Sooner or later, this question gets asked of undefeated teams late in the season. Would it make the Colts and Saints sharper going into the playoffs having lost a game? I would say yes with the 16-0 Patriots being the "perfect" example.
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Pats are a bad example for your thread imo. Pats ran into a better prepared team in the Superbowl that year. As herm would say "you play to win the game". I'm gonna use the colt teams of the past as an example here. They often rested players, had basically 3 or 4 "bye" weeks in a row and some team comes off the wild card round in full stride and runs over them.Comment -
I agree - it was hard for the Colts to get the switch flipped back on before.Originally posted by FishFace5Comment -
I had saints ML this weekend vs the redskins so i watched the game. at least twice on the road in the cold they could have justOriginally posted by Reload
but they didnt they fought hard. You can see how bad they want perfect. I dont know how they could get any sharper or play any harder.
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to be honest i dont think the pats are a good example. The pats got worse and worse as the year went on. They started 12-0 ATS the spread and i believe they finished 13-6. It started with the ravens game, teams just figured out how to stop the pats and the pats never made any adjustments, it really was a terrible coaching job by bellicheck. As you can see with the steelers and broncos this year, teams forget how to win and losing one game can lead to consecutive losses, so i think any loss for the colts or saints will only be a negative thing.Comment -
I do not think that it is ever a good idea to lose a game. New Orleans has never been here before. A loss may bring them crashing back down to earth, especially if that loss comes at the hands of Dallas, who they may see again in the playoffs. As Fish has correctly stated, you want to be firing on all 8 cylinders going into the playoffs. Indy was a perfect example. It is hard to find a team hotter than a 16-0 team. Both of these teams are indoor teams, so playing at home would be a huge atvantage compared to going to an outdoor stadium in January, not that this will happen.Comment -
This will be the issue we all have to stay sharp on. Key topic though; I'd say that unless you have some solid inside info just stay off a bet of any kind with these teams. Once one of them goes down I would personally expect both teams to "rest." For now it may just be a battle of moral victory.Comment -
I was thinking about this yesterday during the NO/Wash gm. may have been good for NO to lose , not sure tho
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I think it's definitely getting tougher for NO on the road, Sam.Originally posted by Sam OdomI was thinking about this yesterday during the NO/Wash gm. may have been good for NO to lose , not sure thoComment -
Pats got upset by a few improbable Giants plays, it was a fluke.Comment -
I think that the Saints schedule is so favorable for them that they could even rest players against Tampa Bay and Carolina and still beat them two. That is almost having a week off when you play them in New Orleans. I do think that they will beat Dallas pretty bad because of them being at home against them. I thought that Atlanta was their hardest game until the injury bug hit Atlanta. I see them beating them by at least 14 or more. The Eagles clobbered Atlanta so the Saints should do the same.
I do think that the Colts have a harder schedule ahead than the Saints do and they could get beat in the next four games. I would not be shocked.
I sure cannot see the Saints losing a game the rest of the way. Their schedule is not as hard as the Colts schedule is.Comment -
You play them all out...rest the injured and thats it! The classic example is Tony Dungy burning the Colts by taking too many weeks off in 2005 combined with the bye week and of course the Colts weren't ready to play against the Steelers...a team they hammered during the season! Coach Dungy's son had just committed suicide which played a big part of the Colts mental state at the time too! College teams take a month off or more and usually perform OK in the bowl games so maybe the top seeds should follow what they do if they plan to rest their starters!Comment -
Let's assume both the Saints and Colts play their starters the whole way and play hard to win. Would they still be better off losing so it makes them work even harder during their bye week and in the playoffs?Comment -
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These guys are professionals, it's one game at a time. Only the jock sniffers care about the "perfect" season. I'll take the '85 Bears over the '72 Dolphins any day. Heck, I'll take any modern Super Bowl champs over the '72 Dolphins. Even the '09 Dolphins could probably have run all over the '72 Dolphins. Anything else is jock sniffer talk. Go pop your Champagne, geezers, then roll over and die.Comment -
I'd take the '85 Bears also. Everyone remembers their one loss but also how dominant they were in the playoffs and Super Bowl.Originally posted by slacker00Comment -
definitely bettor for their long term success to lose at least oneComment
