saints are a staggering 11-0 going into December. For a franchise with no Super Bowl appearances that have long been known as the 'Aints, this team has been as spectacular and dominant as any before it. Immortality is tantalizingly within its grasp.
The Indianapolis Colts are a puzzling 11-0 going into December. For them, the unbeaten thing is old hat (13-0 in '05 and 10-0 in '06), but this team defies the odds every week when it continues their streak. Only four of their 11 victories have been by more than a touchdown. Perhaps they are the first team to reach this elite mark that would not be considered dominant.
In college, it's not only common, it's expected. Every year, there are often one, if not two, undefeated teams playing for the championship and even a few extra (albeit frustrated) unbeatens to spare. This year in college football, we see no less than six unbeaten teams going into the regular season's final week, although by Saturday's SEC Championship Game, that number will be cut to at least five. However, in the pros, it inevitably creates a nationwide buzz.
For continuous excitement and drama throughout a season, nothing captures an NFL fan's fancy more than a team making a bid for immortality and going undefeated. Two years ago, the Patriots captured a nation's imagination by obliterating the league at a record rate while wearing the black hats of the bad guys en route to the first ever 16-0 regular season. Even that team needed to win four dramatic come-from-behind games in the final minutes to achieve the mark.
The long-introduced gold standard, the '72 Dolphins of Mercury Morris (who has since remained relevant and become infamous by his mere bragging prowess on behalf of that team) pulled off this feat much the way the Colts are going about it right now. It has been said that at no point in their '72 campaign did those Dolphins look unbeatable. Each year, though, they puff out their chests and drink some champagne when the last unbeaten team loses. In December 2009, however, they have not one, but two reasons to worry.
The Colts started their season with the stunning news that longtime star receiver Marvin Harrison had been cut from the team. They would be forced to depend on the likes of second-year receiver Pierre Garcon to step up in his absence and the reliable Reggie Wayne to take over as Peyton's number one big-play threat (both have made good). This added to the fact that a rookie coach named Jim Caldwell was taking over for the great and honorable Tony Dungy, who retired, and Indy was already up against it before they even stepped on the field.
This seemed to explain their Week 1 game, an innocuous 14-12 win at home against division rival Jacksonville. Now even Peyton Manning was struggling to score points, said the critics. This was followed up by a 4-point Monday Night win at Miami in which Dolphins receiver Ted Ginn, Jr. dropped a pass in the end zone on the game's final drive that would have finished the Colts before they ever really got started. The game was also notable for the fact that Indy won despite only having the ball for 15 of the game's 60 minutes.
The Colts followed this with all four of their dominant wins in consecutive games before embarking on their current streak of 5 nail-biting wins. Along the way, they were helped out by Patriots coach Bill Belichick going for it, and failing, on 4th-and-2 from their own 28 with the game on the line as New England squandered a 17-point fourth-quarter lead, and Texans kicker Kris Brown, who missed a 42-yard field goal as time expired that would have forced overtime. In the rematch against Houston, a stretch with under seven minutes left in the fourth quarter of 14 points in 15 seconds proved to make the difference in an 8-point road victory to clinch the AFC South in November, no small feat. It almost seems that each Colts win proves to be more of an escape than a victory, and somehow Peyton Manning's boys in blue have managed to pull off this Houdini act 11 times in a row.
And yet there is no rest for the weary Colts, who face three more tough opponents consecutively. The Tennessee Titans come to town riding a 5-game winning streak thanks to their switch at quarterback from Kerry Collins to Vince Young. From the ashes of 0-6, the Titans are now finally playing for something; a playoff berth is not far from their grasp. The Titans are followed by the 7-4 Broncos, and then a road game against division rival Jacksonville, which currently occupies the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoff picture. Should they find a way to escape this stretch unscathed, they will finish with a stretch against the hapless Jets and Bills.
In addition, a 16-0 Colts team that has won the way it has may have the Cincinnatis and New Englands of the AFC playoffs salivating for a chance to end the streak when it counts. Their mantra may well be that Indy is due for a loss, and judging by how so many of these undefeated streaks end, they may well be right. By contrast, should the Colts survive this current stretch of challengers, their resolve may well be appropriately strengthened for January and perhaps that final game in February, as well.
One conference over, in the NFC South another elite quarterback leads his team without a loss, fresh off their most notable win of the season. Their 21-point trouncing of the Tom Brady-to-Randy Moss New England Patriots has sent the notice around the league that this team is indeed your worst nightmare come to life. By contrast to the Colts, the Saints won their first 6 games, as well as 9 out of 11 by double-digits.
Putting all phases of the game into place, the Saints' offensive line has essentially built a fortress around their king, Drew Brees, leaving him all kinds of time to air the ball out to his plentiful receiving weapons named Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Jeremy Shockey, and Robert Meachem with unrelenting efficiency. Often going unnoticed because of their passing prowess is the Saints' nearly equally efficient rushing attack, led by the three-headed monster of Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell, and Reggie Bush. At 4.7 yards per carry and 18 rushing touchdowns this year, the Saints' ground game isn't much easier for opponents to take away.
The defense is solid all the way through, as well. Corner Darren Sharper has racked up 8 interceptions, 3 returned for touchdowns (one of them for 99 yards)m while defensive end Will Smith has gotten jiggy with opposing quarterbacks, picking up 10 sacks and forcing 3 fumbles.
Perhaps the Saints' first big win of the season came by 21 points against the then-5-0 Giants, who have yet to recover. The following week in Miami, New Orleans trailed 24-3 and later 34-24 going into the fourth quarter before winning by 12. The Falcons pushed them to an 8-point game with a chance to tie in the final seconds before a Sharper interception put that game away. Perhaps it was the otherwise-hapless St. Louis Rams who gave the Saints their toughest test out of all the teams, though. The Rams' defense forced 3 turnovers and trailed by only 5 with one play left from the Saints' 32, but Marc Bulger threw incomplete at the gun and the Saints' record remained sparkly-clean.
The Saints will face the Falcons again in Atlanta and will play Dallas on a Thursday night game that may be the best remaining chance for the loss column to change in New Orleans. Certainly, the games remaining against the Redskins, Bucs, and Panthers don't seem as threatening, although games involving division rivals are never predictable.
One added incentive for this Saints team to remain unbeaten is that they are not the only juggernaut team in the conference. The Minnesota Vikings, a team that features Brett Favre and Adrian Peterson in their finest seasons and looks to be every bit the menace this Saints team is, has only one loss this season. They continue to put the pressure on the Saints for that number one seed and precious home field throughout the playoffs. Indeed, it appears right now that the biggest threat to the Saints' undefeated streak may not come until the NFC Championship Game, where they may very well have to face off against these Vikings. The last thing the Saints want to do is allow Minnesota to host that game and any one slip-up in the regular season makes that a possibility.
The overall consensus is that the Saints have a considerably better chance at hitting 16-0 and going deeper in the postseason than the Colts, even with the Vikings lurking in the NFC shadows. For both the Saints and the Colts, there is one factor in their favor. Bad weather and cold weather games are far and few between for these teams that play their home games in domes and some of their road games in the NFC and AFC South, respectively. At this rate, the playoffs should feature only home games in their future, as well.
Except, of course, that big one at the neutral site. We can only hope to see both unbeaten teams make it there. Maybe we'll even get to see Mercury Morris cry.
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