Anyone notice what the unbeaten teams have in common?

[thefuzz]

I don't see Norv Turner taking a team to a Superbowl ever.

Why?

The whole Norv sucks as a head coach thing is ridiculous, IMO.

HC of SD in 3 years, and he will have been to the playoffs all three of those years. In the past 2 seasons, he had been to 1 AFC Championship, and 2 divisional playoff games, never having lost on the opening weekend of the playoffs.

Hummm, all the while sending Peyton and his bunch packing 2 years in a row....

Yea, he probably can't put them over the top.

[Saint J]

Norv's problems are at the beginning of the year, not the end.

[guyinchesapeake]

I'm not taking anything away from the Saints, they're having a 'year for the ages'. They have stayed healthy all year, and they have earned all their accolades. But what I am NOT sold on is that they are anything other than a typical NFC South team HAVING a great year. In other words, whether they are here for the 'longterm' has yet to be determined. I think they could easily fall off next year like we did this season, like the Ravens and Titans and a host of other teams have done after tremendous seasons. It wouldn't shock me if they ended up 8-8 or worse next year. That seems to run par for the course of our division. The Saints have more wins right now than ALL 3 of the remaining NFC South teams COMBINED! That's a telling stat about the division.

The Colts, on the other hand, have won 12 games or more for 7 consecutive years! That's a PHENOMINAL accomplishment, and Manning is the catalyst for that. Colts vs. Saints in the SB, I like the Colts. Of course, we'll just have to wait and see how everything plays out. In the playoffs, anything can happen.

[pstall]

Other teams have elite qb's.

I think it's these commonalities. DEEP WR/TE corps.

Saints- Colston, Meachem, Henderson, Moore, Shockey, Thomas, Bush, Bell. 8 guys you have to cover. 8. Not 1 like some silver and blue and black team has. Lions? Oh and Panthers.

Colts- Wayne, Clark, Garcon, Collie, Addai, Brown, Gonzo(before hurt). But typically at least 5 guys a game catch more than 2 passes. Hear that Dewayne Jarrett?

That's why it's called Spread. You can truly spread it around and create the mismatches you want.

Similar to the NBA in the mid 80's with running iso's. That's what's going on here.

[CarolinaPanthers8789]

Already posted this on page 2, but for those that didn't see here are the commonalities between the two teams

Commons

Both have great Quarterbacks- Drew Bree's is ranked 1st in passer rating and Peyton Manningis ranked 5th.

Both have decent Runningbacks -Joseph Addai is ranked 15th in rushing yards, and Pierre Thomas is ranked 20th

Both have at least two good Receivers and one good Tight End- Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon, and Dallas Clark for Indy, and Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, and Jeremy Shockey for the Saints.

Both have amazing Offenses- New Orleans Total Offense is ranked 1st and Indy's total Offense is ranked 2nd.

Both have sub-par Deffenses- New Orleans Total Defense is ranked 19th and Indy's is ranked 25th.

Both play in Domes

[thunderraiden]

Already posted this on page 2, but for those that didn't see here are the commonalities between the two teams

Commons

Both have great Quarterbacks- Drew Bree's is ranked 1st in passer rating and Peyton Manningis ranked 5th.

Both have decent Runningbacks -Joseph Addai is ranked 15th in rushing yards, and Pierre Thomas is ranked 20th

Both have at least two good Receivers and one good Tight End- Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon, and Dallas Clark for Indy, and Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, and Jeremy Shockey for the Saints.

Both have amazing Offenses- New Orleans Total Offense is ranked 1st and Indy's total Offense is ranked 2nd.

Both have sub-par Deffenses- New Orleans Total Defense is ranked 19th and Indy's is ranked 25th.

Both play in Domes

Exactly what I was getting at, we have all these players devoted to the running back position and only one player devoted to the passing game (steve smith). Its not getting us where we need.

And I'm kinda amazed at the people saying john fox would just run the ball, actually his philosophy this year is pass. He is trying to take advantage but because he has failed to get the talent he needed to get on the passing game he can't get it done. All year he has been calling ridiculous passing plays that we possibly can't pull off with our JV High School Passing game, steve smith withstanding.

[faultlessjoint]

It's not just the unbeaten teams. Every single division leader has an elite quarterback and a quick-strike offense. Meanwhile, if the playoffs began today, the top 4 rushing teams this season (Jets, Titans, Dolphins, Panthers) would all be left out.

Must give you props for bringing in a real stat that made me reconsider things. I normally would have said "Just the law of averages; the "best team" changes style every year. But to have the top 4 rushing teams missing the playoffs really says something. What it says is: The rule book now favors the passing game more than it ever has before.

I'm not going to argue the rules should be changed back to the way they were, it's just that coaches need to adapt to the ever evolving rules if they wish to stay ahead of the game. Refusing to adapt and change according to circumstance always leads to failure.

[Kevin Greene]

The Steelers were 23rd in rushing last season.

2008 Steelers allowed 13.9 points a game last year.

That would be number one in the NFL.

2007 Giants rushed for over 2100 yards regular season, over 400 yards in the post season. Yet it was there pass rush that beat the up to that point, undefeated New England Patriots.

[Saint J]

I've noticed the last 2 Super Bowl Champions have had spectacular running games and defenses.

If you meant one or the other why did you not specify by saying 'or'? Obviously you did not know the Steelers were below average at running the ball.

[Davidson Deac II]

Last year's steelers team was in the bottom half of the league in rushing yards and yards per carry. But they still made the top 10 in number of rushing attempts. Basically they kept at it even if they were initially unsuccessful.

[John Fox]

Spectacular Passing game. Now I'm not saying its gong to hold up in the cold but you can't argue with the results.

alright all we have to do is get a HOF qb, its so simple now!

[Cat'sGrowl]

Les we forget that the Super Bowl Champions just last year were a run-first stop the run team.

Please people..let's not be stupid.

Too late..

[Sandy Claws]

Spectacular Passing game. Now I'm not saying its gong to hold up in the cold but you can't argue with the results.

That was my second guess

My first guess was that they hadn't lost.

[holycrikey]

I forgot what analyst on one of the power rankings sites said, but it was basically along the lines of this:

"This is the NFL and it is a passing league. Running only gets you so far." It was in reference to the Panthers and was after we ran for about 150-180 yards.

I completely, utterly agree. I love watching a power rush team but it just doesn't work anymore. Other teams simply score too fast. If anything, a balance is now necessary. NO team survives on a killer rush attack alone. It just doesn't work anymore and this year is perfect proof of it. Look at the 12 teams that are now priming for playoffs. Not a single one of them has a mediocre or inefficient QB or a lame passing attack. The team that may be closest to being considered "run first" teams is the Bengals or possibly the Ravens.

Look at the top five teams in rushing yardage (as of today):

New York Jets (over 2,000 yards rushing, only 7 wins.)

Tennessee Titans (over 2,000 yards rushing, only 6 wins)

Miami Dolphins (over 1,900 yards rushing, only 7 wins)

Carolina Panthers (over 1,900 yards rushing, only 5 wins)

New Orleans Saints (we all know their stats...)

Only one of those teams is in the playoffs (duh). None of the others are within the picture right now.

It just doesn't work anymore. A killer rushing attack is only good when you pair it with at the very least, a solid passing attack (just look at the insane success of the Vikings, Saints and largely, the Chargers.)

Don't get me wrong, a great rushing attack and setup beautiful play action and downfield attempts. But even that is being phased out by more intelligent defensive packages.

Am I the only one that is completely disillusioned with a run-first philosophy?

I truly believe that the key to the Panthers becoming a playoff contender year in an year out is obtaining a top 10 QB paired with one excellent WR (check, we got that) and several able, but not excellent WR's and flex players.