Poll: Exercise in Awesome

[Munboy]

Which team will be the last to lose a game?
Bonus thought 1. Will any of these teams pull a Miami?
Bonus thought 2. Which team will be first to lose a game?

Indy
6 Bye
7 Oct 25 IND @ STL
8 Nov 01 SF @ IND
9 Nov 08 HOU @ IND
10 Nov 15 NE @ IND
11 Nov 22 IND @ BAL
12 Nov 29 IND @ HOU
13 Dec 06 TEN @ IND
14 Dec 13 DEN @ IND
15 Dec 17 IND @ JAC
16 Dec 27 NYJ @ IND
17 Jan 03 IND @ BUF

Denver
6 Oct 19 DEN @ SD
7 Bye
8 Nov 01 DEN @ BAL
9 Nov 09 PIT @ DEN
10 Nov 15 DEN @ WAS
11 Nov 22 SD @ DEN
12 Nov 26 NYG @ DEN
13 Dec 06 DEN @ KC
14 Dec 13 DEN @ IND
15 Dec 20 OAK @ DEN
16 Dec 27 DEN @ PHI
17 Jan 03 KC @ DEN

NY Giants
6 Oct 18 NYG @
7 Oct 25 ARI @
8 Nov 01 NYG @ PHI
9 Nov 08 SD @ NYG
10 Bye
11 Nov 22 ATL @ NYG
12 Nov 26 NYG @ DEN
13 Dec 06 DAL @ NYG
14 Dec 13 PHI @ NYG
15 Dec 21 NYG @ WAS
16 Dec 27 CAR @ NYG
17 Jan 03 NYG @ MIN

New Orleans
5 Bye
6 Oct 18 NYG @ NO
7 Oct 25 NO @ MIA
8 Nov 02 ATL @ NO
9 Nov 08 CAR @ NO
10 Nov 15 NO @ STL
11 Nov 22 NO @ TB
12 Nov 30 NE @ NO
13 Dec 06 NO @ WAS
14 Dec 13 NO @ ATL
15 Dec 19 DAL @ NO
16 Dec 27 TB @ NO
17 Jan 03 NO @ CAR

Minnesota
6 Oct 18 BAL @ MIN
7 Oct 25 MIN @ PIT
8 Nov 01 MIN @ GB
9 Bye
10 Nov 15 DET @ MIN
11 Nov 22 SEA @ MIN
12 Nov 29 CHI @ MIN
13 Dec 06 MIN @ ARI
14 Dec 13 CIN @ MIN
15 Dec 20 MIN @ CAR
16 Dec 28 MIN @ CHI
17 Jan 03 NYG @ MIN

[scottaa1]

Indy, Indy, and Denver first to lose

[mattb47]

The Colts have too nice a schedule I think...they're only tough road game of the entire season will be at Baltimore in week 11...every other "tough" game they have is at home. They look unstoppable on offense right now too.

[Dawinner127]

Like Matt said, I don't think Indy is going to lose anytime soon. They're firing on all cylinders on offense and their schedule isn't that bad the rest of the way.

[Metroid]

Denver could easily have two losses already. Of the undefeated teams they are by far the shakiest. They have a tough 3 game stretch coming up and will lose two, if not all 3 of them. And even if they do somehow survive that stretch they will not beat the Giants, or Indy, or Philly.

Giants have some toughies coming up, at the Saints this week will not be a walk in the park, then at home to Arizona, and then at Philly. I think they drop one of those two away games.

The Saints...well either them or the Giants will have a loss after this week. If they can get through the G-Men their schedule looks pretty nice until that New England game in week 12. They could slip up at Miami too.

I think Minny is the sexy pick but they have a tough 3 game schedule coming up, Baltimore, at Pitt, then at Green Bay. If they can get through those three they have pretty much smooth sailing till the closer with the Giants. I don't think they'll get through the next 3 unscathed though.

That leaves Indy, it's already been mentioned but their schedule just caters to a perfect season. All their tough games are at home other than the Ravens. If they don't lose that one...well I doubt they'll lose at all.

[buffalobillsrul2002]

I'd say Denver's the worst of the undefeated's, but the Giants are the most likely to lose, just because they play the saints this weekend.

Indy will probably lose last, but I'm telling you, I think they drop one between weeks 9-11. IN fact, I think they end up with 3 Ls. That's a sneaky tough little stretch there from weeks 9-11, and even after week 11, the schedule's got a lot of teams that can beat you...

So no, I doubt anyone is pulling a Miami this year....

[mattb47]

I'd say Denver's the worst of the undefeated's, but the Giants are the most likely to lose, just because they play the saints this weekend.

Indy will probably lose last, but I'm telling you, I think they drop one between weeks 9-11. IN fact, I think they end up with 3 Ls. That's a sneaky tough little stretch there from weeks 9-11, and even after week 11, the schedule's got a lot of teams that can beat you...

So no, I doubt anyone is pulling a Miami this year....

I'm gonna say right now that I would be REALLY surprised to see Indy drop 3 games this year with this schedule. Its not just their offense that has been great, but their defense has stepped up and has even been doing it while missing key guys like Gary Brackett, Bob Sanders, and both of their starting CBs for different periods of time this season. They'll most likely have all of those guys back for that tougher stretch of games and I don't view Houston as being a real tough test for them either and NE either unless they start to pick it up on offense a bit.

[204BC]

Indy, Indy, and Denver first to lose

I agree with Indy, but Denver cannot possibly be the first to lose since they play AFTER the NYG & NO matchup. Giants will lose first, unless they tie of course, then I have to agree that it's Denver.

I have a feeling we'll be down to 2 or 3 undefeated teams after week 6.

NO or NYG, one is going down (I'm thinking the home team wins this one)
Indy has a bye so they're safe.
Denver has a tough one on the road against a rested SD team
Minn also has a tough matchup but they're home.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that for week 7 it'll be Indy, NO and Minn still undefeated. I listed those in the order that I have confidence in.

[bazzy_51]

If Minny could get past Pitt that would be my pick cuz that schedule afterwards is a cake walk for that squad until the 3rd of 2010. Indy is my pick tho simply because Minny has a couple tough matchups with Baltimore and Pitt back to back and NYG to finish up the year. They will smoke the NFC North up and down that division tho and the throw in games with Seattle, Cincy and Carolina I think matchup great for them, at most, losing 3 games this year unless big injuries strike this squad.

[steelerfan513]

My concern with the Colts right now is that even by his standards Peyton Manning is playing way over his head right now. He has at least 300 yards in every game right now (something I think he'd never done before), is completing over 70% of his passes and is averaging over 9 yards per attempt, an average he only maintained over the course of an entire season the year he threw for 49 TDs. Considering that the Colts haven't played a team with a winning record yet and the ridiculousness of his statistics, I think it's safe to assume he'll come back down to earth sometime soon, and I have a hard time believing any defense that will let an opponent possess the ball for 45+ minutes and a running game averaging 3.3 yards per carry (Indy's highest single-game rushing total for a single player this year is 63 yards) can step up enough to make that drop-off mean nothing. And considering the Colts' upcoming 5-week stretch after St. Louis (vs. San Fran, vs. Houston, vs. New England, @ Baltimore, @ Houston), that could come at a pretty bad time. I wouldn't be shocked if they dropped 2 games in those 5 games alone; none of those teams is to be underestimated. And while I still expect the Colts to keep their 12-4 streak going, I also don't expect anything more than 13-3.

As for the Broncos, I think it's unfair to knock them for winning a few close games when every undefeated team has encountered similar games. Minnesota won on a last-second miracle against San Francisco and let the Lions play with them for an entire half. New York needed a last-second field goal to beat Dallas and nearly let the Redskins come back to beat them. New Orleans needed 17 points in the 4th quarter to put away the Bills. I already referred to Indy's win over Miami, and the Colts only beat the Jaguars by 2 in week one. However, their should be concerns because their defense probably won't go the entire season giving up 8 points per game and Kyle Orton probably won't keep playing such mistake-free football (1 INT in 5 games is ridiculous for just about any quarterback). Still, the Broncos shouldn't have any trouble winning a weak AFC West, and I'd guess they'll go 11-5 or so based on how tough their schedule gets after this. They're a dangerous team, and the Steelers showed last year that a team can still win 12 games even if they're winning most of them by slim margins.

The Giants have an absolutely brutal schedule. Fortunately for them, they're also extremely talented on both sides of the football. My only concern is with their ability to put teams away. They had homefield advantage last year, and all indications are that they'll be competing for it again this year as long as they can handle their tough schedule.

I was skeptical about New Orleans even when they were putting up absurd amounts of points because they'd gone 8-8 the last two years even with their high-octane offense. But it seems like their defense has finally stepped up and that it's not a fluke. This Sunday's game against the Giants should be a good indicator of how good they really are. If I had to pick a Super Bowl winner right now, it would be the Saints, but I'd like to see them play some better teams first; their only really tough game was against the Jets, and that came at home. The Eagles didn't have McNabb in their matchup.

Minnesota is another enigma. Favre is completing passes at a pretty absurd rate right now as well, which is what is saving them because teams are making him beat them and not letting Adrian Peterson do so. I think it's questionable whether Favre can keep it up. Still, their defense is great, and Peterson will always make teams play the pass less than the run. These next three games should be a good indicator of Minnesota's skill level; the Vikings get Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Green Bay at Lambeau.