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It's Week 6 of the 2012 NFL season, and the New Orleans Saints find themselves on their bye week, which makes it an opportune time for reflection, personal growth, and of course, boredom for the fans since the Saints don't play today.
I chose to channel my boredom into reflection and personal growth by way of a full review of the Payton-Era Saints' performance both before and after the bye week.
I'm hoping the subsequent discussion in the thread helps us pass the time on this looong Saints-less Sunday of football, allowing us to avoid boredom while spurring personal growth within and providing us with some useful information to make us feel better or worse about the team's chances next week.
First, here's the full bye week breakdown for the 2006-2012 Saints in kick-ass table format (source):
|
Year |
Date of Bye |
Result Before Bye |
Result After Bye |
|
2006 |
Week 7 - Oct. 22 |
W vs. Philly, 27-24 |
L vs. Baltimore, 35-22 |
|
2007 |
Week 4 - Sept. 30 |
L vs. Titans, 31-14 |
L vs. Carolina, 16-13 |
|
2008 |
Week 9 - Nov. 2 |
W vs. San Diego, 37-32 (@ London) |
L @ Atlanta, 34-20 |
|
2009 |
Week 5 - Oct. 11 |
W vs. NYJ, 24-10 |
W vs. NYG, 48-27 |
|
2010 |
Week 10 - Nov. 14 |
W @ Carolina, 34-3 |
W vs. Seattle, 34-19 |
|
2011 |
Week 11 - Nov. 20 |
W @ Atlanta, 26-23 (OT) |
W vs. NYG, 49-24 |
|
2012 |
Week 6 - Oct. 14 |
W vs. San Diego, 31-24 |
?? @ Tampa Bay |
And here are some things that stood out to me in analysis of this information:
- In a mostly unheralded stat of which I was very much COMPLETELY unaware until now, the Saints sport a sparkling 6-1 "pre-bye" record in the Payton/Kromer Era. That counts for something, doesn't it? We're the "pre-bye" champs, bitches!!! I hate to say it, people, but I'll take any silver lining this year.
- After struggling in 2006-2008 following the bye (0-3, losing by an average of 10 points per game), the Saints have won three straight by an average score of more than 20 points per game. Talk about turning it around - BOOM!!!
- The Saints kicked a whole lot of ass from 2009-2011, didn't they? That was pretty damn sweet, and I sure hope 2012 isn't the end of all that.
- The Saints are 0-2 against NFC South foes following a bye.
* * *
Looking at all this, and being the shameless homer that I am, I'm ready to go ahead and say the Saints will extend their post-bye winning streak (while ending their post-bye skid vs. division opponents) by squeaking out a 3-point win at the woeful Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It won't be pretty, but it'll be a win, and I'll gladly take it.
What's your take on this information? Do you see anything of note that I failed to mention? How are you feeling about next week's game? Is anyone going to do chores or be otherwise productive today?